The Warren County R-III School Board last Thursday voted to rescind its adoption earlier this summer of a new policy intended to put sharp teeth in the high school’s attendance rules.

Administrators contend the new policy needs further review and refinement before it is fully implemented.

As they reviewed various scenarios associated with the new policy, administrators feared implementation would be “unmanageable.” Instead they feel a more comprehensive, finely tuned approach that introduces serious consequences in the form of credit loss for a set number of unexcused absences and incidences of tardiness while not making the rules so punitive that kids lose motivation for showing up.

Administrators also want to address some of the complexities of modern-day living situations in which many students do not reside with parents or guardians who can vouch for the child’s legitimate absence due to illness.

While a new policy is being studied, the high school will return to its previous rules on attendance that went into effect in 2008.

The new policy, approved earlier this summer, had called for students who miss more than nine class periods in a particular course to risk not receiving credit for the class. After nine class absences, which may include tardiness, the policy stated that student and parents must meet with an attendance committee at a hearing to review the circumstances and to decide outcomes for the absences, including possible loss of credit.  

During the public comment portion of the meeting, parent Cheryl Parsons said the new attendance policy would pose unfair restrictions on students and families with chronic illnesses and or who need extended absences around a death or illness in the family.

“At times when families already may be going through significant ordeals, this policy just adds more stress,” said Parsons, who also said she believes the policy will discourage some students from attending out-of-town competitions in courses like vo-tech. 

Parsons also hoped the proposed policy would not encourage kids who are sick to come to school.

“We already see enough dehydrated, Tylenol-loaded kids coming to school when they should be home recovering from the flu,” she said.

Warrenton High School Principal Jeremy Way told the board that as he and other administrators examined the realities of the new policy, it became apparent that it would be difficult to implement as written.

“When we looked at how many students would be in this (credit-loss) situation using last year’s attendance records, we found that 294 kids would have been required to attend individual hearings to discuss loss of credit,” Way said. “Taking teachers and department head personnel out for that amount of meetings would be unmanageable. Also, if we say you’re going to lose the credit, we need to think about what the student’s motivation would be to keep coming to class after he or she hits that credit-loss mark.”

Way and Assistant Principal Sharyl Kelsch said they recognize the need to address legitimate absences in the policy, including waivers for medical conditions, doctor appointments, college visits and other warranted situations.

Kelsch and Way said they would like to take more time to more thoroughly investigate how other districts are handling the issue, with the goal of having the new policy approved and in place for the second semester beginning in January. As school starts this week, the student handbook included an insert that stated the attendance policy would be the same as last year.

“We really worry about having a policy that would end up being impossible to implement or that ends up having no teeth,” Way said.

Administrators and the board also want to address the issue of tardiness in the policy. That too, they acknowledged, is problematic. 

“You’re setting yourself up for failure if you have a policy that counts students absent if they’re late for class,” board member Dale Schowe said. “We don’t want kids deciding that if they’re 10 minutes late for class and going to be counted absent for the class session, they might as well not go at all and spend the time at McDonald’s.”

Final-Exemption Policy Remains a ‘Go’

The high school will move ahead with its final-exemption policy approved this summer by the school board. 

The policy rewards students who have a strong attendance track record in classes with the ability to skip final exams if they choose. The new policy states that a student who misses 14 or fewer hours of school and who has at least an 83 percent grade average in a particular class can be exempt from finals in that class. 

Students may take the final with the understanding that the test can only help instead of hurt their grade. 

Students who meet the attendance requirements and who achieve advanced or proficient scores on End-Of-Course (EOC) exams issued by the state, also can be exempt from the final exam that the teacher issues at the end of the semester.