Jennifer Moonsong
WCLU News Director
Kentucky has a new law in place to help with school truancy, and there is now a statewide campaign called “Attendance Matters”.
Each local school has its own attendance policies in place, but generally speaking a student who has an unexcused absence for three days or more is considered truant.
Each school system also has a certain number of excused days in place which are allowed. What constitutes as an excused or unexcused absence is shared in each school system’s handbook, which is updated annually.
House Bill 611 requires school officials to file a complaint against a parent/ guardian of a child who has missed more than 15 days of school without an excuse. In the event that the student is 16 or 17 years old, they may also report the information to the Transportation Cabinet for the purpose of revoking driving privileges.
The Metcalfe County school system is actively participating in the campaign, and Superintendent Josh Hurt addressed the matter in an open letter to parents and students.
“Poor attendance was an issue seen across the state and country. I think the legislature is trying to rally parents and community members to make sure kids get to school. We are pleased to support that,” Hurt said.
According to the Kentucky Department of Education, students across the state struggle with being present in school on a regular basis.
“Across Kentucky almost 30% of students were chronically absent in the 2022-2023 school year,” said the department, in a statement regarding recent truancy findings.
However, Kentucky is not alone. An average of 14 million students nationwide have been chronically absent, and when it comes to specific demographics, those numbers are categorically higher in family suffering from economic strikes, and homelessness.
To learn more about the statistics, and the goals set forth for Kentucky school systems, visit education.ky.gov
