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Schools revist absentee policies:
"Texas Education Agency officials are encouraging school districts to establish thresholds for what absentee rate would trigger the closing of schools. Meanwhile, Central Texas districts on their own have begun assessing their absence policies, including those that might encourage students to come to school sick.
'We're working on another letter that's working its way through our approvals process this week,' agency spokeswoman Debbie Graves Ratcliffe said. State financing is based on daily student attendance, but districts may apply for waivers to allow them to shorten the number of instructional days without suffering a financial penalty.
Officials with Austin-area districts say that their attendance rates exceed 90 percent in most cases. Ratcliffe said the school districts that have closed have tended to have attendance rates of less than 80 percent."
"Texas Education Agency officials are encouraging school districts to establish thresholds for what absentee rate would trigger the closing of schools. Meanwhile, Central Texas districts on their own have begun assessing their absence policies, including those that might encourage students to come to school sick.
'We're working on another letter that's working its way through our approvals process this week,' agency spokeswoman Debbie Graves Ratcliffe said. State financing is based on daily student attendance, but districts may apply for waivers to allow them to shorten the number of instructional days without suffering a financial penalty.
Officials with Austin-area districts say that their attendance rates exceed 90 percent in most cases. Ratcliffe said the school districts that have closed have tended to have attendance rates of less than 80 percent."
