Fall River panel refers rewritten attendance grading policy to committee
Fall River schools panel votes to base grade penalties on daily, not class, attendance.
School Committee · Meeting of August 26, 2026
Fall River schools panel votes to base grade penalties on daily, not class, attendance. The Policy Subcommittee unanimously referred a rewritten attendance policy to the full School Committee after data showed districtwide chronic absenteeism fell to 25.4 percent from 37.3 percent in fiscal 2023, presented by Assistant Superintendent Dr. Bronner.
Member Anna Riley pushed back on the policy's D4/D5 rule, which drops a passing student's grade to a 65 after a fourth unexcused absence, noting only one of 22 Henry Lord students who entered a buyback last term completed it: "If I have an 85, but I've missed four days, now I have a 65?" The panel voted to strip the grade-penalty mechanics from district policy entirely, leaving them to individual school handbooks. Members also referred an updated Durfee athletic handbook, a flat-rate travel reimbursement policy citing a 72-cents-per-mile IRS rate, and a vandalism policy requiring schools to log damage over $500. A proposed work-from-home policy was tabled after members discussed a staff member who had worked remotely from Portugal with no policy in place.
In the full story:
- Who Was There
- Organizations And Documents Referenced
- The complete report — 3,413 words
Source: the School Committee meeting of August 26, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
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