PORTAGE | When that familiar first bell rings Wednesday, students better be in their seats.
Portage Township School Board members approved a revised attendance policy for elementary and middle school students in May that places strict guidelines on students and serious consequences on parents who aren't making sure children are in class.
Superintendent Mike Berta said an increasing number of students with excessive absences required a hard-line stance.
"It really tightens up our expectations across the district and it's based on our expectation that kids will be in school," he said.
Under the revised policy, when an elementary or middle school student accumulates between five and nine absences, the building principal can require the student to complete two hours of make-up time. When the student racks up 10 absences, he or she will be considered habitually truant and the accountability shifts largely to the parents.
Mirroring the Indiana Compulsory Attendance Act, parents could face a visit from uniformed police officers, have children placed outside of the home or face criminal charges for not getting their child to school.
"We have had experiences with students who don't show up for school, and they should be here," Berta said. "Mom and dad have a responsibility to get them to school."
Berta said the exact ramifications for parents with truant students will be worked out on a case-by-case basis as administrators determine the best course of action and determine whether each absence had a valid cause.
"As many variations as you have in kids, there are as many reasons for absences," he said.
In order to have an absence excused, parents will need to provide the school with documentation within 48 hours or notify the school office on the day of the absence to report an illness.
Berta said when he was a building administrator in the late 1980s, it was unusual to have students out of class for long stretches of time, but it's becoming more common. Last school year, Portage had about 650 students miss 10 or more days of instruction.
