State Board to Vote on Attendance Rules; PCSB Has Concerns

UPDATE: The State Board of Education (SBOE) decided Wednesday (4/17) to allow further public comments on the proposed rulemaking, tabling the issue until at least the time of their May meeting. PCSB will continue to work with the SBOE and to ensure that the final regulations are in the best interest of all stakeholders.

PCSB recognizes that attendance and truancy are important issues. PCSB tracks student absences and shares the data with city agencies and the public. We have also recently begun making these data public and are pleased to report that truancy rates at charter schools are lower this year than last.

The State Board of Education is also considering this issue, and is scheduled to hold a final vote the night of April 17 on rules pertaining to mandatory school attendance. PCSB strongly supports efforts to improve attendance and reduce truancy; however, we continue to have concerns about how these regulations may impact PCSB’s oversight of public charter schools.

We have shared PCSB’s concerns, and also made suggestions to the State Board, most recently in an April 15 letter and look forward to working collaboratively with Office of the State Superintendent of Education and the State Board on effectively addressing this issue.

UPDATE: The State Board of Education (SBOE) decided Wednesday (4/17) to allow further public comments on the proposed rulemaking, tabling the issue until at least the time of their May meeting. PCSB will continue to work with the SBOE and to ensure that the final regulations are in the best interest of all stakeholders.