Lang
2/27/25
Stricter state laws on truancy have apparently led to higher attendance numbers within the Iowa City Community School District.
The Iowa City school board was presented with statistics at its meeting earlier this week that show chronic absenteeism has decreased from 19.9% in the previous school year to 11% so far in 2024-2025. Those statistics come after Governor Kim Reynolds signed a new law that defines “chronically absent” as any absence from school for more than ten percent of the days or hours in a grading period. Under the law, if a child becomes chronically absent, a school official must notify the county attorney and the child’s parent or guardian by certified mail. If a child is absent from school for 15% or more of the days or hours in the grading period, a school official must investigate the cause and initiate a school engagement meeting.
Once the law was passed, the Iowa City district tightened its own truancy policies. That includes having the district contact parents or guardians. That contact had previously been initiated by individual schools.
The statistics presented to the school board this week also show an overall attendance increase from 93% in 2023-2024 to 95.3% so far in the current school year.
The current figures include January, which has a higher-than-average absentee rate due to winter illnesses.