Modifying Board Policy on Attendance for Alternative High School Students: A Policy Advocacy Document

<p> This proposed policy advocates for students in alternative high school programs to have flexible school day schedules according to Illinois State Board of Education compulsory attendance laws. Students in alternative high school programs are often referred for chronic truancy. Most school board policies state that all students need to attend school for the entire 300 minutes of the instructional day because when students do not attend for a full day or a half-day (150 minutes) the district is penalized in the amount of general state aid. This is all too often the case with students enrolled in a district’s high school alternative program. To address this issue, this policy advocates for a flexible schedule. With a modified attendance policy, students would be able to attend school for 180 minutes of instruction and 120 minutes of supplemental services to meet their needs. By having a flexible school day schedule, alternative high school programs can not only focus on attendance, but also develop the skills students need to be college and career ready. The flexibility in scheduling will also increase the funding for school districts because a full day of instruction can be reported based on the fact that the student is receiving 180 minutes per day of instruction and 120 minutes of supplemental services, rather than just reporting a half day of attendance or losing a day for no attendance at all. </p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Ed.D. Doctor of Education

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation - Public Access

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Educational Leadership

Year dc:date.available

2016

Author dc:creator

• Gruhn, Janine E.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Dr. Norman Weston
• Dr. Jack Denny
• Dr. Valerie Owen

• Attendance
• Alternative Program
• High School Students
• Policy Advocacy
• Educational Leadership

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/203

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.nl.edu:diss-1212