THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 17, 1995 TAG: 9512170072
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MANTEO LENGTH: Medium: 94 lines
An attendance policy enacted in October by the Dare County Board of Education has flunked a two-month trial, and will be grounded in the new year.
School Superintendent Leon Holleman said Friday the policy will be changed because of complaints by students, teachers, parents and administrators who contend the policy is inadequate.
``It will be changed next semester,'' Holleman said.
Holleman has asked Manteo Principal Everett Walterhouse and his faculty to come up with a series of recommendations for revisions.
``We asked the teachers to come up with those recommendations within certain parameters,'' Holleman said. ``One of those is that it has to comply with state law.''
Holleman acknowledged that neither the system's old policy nor the new one was effective.
``We had an old policy that didn't work and replaced it with a new policy that doesn't work,'' Holleman said. ``In defense of the board, no one wanted to do anything that was bad. They had the best interest of the schools at heart.''
The main criticism of the policy involves provisions on excused absences. Under the policy, students are granted an excused absence for a death in the immediate family, medical or dental appointments, quarantine, religious observances, immediate demand of farm or home, school-approved educational opportunities, court or administrative proceedings and suspensions or expulsions.
Including suspensions and expulsions is a specific area of concern. However, that portion of the policy, officials say, is consistent with State Department of Public Instruction policy. Local school officials say their hands are tied. If local boards fail to follow state statutes, board members and the superintendent can be subject to prosecution for a Class C misdemeanor.
``Most of the criticisms I've had concerns suspensions,'' said Dare County School Board Member Loretta Michael. ``But what people don't realize is that this is a state law. The law says that suspensions cannot be counted as an unexcused absence. Students who are suspended must be allowed to make up major tests and end-of-grade examinations.''
Holleman said the state provisions regarding suspensions are likely to be discussed at a meeting next month in Charlotte of superintendents and the North Carolina Board of Education.
``We have talked with the state department,'' Holleman said. ``It seems to be unclear as to what constitutes a suspended day. Well, it's like being pregnant, either you are or you aren't. The state board can change the law without legislative action.''
Holleman said some of the criticism rose from a concern that teachers were having to use their own time for students to make up missed work.
``We have vehicles in place to allow students to make up work at the convenience of the teacher. At Cape Hatteras we have the Homework Center, and at Manteo we have Saturday School. The policy that will be put in place will assure that students who are suspended will make up work not at their convenience, but at the convenience of school officials.''
The shape of the new policy is unclear. However, some school board members agree that a change needs to be made.
``There's no doubt there needs to be an adjustment,'' said board member Fletcher Willey. ``In business, if you try something and it doesn't work, then you have to try something else. I had some real concerns about the policy in the beginning.''
Along with the concerns about suspensions, Willey also would change one of the allowed excused absence criteria.
``I have a real problem with the `immediate demand of home and family,' provision,'' Willey said. ``You can look at the first day of deer season, and there are a lot of young men who are out of school. I'm really concerned about what might happen when surfing season begins.''
Holleman acknowledged that the family-demand portion of the policy has been abused in the past. The key, he said, will be to provide an avenue for students who work in family businesses, or who help care for ill family members.
``I think this is one area of the policy that can be misused,'' Holleman said. ``We have to see how we can write a policy to provide for those students who are legitimately needed at home.
Holleman said the biggest challenge will be establishing guidelines that provide positive reinforcement for students to attend class, and stay out of trouble.
``We've got to find real incentives for kids who come to school and who don't get into trouble,'' Holleman said. ``This policy was designed to help children who had legitimate long-term illnesses. We have to find a better way to gauge attendance, particularly at the secondary-school level. I think class attendance is the best way to do this.''
In October, the board passed the new policy by a 4-3 margin. Critics said the new rules wrongfully separated academic and behavior difficulties. Others said the new policy should not be put in place until next year. by CNB