School Committee members on April 30 pressed administration for clearer language about absences and how those rules connect to the student handbook and DESE reporting requirements.

During review of the consent agenda, School Committee member Sharon asked for clarification about a policy (redline labeled policy JH) that would require parents to provide a written explanation for student absences or tardiness. Sharon said she was concerned that the drafts language about providing a written explanation could be misread as automatically excusing absences, and she described a real-case example in which a student had influenza and a subsequent medical note changed how prior absences were recorded.

Superintendent Kirk Downing and staff explained that operational practice differs from the policy language and that the policy reflects statutory and regulatory reporting requirements. Administrators told the committee that the district must report absences to DESE and that the district reports absentee counts rather than coding whether each absence is excused or not for the statewide report. Committee members emphasized the human side: several members (including Sharon and Jackie) said the districts operational response should avoid frightening or punitive messages to families who are dealing with illness, medical needs or school-refusal situations.

The policy also references a DESE-related process that can lead to unenrollment after 10 consecutive days. Committee members asked whether that unenrollment procedure is an operational practice or a policy requirement; administrators confirmed the regulation exists but said their local practice has been to work with families and not to immediately unenroll students and that school staff typically take multiple steps before removing a student from the rolls.

The policy subcommittees redline included notes from the Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC) about DESE minimum requirements; members agreed those notes reflected items appropriate for inclusion in student handbooks rather than codified policy language. Several members asked that handbook language be reviewed alongside the policy to ensure policies and operational practices align. The committee decided to move the consent agenda forward while acknowledging members requests to crosswalk the policy language with handbook procedures. One committee member asked for a brief follow-up or an asterisk in committee materials to note the need to address handbook crosswalks.

Members flagged two distinct issues: (1) the policy must meet DESEs minimum reporting requirements and (2) the day-to-day implementation and family communications (how and when parents are notified, how medical notes are processed, and how school refusal is handled) should be clarified in the student handbook and administrative procedures. Administration said it will bring handbook language and operational protocols to upcoming meetings (the high-school handbook discussion was scheduled for May 28) and that a personnel/operations follow-up will take place to ensure families receive supportive, not punitive, outreach when students are absent for extended periods.