NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – A local school district said doctor’s notes will no longer excuse your child’s absence.
The Lawrence County School System said the policy is aimed at improving the district’s attendance rate, but many parents are against it.
Rebecca Sanchez said her 10-year-old daughter got sick a lot last year.
“Between the strep throat and the flu, I can say she missed about 17 days,” Sanchez said.
If her daughter is absent for even half of that time this coming school year, it will now result in a referral to Lawrence County Juvenile Court for truancy.
“I have never been for or against homeschool, but because of this new policy, it has definitely changed my mind,” Sanchez said.
Under the Lawrence County School System’s new attendance policy, doctor’s notes will no longer excuse an absence. Students will now just be marked absent or present.
The policy states that after three absences, schools will start intervention. If the student keeps missing school, eight or more days, there will be a juvenile court referral.
“You can fail the grade,” Director of Schools Michael Adkins said during the district’s June school board meeting. “You can fail the course. You are going to be petitioned to court. You are not going to participate in graduation, get your driver’s license or permit.”
Adkins also said during the meeting, “We are going to take control of the attendance of our students. You can bring all the doctor’s notes you want, but it is still unexcused.”
While there will be exemptions for verified chronic illnesses and several other things, Adkins and other district officials said during June’s meeting that students need to learn reliability and work ethic.
“If you have the sniffles, that is fine,” Adkins said during the meeting. “You are going to have them when you go to work one day. We have all gone to work sick and hurt and beat up.”
The district sent a letter last week to local medical providers asking them to “emphasize the importance of regular school attendance while treating school-aged patients.” The letter went on to say that “medical notes excusing students for two or more days can unintentionally imply the students should remain home even after their health improves.”
If a child goes to school sick and the school nurse sends that child home, Adkins said that will be marked as tardy.
“How does that make sense? “ Sanchez asked. ”As a parent, how can we give someone else the right to say what is wrong with our child?”
We reached out to multiple local districts about their attendance policies. Metro, Rutherford, Wilson, Williamson, and Clarksville-Montgomery County Schools all told us that they accept doctor’s notes to excuse absences.
“A doctor’s note would be accepted but wouldn’t necessarily be required,” a spokesperson for Metro Nashville Public School’s said.
“A doctor’s note would be required if there are more than five days absent: To maintain satisfactory attendance and the best chance of accomplishing academic growth and achievement, MNPS recommends a maximum of five (5) parent/guardian excuse notes. Any other absences will need to have a doctor’s note or proof of a positive COVID test to excuse the absence”
The attendance policy for MNPS can be found here.
A spokesperson for Clarksville Montgomery-County School System told us they have a similar policy. “We also accept up to 5 notes from parents for any reason to be excused and we have some additional provisions, a spokesperson for CMCSS said.
Sanchez said she is bracing for the new school year that is now less than two weeks away. “Ultimately, I am going to do what is right for my kid regardless of this policy,” Sanchez said.
Lawrence County Schools said the new policy is to address the chronic absenteeism the district has. The state tracks this: absences for any reason, including those that are excused.
The most recent state data for the 2023-2024 school year showed that about 14% of all Lawrence County School System’s students had chronic absenteeism, meaning they missed 10% or more of instructional days.
We checked out several other local districts. Their percentages of students with chronic absenteeism for the 2023-2024 school year can be found below:
Williamson County Schools: 8.6%
Rutherford County Schools: 12.2%
Lewis County Schools: 12.7%
Lawrence County Schools: 13.8%
Wilson County Schools: 15.3%
Giles County Schools: 18.1%
Clarksville-Montgomery County Schools: 19.4%
Maury County Schools: 21%
Wayne County Schools: 21.2%
Metro Nashville Public Schools: 27.8%
Some Lawrence County parents also expressed concern about the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services getting involved if they are referred to court for truancy. A DCS spokesperson told us that DCS might get involved in a truancy case that goes through juvenile court if there is a referral made to DCS for educational neglect. The other reason would be if a judge refers the family to DCS. “It would be a family services case where we would work with the family on any issue they may be running into in getting their child to school,” the DCS spokesperson said. “We are not involved in every truancy case. It is very much a case-by-case thing.”
Read the full letter from Lawrence County Schools to local and regional healthcare providers below:
