In trying to maintain an appropriate learning environment, there often are legitimate reasons for administrators to suspend or expel a student. Representing a physical threat or engaging in disruptive behavior can warrant removal of a troublemaker.
But Washington school officials are wise to change a policy that for years has treated chronic absenteeism as reason to suspend or expel a student. New rules from the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction will prevent schools from kicking a student out simply because they don’t show up. “Every day students are suspended or expelled is a day their education is disrupted,” state superintendent Chris Reykdal said.
The need for the change is readily apparent. As long as a frequently absent student acts appropriately when they do attend school, it is difficult to justify a reason for telling them they are unwelcome.
Meanwhile, Washington’s public schools continue to grapple with chronic absenteeism, which is defined as missing 18 or more days during the school year. In 2016-17, the state had one of the nation’s highest rates of chronic absenteeism, with 16.9 percent of students in public schools falling into that category. The Vancouver and Evergreen districts have slightly more chronic truancy than the state average. As the superintendent’s office notes: “Every absence, excused or unexcused, is a learning opportunity lost and can have significant impacts on a student’s success in school and life. … Addressing chronic absenteeism and developing good attendance habits is a solvable problem for which we all share responsibility.”
That responsibility begins with parents. While administrators, teachers and think tanks can debate ways to improve public education, an interest in learning begins at home and is crucial to a student’s ultimate success. To paraphrase an idiom, you can lead a child to school, but you can’t make them learn.
Washington’s attention to chronic absenteeism certainly is preferable to that taken in Washington, D.C. At Ballou High School, every member of the Class of 2017 graduated and was accepted to college. But an investigation revealed that half the students had been marked as absent for more than three months during the school year. The city council responded to the scandal by approving legislation that would allow students to graduate even if they were absent for more than six weeks. The mayor sensibly vetoed that legislation.
No scandal of that sort has been revealed in Washington schools, and suggesting that students should not be expelled for being absent is far different from saying they should be allowed to graduate. Standards for earning a diploma remain in place, and simply being present does not ensure graduation.
But there are benefits to welcoming students — even those who might not be on track to graduate — into school. Providing structure and peer engagement can be beneficial, and students prone to absenteeism often are those most in need of that structure.
That being said, schools must continue to focus on providing a nurturing environment for students who do want to learn. Administrators must work to ensure that students are not disruptive and do not impair the learning of classmates.
There are, indeed, valid reasons for a school to suspend or expel a student. But chronic absenteeism is not one of them.
