The Hidden Toll: How Attendance Policies cause Stress for Chronically Ill Students

By: Izzie Ping

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 Emails, letters, and warnings of truancy from school officials. If you have received an uptick in these notices for attendance violations – you’re not alone. The Prince William County school district has cracked down on accepted attendance absences– both excused and unexcused. But while the school board has well intentions for their updated policies - have they gone too far with the execution and “strong wording” of these warnings?

   A Rundown of the Current Policy

   As defined by the PWCS website, chronic absenteeism is declared when a student misses 10% of the school year (for any reason). The current school year in PWCS falls around 180 days, eighteen would be needed to be missed to declare a chronic absentee. As expected, this includes unexcused absences, although the policy currently considers excused absences counting towards that number. Generally, families have been receiving notices around the halfway mark of this number, including the dates missed and potential consequences of said truancy. At this point, individual schools may reach out to the affected families at their discretion. 

   What school officials want you to know 

   Although these notices appear to be signed off by the principal, these are automated messages sent by the district rather than Colgan individually. Colgan therefore cannot prevent these letters being sent to families and the administration and counsellors have said that they will continue to advocate for all students on a case-by-case basis. When asked about the topic, Assistant Principal Chad Cavender informed me that “We have noted the strong language on the letters being sent out and we are hoping for changes in the future of how these notices are worded”. 

   When the policy gets problematic 

   Currently, it is estimated by the National Institute of Health that 2 million adolescents in America are living with a chronic condition each year, me being one of them. I was the statistic the school boards didn’t account for when sending these daunting emails and reducing the accepted absences (especially excused ones). Living with a chronic illness is hard enough, having to plead my case over and over despite my documented health history is additionally exhausting. The school board is well intentioned, but the school board does not see the numerous ER visits, flare ups, and daily pain the comes in to making the decision if I’m well enough to attend school. The chronically ill population aren’t the only students affected either. COVID, still with evolving and unpredictable variants, can easily keep a healthy student out of school for a week or two. 

   Policy vs. Code, and Final Thoughts 

   Not everyone reads over the details separating policy from code, but understanding the difference can provide students and their families with some reassurance about academic actions to take following these letters. Policy is created by individual school districts like PWCS, whilst the government of Virginia is responsible for creating the code of law that applies to all students in the state. Policy can have specific provisions in school districts, like the number of dates that can be missed, or potential consequences, and Code of Law can specific exemptions that must be considered and exceptions for said policies and consequences.  Even if there are loopholes to navigating the attendance system with the support of our wonderful counselors and admin, it shouldn’t be this difficult. Rather than focusing on scare tactics, making school a more accessible and flexible environment for students that need additional support could prevent the learning gaps created by time out of school.