Trust in Truancy

Tackling the Attendance Policy Through Collaboration

Abstract

California is 41st in the nation in per-pupil funding. Due to the basis of school funds being on student attendance rather than enrollment with the Average Daily Attendance (ADA), and due to low-income students having proportionally higher rates of absences due to uncontrollable circumstances, their schools?typically underfunded as well?receive even less funding which inherently leads to a lower quality of overall education for these students (Freedberg, 2019). Typically, immigrant families suffer from lower income levels and thus higher rates of absenteeism in school. The lower amount of funds dissuades teachers and staff in effect due to the decrease in compensation and wages, and income segregation in the local neighborhoods. Schools would also have to base their expenditure on the funding, though because it is impossible to predict how many absences will occur, expenditures are commonly on the assumption of 100% average daily attendance. However, wealthier schools may have privileges that allow for higher attendance such as stable income neighborhoods, consistent transportation, etc. Lower income schools are already at a disadvantage and will exponentially continue decreasing if funding is continuing to fall. By researching Ravenswood City School District and Palo Alto United as a case study, the attendance policy issue can be tackled through collaboration with more strategies of prevention, outreach, and transparency. In order to support an underprivileged community, privilege must be taken off and shared.