Indiana lawmakers call for review of school truancy and attendance policies

Lawmakers issued a report urging the Indiana Department of Education to study how schools define excused and unexcused absences of students, as the state attempts to combat a surge in absenteeism.

It’s up to local districts to decide what absences are excused in most cases. That means policies are different 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 attendance policies can be unfair to students from low-income families and students of color, who are more likely to have their absences labeled as unexcused.

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

Lawmakers also made several other suggestions related to absenteeism and school discipline. The report recommended that the education department study when schools categorize the reason for student suspensions and expulsions as “other” and consider adding additional options. And it called for the state to consider a ban on suspending or expelling students as a punishment for missing school.

Chronic absenteeism surged during the pandemic — drawing focus from educators, community advocates and politicians. State lawmakers approved a bill earlier this year that creates a template for how schools should respond when young students miss lots of school without an excuse. That policy requires attendance conferences and other interventions.

The law also calls for schools to report students who are truant — meaning they have missed 10 days of school without an excuse — to the prosecutor.

But lawmakers did not address high school students, or students who have lots of absences with excuses.

Indiana schools are already making some progress in improving school 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 starts in January.

Contact WFYI education reporter Dylan Peers McCoy at dmccoy@wfyi.org.