Lawrence County parents are criticizing a new student absence policy that will simply mark children as present or absent and remove the "excused" or "unexcused" labels.
Parents shared their disapproval of the school board and Superintendent Michael Adkins in their efforts to crack down on school absences across the region. The new policy also notes that the school will start intervention after students have three absences and could petition the court for truancy after eight absences.
New Absent Policy
However, one parent, Jole Luallen, who has four children in the Lawrence County school system, pushed back against the new policy. Furthermore, Superintendent Adkins acknowledged the lack of clarity in the meeting and released a statement.
He said that doctors' notes excuse absences for truancy, but not chronically out of school. Adkins added that he could have separated clearly truancy and chronically out of school language better than how he did.
The superintendent noted that any parent who is concerned about the absentee policy should speak directly to their school principal about the matter. This comes as state data from the 2023-2024 state report card showed that roughly 15% of all Lawrence County students missed about 10% or more instructional days of school, according to Fox17.
Following the recent meeting about the new policy, many social media users expressed outrage, with some saying teachers should send students to Adkins' office to "throw up." Another user questioned where parents were when the policy was being passed and questioned the reasoning behind it.
A separate online user noted that if they had a kid studying in the school system with the new policy, they would quickly pull them out because officials were putting other students and parents at risk of potential illness.
Criticism From Parents
The new policy adds that school principals can add exemptions such as a death in the family, religious observance, court summons, school-endorsed or military activities, or circumstances out of the students' control, the Independent reported.
It also states that absence is permitted in cases of chronic illness, which is verified by a "licensed medical provider practicing in Tennessee." This would include pregnancy-related issues and births.
Now, more than 2,700 local residents have signed a petition seeking to overturn the new policy and have planned to protest at the next board meeting. Many of these individuals also expressed anger and concerns on a recently formed Facebook page, titled "We're Not Truant! Parents Against the Absence Policy," as per the Tennessee Lookout.
