Public school students in Cumberland County will face more severe consequences for missing school and stricter guidelines for excused absences starting Monday.
The new attendance policy is effective immediately for high school students. It will go into effect for middle and elementary school students in August at the start of the 2025-2026 school year.
According to the school district, the policy is aimed at addressing the school system’s high rate of chronic absenteeism.
As per the North Carolina State Board of Education, a student is considered chronically absent when they have missed at least 10% of all school days. In Cumberland County, about 35% of students meet that threshold. That means that approximately 7 out of every 20 students are chronically absent. The 2023 chronic absentee rate represents a 72.5% increase from pre-pandemic levels, according to the school system..
As per the revised policy, a student who misses 20 days of school will be automatically held back, unless their parent or guardian applies for and is granted a waiver for extenuating circumstances. In addition, elementary and middle school students are limited to 10 excused absences per year, while high school students are allowed 10 excused absences per semester.
Here is what else is in the policy:
- Absences will be considered unexcused unless a note from a parent or guardian, or a doctor, is provided within five days of the student’s return.
- If a student has accumulated over 20 unexcused absences, a parent or guardian can ask the school social worker for a waiver due to extenuating circumstances or valid illnesses. The school’s principal will have the ultimate say in deciding whether to approve the waiver.
- The policy makes exceptions for students who miss school because of documented chronic health problems.
Research shows chronic absenteeism can harm students and families years down the line. For example, a study from the Baltimore Education Research Consortium found that once a student reaches middle school, chronic absenteeism is a major indicator of whether the student is likely to drop out of high school.
Melody Chalmers McClain, associate superintendent for Student Support Services, said the new policy is designed to make sure students can “thrive academically, socially, and emotionally” by showing up to school on a consistent basis.
“Our goal is to ensure students are present and engaged in the classroom every day,” McClain said. “This policy is designed to promote accountability while providing support to families facing challenges.”
Contact Evey Weisblat at eweisblat@cityviewnc.com or 216-527-3608.
This story was made possible by donations from readers like you to CityView News Fund, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization committed to an informed democracy in Fayetteville and Cumberland County.
The absenteeism problem has skyrocketed because during Covid the school system basically told kids that attending school was not important. Kids were given academic credit when they didn’t even show up virtually for class. The whole thing was a joke and the kids knew it then and they remember it now. So do the parents. It is going to be an uphill battle to convince both students and teachers that school attendance is indeed important, and I don’t know that it will be won until all the “Covid kids” graduate and we have mostly kids who don’t remember how school was done during Covid. You can’t tell kids that attendance doesn’t matter for almost two years and then expect them to suddenly believe it does.
100% Agree.
Definitely a step in the right direction. But not only hold the student accountable, but 1st and foremost the parents as well. Parents need to be accountable for their children, it starts with the home base. Thank you.