Flexibility Needed for Attendance Requirements
A third of surveyed districts have had multiple days this school year where student attendance fell beneath the required 75% requirement, forcing some schools to close and others to risk losing state funding– despite staying open for in-person learning.
In a Monday press release, MEA and other education organizations explained why lawmakers must take urgent action to provide flexibility to attendance requirements. Read more about the survey findings, as well as examples of challenges some districts are facing due to the pandemic, school safety threats and winter weather.
Take a moment today to email your state legislator and urge them to provide attendance requirement flexibility for schools during this unprecedented year.
Our school district used 3 snow days due to school threats. I appreciate that our school and law enforcement officials took the threats seriously and executed thorough investigations with each threat, yet we had “snow days” before we even had snowy weather. In addition, we have had many days when we have had low student attendance as well as low staff attendance due to illness. I am praying for attendance flexibility to be applied to this unique situation this year. While last year we were teaching in person and virtually at the same time, this year has presented itself with new challenges all itself. It is a very, very stressful time for educators.
Districts shouldn’t be punished for students missing school! How do we even begin to get control of this? I have so many students absent! Not because of Covid, because parents aren’t sending them. Parents are the ones that need to be held responsible and have the consequences! More truancy pushing parents to get their kids to s school!
Why are districts being penalized when kids miss school? Especially, in the middle of a pandemic? Also, why are we losing our snow days due to this? It’s a shame. Maybe, if districts and the state did something to help parents, We’d had a better outcome.