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ELKINS -- A parent criticized the Randolph County Schools system's attendance policy, and a Board of Education official provided information about the policy during the most recent BOE meeting.
Missy Anello, a parent of a county student, addressed the policy during the public comment section of the meeting.
"We have kids that get sick and you guys say they can only miss six days a year," said Anello. "A girl came home Friday from Elkins High School with COVID. How many days is she going to miss? And you all are going to fail her because the kids can only miss three days a semester. That's ridiculous."
The current policy states that a student can have five unexcused absences during the school year. If the pattern continues beyond 10 unexcused absences, the attendance director may file a complaint with Randolph County Magistrate Court for truancy.
Excuses must be provided within three days of the students returning to school. When a student misses 18 days during the year they are considered chronically absent.
The Randolph County Board of Education voted during the meeting to send the policy out for a 30-day comment period that allows the public to provide feedback on what they like or dislike about it. After that information is collected, the board will have a conversation about the attendance policy and discuss whether any changes need to be made.
The current attendance policy can be downloaded for review at http://boe.rand.k12.wv.us/.
Also during the meeting, Rochelle Chenoweth, the county's attendance director, made an informational presentation to the board and discussed what she had learned during a state conference that she attended in May.
Chenoweth pointed out that she had nothing to do with creating the county's policy, and said the state conference brought county school systems together for discussion.
"The purpose of that conference was to discuss our needs as far as attendance goes," she said. "The state really wants counties to push attendance, having incentives and stressing importance. Because if a student misses 18 days or more, whether it's excused or unexcused, that's considered chronically absent."
During the conference, counties were given the task of creating a countywide motto on attendance and were asked to send out a letter to parents that lists excused and unexcused absences. One of the letters sent out by Chenoweth has a color chart that allows parents to track the number of days their children are absent.
Chenoweth also told the board that September was Attendance Awareness Month, and that a poster contest will be offered for students who are in grades kindergarten through 12.
"We are asking students to create posters and we are going to judge them and recognize those who win and participate," said Chenoweth. "We will also display the posters. That way we get the message out there in a much more fun way than just hearing it from an adult."
Chenoweth presented information to the BOE on last year's attendance data, listing all the reasons students gave for missing school.
"We know that there are reasons for students to miss," said Chenoweth. "But we still want to collectively try to get those numbers lower and get our kids in school. So we are going to use the data as our baseline and see what goes on this year, then compare our data throughout the school year. We will keep you updated through the school year."
Board member Rachel Anger asked if Chenoweth had any knowledge of what the attendance policies were in surrounding counties.
"When you look at the chronically absent, we have schools that are in the high 20s and 30% chronically absent," she said. "Sometimes some of these policies look good on paper. But are they reaching the kids who are actually chronically absent, or is it just creating anxiety and issues for the kids that typically go?"
She then asked Chenoweth if the county's policy was different from the state policy.
"There's actually not a lot of difference, it's pretty basic as far as what's excused," Chenoweth said. "Everybody is really in the same boat as far as the percentages and everything that has been happening since COVID… Counties do use the state guidelines to develop their policies."
Chenoweth said the letter she is sending out explains everything parents need to know.
"Once 10 days are unexcused, that can go toward magistrate court and truancy charges," said Chenoweth. "There still seems to be some confusion and delays in students getting excuses. We are just trying to educate and get that information out there so more people are aware of what's going on."
Board member Dr. Phil Chua said he had some issues with the current attendance policy and its push to get the kids to attend school even if they are sick.
"I agree in principle with keeping people in school, but I think creating more motivation for kids to come to school when they are sick is not a good idea," said Chua. "You're making people make a decision, and I went through it with my own kid, who had Type 1 diabetes.
"We had to decide when she could miss, and when she couldn't, because we didn't want to hit 19 days missed. But I have to tell you, with a kid with Type 1 diabetes, it's not that easy. She spent a week in hospital and the next year she got knocked down the ladder…
"So this attendance policy strikes me very strongly, and when I did run for this position, one of the reasons I ran is there's a lack of flexibility within the program to make up for people who can't fit the normal structure of school," Chua said. "There are kids who are chronically ill for one reason or another and they do have Chrome Books, they can get home assignments. And if those kids can complete their work and can continue to get their grades, I don't know why we should give them extra anxiety about seeing magistrate court."
Chenoweth said the only way someone would be sent to magistrate court over attendance is if those days missed were unexcused.
"A doctor's note can be written for someone with a chronic condition and there's a different attendance code for that," Chenoweth said. "Illness and those types of conditions will not count toward truancy."
Chua said the parents needed to know the policy, and that it needed to be made clear to all of them.
"We need to make that clear, because I have people telling me they are sending their kids to school sick," Chua said. "It needs to be made clear that there are things out there like that. We need to have more flexibility out there for parents."
Randolph County BOE meetings are held on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 5:30 p.m.