‘It’s alarming:’ Orange County school leaders want to curb spike in chronic absences

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — The number of children regularly missing school is up in Central Florida, and right now leaders are trying to figure out why.

Data presented to district leaders shows Orange County Public Schools has a problem with chronic absenteeism.

▶ WATCH CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS

Orange County Public Schools says a student is chronically absent if they’ve missed 21 days in a school year. The latest available data shows 27 percent of Orange County students met that benchmark in the 2021-2022 school year. That’s higher than the state average which was 21 percent that year.

School board members discussed the “alarming” data during a meeting Tuesday.

“I think if we understand it better, we can fight the problem,” said Melissa Byrd, the District 7 Orange County Public Schools Board member.

Read: Former Orange County middle school teacher arrested on child porn charges

The data presented to OCPS school board members shows the problem spiked during the pandemic, but has not decreased.

In the 2018 -2019 school year 20 percent of OCPS high school students were chronically absent. In 2020, that percentage climbed. By the 2021-2022 school year, 38 percent of high school students were chronically absent.

A similar trend played out for younger students, including elementary and middle schoolers.

Read: Orange County students voice concerns about new guidelines restricting research surveys

“Part of the problem is that students can make up their work and teachers are incredibly liberal with that make-up time,” Superintendent Maria Vasquez said.

However, this school year the district wants to reverse the trend. They’re hiring a truancy interventionist. Whoever fills that new position will track absences, promote attendance awareness, and work with students and families who are struggling.

Read: Orange County Schools guidelines restrict AP students surveying on ‘controversial topics’

The district is also working to change how parents are notified when absences are becoming a problem. Currently, Connect Orange calls are sent at end of the day notifying parents when their student is marked absent.

When students get five unexcused absences in a month, 10 in 90 day calendar period, or 15 total unexcused absences, a warning letter is placed into the student’s portal and mailed to families.

But leaders say they are exploring ways to implement more personalized and direct communication with families.

Read: Orange County Public Schools releases guidance on student pronouns, restroom rules

“We’ve got to do a better job of communicating directly to the family,” said Executive Area Director Greg Moody.

An OCPS spokesperson notes that there is already a truancy team in place working with the students and families who are habitually absent. That team is made of over a hundred social workers, a staff attorney, and specialized staff members.

But this year, leaders want to see it go beyond that team.

“Families got to know that we care, families got to know that we support them, and families got to know that their kids have got to be in school,” said Moody.

Read: Orange County schools to work on plan to limit students from using cell phones

According to Moody, some of the reasons for absences include health issues, personal stress, and adult responsibilities. Some school board members also wondered how an ongoing bus driver shortage was contributing to the problem.

“We know we as a district are not anywhere near serving the transportation requirements for all of our families,” said District 4 School Board Member Maria Salamanca. “It’s hard if a parent relies on the bus to pick up their kid and they’re not being picked up several times, then those days start to add up.”

Read: Orange County Public Schools offering bonuses for new, current bus drivers

School board members directed staff to explore how often transportation issues were leading to absences.

“If it’s a bus, at least we know what the fix is,” Vasquez said. “Even if we make a small dent in getting students to come back, those are more students that are engaged, that are in our schools, and are getting what they need.”

Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.

©2023 Cox Media Group