Committee narrows language for attendance policy: remote instruction, McKinney‑Vento protections and make‑up work

The committee reviewed proposed edits to the district’s student attendance policy. Members revised a sentence to make clear that students in temporary housing who are covered by the McKinney‑Vento Homeless Assistance Act "will not face negative consequences for absences related to their housing" and agreed to relocate the sentence to the section on McKinney‑Vento for clarity.

Committee members and administrators debated definitions for remote, virtual and blended instruction. Staff recommended defining remote instruction as district‑provided synchronous instruction on remote‑instruction days (for emergency closures or home‑hospital instruction), virtual instruction as courses designed to be delivered fully in a virtual environment, and blended instruction as a mix of virtual and in‑person delivery. Several members proposed removing model language drawn from NISBA because the district currently does not administer district‑run virtual or blended courses and including it could confuse expectations for externally administered programs.

On attendance tracking during remote instruction, staff said asynchronous assignments are allowable but teachers must have synchronous touchpoints (for example, attendance checks and instructional check‑ins) during the scheduled instructional period. Members asked staff to clarify that required interaction applies for each school day remote instruction is in session, not on weekends or holidays.

The committee also asked whether students who miss class because of school‑sponsored activities (field trips, music lessons, interscholastic events) are guaranteed full credit on make‑up assignments. Administrators said the grading policy currently guarantees a "reasonable opportunity" to complete missed work for excused absences; they recommended adding the full‑credit detail to the grading regulation rather than the attendance policy text.

Finally, the committee debated whether policy language requiring administration to "revise" building‑level practices was too prescriptive and agreed to soften the language to require administration to "address" building practices and interventions, preserving flexibility for implementation. Staff will produce a revised draft for the committee’s next meeting on June 4.