The Iowa State Legislature is only looking at the big picture of overall attendance and not the specific reasons that students are chronically absent, so they are unable to come up with good plans to combat truancy. Instead, they have passed this nonsensical, unhelpful law that does nothing to fix the root causes of chronic absenteeism.
Chronic absenteeism, which peaked during the COVID-19 pandemic, has become a massive issue at schools around the country over the last four years. Students are going to school less, and while the attendance policy at City High hasn’t changed much to combat truancy, state laws have. Senate File 2435, the Iowa Legislature’s effort to fight back, was signed into law on May 9, 2024.
There are no longer excused and unexcused absences. Instead, the new state law calls for communicated, uncommunicated, and exempt absences. Communicated absences are defined as absences that have been communicated by a parent or guardian, such as doctors appointments. Uncommunicated absences are ones the school has not been informed of, like skipping. Exempt absences include but are not limited to medical and familial emergencies, religious reasons, and any excuse for sufficient reason by a court or judge.
A student becomes chronically absent after they miss 10% of school days in the current trimester. At City High, trimesters are 60 days long, so a student hits that mark after 6 days. Schools will send notifications to guardians when a student has reached 5% (3 days), 10% (6 days), and 15% (9 days) absent. The school is required by law to contact a county attorney once a student reaches 10% absenteeism in a trimester.
“When a student reaches 15% absenteeism in a grading period, a School Engagement meeting is required by Iowa law. An Absenteeism Prevention Plan will be created at the School Engagement meeting. The goal of this plan is to work together to resolve absenteeism, address attendance barriers, and assist the student in attending school,” reads the Iowa City Community School District’s page on attendance.
The root causes of chronic absenteeism are: barriers to attendance such as transportation issues, aversion to school which could be caused by struggling academically/behaviorally/socially, disengagement from school such as the need to work conflicting with their school schedule, and misconceptions about absences, according to Attendance Works.
The problem is that the State Legislature isn’t well equipped to make laws surrounding high school attendance. The average age of a member of the Iowa Legislature was 55 in 2023–a far cry from the 14-to-18-year-olds at City High School. Even if some state senators are former and current teachers, they are not here to understand current reasons of why students are skipping classes, which is a prerequisite for figuring out how to end chronic absenteeism.
Because communicated and uncommunicated absences are both treated as unexcused absences in the school system and on transcripts, there is fear surrounding missing school, even for a valid reason. Students who might have taken a mental health day or sick day before this year may not anymore because they are worried about how the absence will appear to colleges and the school.
If students have to attend school when they physically should not be at school, their grades, social life, and overall attitude about school will suffer. This is the opposite of what the new attendance bill is trying to achieve.
The Iowa State Legislature is going about this the wrong way. The real problem is that the students who are skipping class and are already chronically absent do not see a point in going to high school, especially if they’re not planning on any sort of higher education. It’s not the students who are taking five AP classes and need to go to school every day to get an A in their classes. It’s not the students who are sick and need to stay home. It’s the students who don’t think school is critical to their development as community citizens.
Change needs to start and be implemented internally, in school, where the students are. Schools should be talking more about alternative paths to college such as trade schools, certificate programs, apprenticeships, or other routes to motivate students who don’t see the need for school in their future. That is the best way to help students who are chronically absent realize how important middle school and high school attendance is.
Right now, chronic absenteeism is a huge issue in our community and across the nation. But the Iowa State Legislature is disconnected from the real people, in real public schools, who are being affected by its ineffective laws.
