ATTENDANCE CHANGES IN OUR STATE

MS. CORIE HARD AT WORK IN THE FRONT OFFICE; PHOTO BY CHAR EDMUNDS

After 14 full days or 28 half-days of absence, the county attorney will either approve or decline your reasoning for missing school, based on the justification provided. For example, if you miss school due to medical reasons, therapy, or appointments that cannot be rescheduled outside of school hours, those are typically not valid reasons to send someone to court. 

However, if you aren't attending school because your parents or guardians aren't making you or don't care to ensure you go, you will likely be sent to court. If you choose not to attend your court date, your parents may be required to pay a fine or serve time in jail. It is important to note that this law applies to the state of Iowa, not just Clear Creek Amana.

How could something like this affect a student? In some cases, students don't have control over whether they can make it to school. It's not always the student's responsibility to ensure they attend school; the parent or guardian should be held accountable for the child's attendance. Some families face emergencies that are out of their control. A family facing such an emergency should not be sent to court simply because the student missed 14 days of school. Additionally, studies have shown that missing two school days every month can negatively affect a student's learning abilities.

What is the importance of the new attendance policy? While I think it may be helpful to give students a choice between attending school or facing court, for those who occasionally miss school or who have no choice in missing school, the policy could negatively impact them and doesn't seem to be very helpful overall.

The majority of students surveyed about the new attendance policy did not care about it. However, those who have been impacted by it, or would have been if it existed earlier in their school careers, did care. Out of the 40 people who responded to the survey, 6 liked the new policy, 14 did not, and 17 did not care at all. Some of their responses will be shared in the next sentences, one from each category. The question asked was: “What is your opinion on the new attendance policy?” One person who agreed with the policy responded, “I agree with it.” Meanwhile, those who did care wrote more detailed responses. One person said, “I believe it should not be a thing. You never know what’s going on in someone’s life.” This response came from the same question. Those who didn’t care generally said things like, “I don’t care.”

The truancy law of Iowa states that any child between the ages of 5 and 16 must attend school. Excessive absences can lead to 10 days in jail, a $100 fine, or criminal charges (these will be filed against both parents/guardians).

In my opinion, the attendance law isn’t doing much for students. Since this law is out of Clear Creek's control, the principal cannot change it.