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Atlantic board adopts new attendance policy after review of state rules that can trigger county-attorney referral
Summary
Administrators told the board that state legislation designates students missing 10% of the school year (about 18 days) as chronically absent and that the district will apply a stepped notification process and handbook language; the board approved the updated attendance policy to align with the law.
The Atlantic Community School District board approved a revised attendance policy after administrators explained how recent state legislation changes will be implemented locally.
District leaders walked the board through a stepwise family-notification plan intended to prevent late escalation: checkpoints at roughly five and ten days of absence, and documentation procedures so families can provide doctor—xcuse notes where appropriate. Administrators emphasized that by law the designation of chronic absenteeism occurs at roughly 10% of the school year (about 18 days for a 177-day calendar) and that district staff will refer students meeting the chronic threshold to the county attorney if required.
One administrator noted that the district met with the county attorney to align procedures and said the legal process now intervenes later in the sequence than under previous practice. Board members discussed whether the handbook addition requires separate board-policy action; staff said the attendance language would be included in school handbooks and could be brought back as board policy if needed.
The board approved the attendance policy during the action-items portion of the meeting by roll-call vote (unanimous). The policy text included a provision that would allow rescinding open-enrollment status for students who open-enroll and later become chronically absent, a process administrators said was required to comply with state expectations and to protect resident students.
Why it matters: The change formalizes a reporting and family-notification structure that can lead to legal referral and affects students across the district. Administrators said the district will publish plain-language guidance on social media and in handbooks to help families track absences and keep documentation.
Next steps: Staff will finalize handbook language, publish explanatory materials for families, and implement the notification checkpoints at the start of the school year.
