House panel tables bill targeting chronic tardiness

By Donna-Jo Webster
Capital News Service

RICHMOND -- Although it won unanimous support in the Senate, a bill to address chronic tardiness with regards to compulsory school attendance has been put aside by the House Education Committee.

Senate Bill 672 required the state Board of Education to put forth regulations defining chronically late students. The legislation was approved 37-0 by the Senate on Jan 31.

Sen. Mark D. Obenshain, R-Harrisonburg, sponsor of the bill, said he was asked by a number of Shenandoah Valley attendance officers to introduce the legislation.

"We have a real problem with truancy," he told the House Education Committee. "We're not trying to address chewing gum in the halls."

He defined chronic absenteeism as being out of school without justification for five days or more. Chronic tardiness, he said, means arriving for school more than one hour late without a reason.

Delegate Philip A. Hamilton, R-Newport News, wrestled with the meaning of tardiness.

"If a kid goes to the restroom and stays longer than he should, is that tardiness?" he asked legislators.

School attendance is required by state law. Students are expected not only to show up, but to be on time. This allows students to both absorb the classroom materials and develop habits of punctuality, responsibility and self-discipline.

Currently, schools must make an effort to contact parents or guardians whenever a student is absent, in an effort to ensure that parents are aware of the situation. Contact is usually made by clerical workers or school volunteers, although some schools use prerecorded telephone messages.

Five unexplained absences warrant direct contact with parents by the school's attendance officer, at which time consequences of further absences are discussed.

If the attendance problems persist, the schools may take action, including in-person conferences with parents and, in some cases, referrals to juvenile courts.

Obenshain wanted chronic tardiness to be included with absenteeism and subject to the same consequences.

However, last week some members of the House Education Committee argued that policies regarding the definition of chronic tardiness had been discussed earlier. They said issues of tardiness should be handled at the school district levels, and not become part of state law.

"We addressed this policy five or six years ago and discussed the issue then," Hamilton said. "We made the decision then not to include tardiness, but let the school districts handle it. The bill would require more clerical help in the schools."

After discussion, the Education Committee voted to table the bill. By doing so, the issue is unlikely to be raised again this session.