Indiana lawmakers are calling for an overhaul of truancy and school attendance policies

Lawmakers released a report urging the Indiana Department of Education to investigate how schools define excused and unexcused student absences as the state tries to combat a rise in absenteeism.

It is up to local districts to decide which absences are justified in most cases. This means that policies differ depending on where a student goes to school. For example, illness is often an excused absence. But some school systems require a doctor’s note and others do not.

Advocates warn that the attendance policy could be unfair to students from low-income families and students of color, who are Their absence is more likely to be deemed unauthorized.

The recommendation came in a report released last week by an interim legislative committee focused on education. Interim committees meet when the legislature is not in session and typically study major issues facing lawmakers and make recommendations.

Lawmakers have also created several others suggestions regarding absenteeism and school discipline. The report recommends that the Education Department investigate when schools categorize the reason for student suspensions and expulsions as “other” and consider adding additional options. And it called on the state to consider a ban on suspending or expelling students as punishment for missing school.

Chronic absenteeism spiked during the pandemic, drawing the attention of educators, community advocates and politicians. State lawmakers passed a bill earlier this year that creates a template for how schools should respond when young students miss a lot of school without an excuse. That policy requires attending conferences and other interventions.

The law also calls on schools to do so Report students who are truant – meaning they missed ten days of school without an excuse – to the prosecutor.

But lawmakers have not apologized to high school students, or college students who are frequently absent.

Indiana schools are already making some progress in improving attendance. For the second year in a row Fewer Indiana students were chronically absent last academic year. Last school year, 17.8 percent of Indiana students were considered chronically absent.

Students are considered chronically absent if they miss 10 percent of the school year – about 18 days – even if those absences are excused.

The next session of the Indiana General Assembly begins in January.

Contact WFYI education reporter Dylan Peers McCoy at [email protected].