THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, June 23, 1995 TAG: 9506220184
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALETA PAYNE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
Starting in the fall, students in Virginia Beach's public schools risk failing grades if they collect too many absences, even if they have their parents' permission to miss school.
At its Tuesday meeting, a divided School Board voted to adopt a revised absence and truancy policy with provisions that include:
Sixth- through 12th-graders with more than 12 absences from a class in a semester will receive a failing grade.
Sixth- through 12th-graders with alternate day or block schedules and more than six absences from a class in a given semester will receive a failing grade.
Elementary pupils with more than 24 absences in one year may be denied promotion on the authority of the principal.
The policy applies to both excused absences - when the student has been sick, had a death in the family or such, and the parent writes a note explaining the absence - and unexcused absences. However, the schools will have a waiver process so students and their parents can appeal penalties for excess absences.
Board members discussed the new policy at length, citing concerns about forcing families to go through a waiver process when the parents already had documented the absences, penalizing excused and unexcused absences the same way and penalizing students who may have missed classes but still manage to get good grades.
``I feel like we're making a mistake in penalizing kids twice,'' said board member Robert Hall, who called the policy ``demotivating.''
Board member Donald Bennis argued that ``I, as a parent, should be able to write a note for an absence . . . and that shouldn't have to go through the waiver process.''
But member Susan Creamer supported the policy.
``We're trying to teach our students and get them ready for the real world, for the working world,'' she said. ``We keep looking at (the policy) as a penalty for our students. It's a motivation for our students.''
Chairwoman June Kernutt concurred. ``Every job I've ever had, attendance played a big part in whether you did a good job or not.''
The previous board policy allowed considerably more discretion on the part of principals in penalizing students for excess absences. It did not mention failing students, but suggested options such as restricting participation in school activities or suspension.
All but one of the city's high schools had developed their own attendance and truancy policies in recent years. So a committee of parents, teachers and administrators was formed to recommend a single, unified policy for all.
June Otis, a parent with children at Kempsville and Kellam high schools, knows how confusing differing policies can be. But, she's still not thrilled with the idea of having to seek a waiver for excused absences - a process she's already been through at both schools in the past school year.
``The waiver is a pain in the neck,'' she said. ``I'm really a very ethical person. It really bothers me that they don't take my word that my child is sick these days.''
The policy passed on a vote of seven to three with one abstention, but the board members asked the committee to develop guidelines for the waiver process and present them at a future meeting.
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA BEACH SCHOOL BOARD by CNB