KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – There will be new rules in Kalamazoo Public Schools when the second trimester begins.
The district will institute a new policy on absenteeism after the Thanksgiving holiday. It will be targeted at chronic truants.
Superintendent Dr. Darrin Slade says too many students are missing too much school.
He says their rates are comparable to other similar districts.
He says absenteeism has gotten worse everywhere since the pandemic.
Slade is proposing an escalating series of responses as the number of days missed add up.
After ten days of absences, a remedial plan will be drafted by school attendance committees, and after missing 15 days per trimester, it will be taken up by central staff.
Dr. Slade says if a student misses enough days they may be attending summer school next year, or worst case held back in the same grade next fall.
He says parents will also be held responsible for their child missing school.
He knows it’s not a popular policy with some parents, but it has to be done. Trustees expressed their support for the changes. Slade says they will also start requiring doctors notes for prolonged absences due to illness and tightening up other attendance rules, as well after Thanksgiving.
Dr. Slade says it will solve a lot of problems for the students and for the district if all students are in class where they belong.
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