DES MOINES, Iowa (Gray Media Iowa Capitol Bureau) – A high school student wants Iowa lawmakers to improve a law that is supposed to reduce chronic absenteeism.

Last year, 21% of Iowa students were absent more than 10% of the year according to the Iowa Department of Education. This figure is about 10% higher for students who are English learners, low-income or have a disability.

This year, lawmakers passed a bill to try to reduce chronic absenteeism.

Here’s how it works:

• If a student misses 10 percent of school in a semester, the district is required to report it to the county attorney and families are notified.
• If they miss 15% of school days, districts are required to create an action plan to prevent any additional absences.
• Finally, if a student misses 20% of the timethe student will be considered absent and county attorneys will make attendance mandatory.

When the law originally went into effect, it made no distinction between excused and unexcused absences. Districts now have discretion when reporting to county prosecutors.

The Iowa Department of Education judges districts based on criteria such as graduation rates, test scores and attendance. There is no difference between districts when they report their numbers to the state. Everything counts.

Isabella Wedge, a student at East High School in Sioux City, told the state school board this week that the law is unfair.

“With this policy, you are guilty until proven innocent. The only way to be exonerated is to go to court, which wastes funds better used to improve school conditions,” she said.

Wedge says the law doesn’t address the root causes of chronic absenteeism.

“This current policy is a bit like putting a bandage on an infected wound. Of course, everything seems fine from the outside, but the infection persists,” she said.

Vickie Murillo, Superintendent of Council Bluffs Community Schools wants lawmakers to clarify the new law in the next legislative session.

“It would be nice if we could differentiate chronic absenteeism between students and families who choose not to bring their children to school and be able to extract the number of days if there is a medical examination, which would be very very helpful for school districts to be able to do that at the federal level and at the state level,” she said.

Murillo also says districts don’t get enough state or federal support for chronically absent students.

“So it’s really us relying on outside agencies to help us after we make our calls, our home visits, you know, send emails, send letters. So that’s also a question that many districts are looking at: What happens if it doesn’t work once it’s passed to the county attorney? “, she said.

Murillo says the district launched a campaign called “Participate today. Achieve more tomorrow!” in an effort to increase attendance. She says the district has created promotional videos as part of their awareness campaign.

IN DEPTH: How Council Bluffs schools aim to reduce chronic absenteeism

The district also partnered with Hy-Vee. The grocer will offer parents a coupon for 10% off their entire grocery order and will give students a dozen free cookies if attendance is good.

Murillo says the campaign is off to a good start and participation is increasing. “At the elementary level, in six weeks, we had a 5 percent gain, in middle school we had a 4 percent gain and in high school we had a 3 percent gain,” she said.

Murillo says students tell him their favorite part about coming to school is seeing their friends, so they strive to create a welcoming environment.

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Conner Hendricks covers state government and politics for Gray Media-owned stations in Iowa. Send him an email to [email protected]; and follow him on Facebook at Conner Hendricks TV or on X/Twitter @ConnerReports.

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