Tougher school attendance policy proposed

By Emily Richmond (contact)

Thursday, March 20, 2003 | 9:42 a.m.

If a bill in the Legislature wins approval, a note from Mom may no longer be enough to excuse students for missing class in Nevada public schools.

Members of the Committee on Human Resources and Facilities heard testimony Wednesday on Senate Bill 253, which would allow local school districts to set tougher standards for approving absences. After a set number of allowable absences is passed, parents or guardians would have to provide proof beyond the standard written excuse. Students would also have to complete makeup assignments.

Under current law, school administrators cannot penalize a student for excessive absences if a note from home is produced. That gives students the impression that an unlimited number of missed days is acceptable, Susan DeFrancesco, principal of Bonanza High School, said.

It's also an impression that makes it difficult to comply with tougher state and federal education requirements, DeFrancesco told the committee.

"We are being asked to meet higher standards," DeFrancesco said. "We cannot teach students if they are not in the classrooms."

Clark County schools currently allow up to 20 absences during the academic year, after which a student could lose credit or be held back from the next grade.

At Bonanza there's a clear correlation between attendance and academic achievement, DeFrancesco said. Of last year's freshman class, only one student with a grade point average of B or better was absent more than nine days during the year. That percentage jumped to more than 50 percent of the freshmen with grade point averages of D or worse, she said.

Craig Kadlub, director of public affairs for the Clark County School District, said a survey last year of teachers and administrators showed more than 75 percent listed the lenient attendance policy as a source of frustration.

The bill seeks to amend a 1999 statute that prohibits school districts from denying students class credit solely on the basis of their attendance records. The bill allows for extraordinary circumstances, such as prolonged physical or mental disability, or planned absences and gives parents the opportunity to appeal a school's decision.

Washoe County education officials also testified in support of the bill, as did Terry Hickman, president of the state's teachers' union.

A similar proposal backed by Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, was shot down by a legislative study committee in 1998. The same year the Clark County School Board faced harsh criticism for a proposal to fail students who missed 10 days of class, regardless of whether students produced a note from their parents.

No action was taken on the bill and no immediate date was set for further discussion.