Many reasons to address chronic absenteeism epidemic

The death of 7-year-old Jor'Dynn Duncan, the child from Bayport who was allegedly tortured and killed by her guardian after missing 40 days of school in the final six months of last school year, is shocking. Three generations of Duncan's caregivers told the school that her absences were caused by illness, a death in the family and vacations — excuses the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office said were false, according to a Newsday news investigation.

It's too early to know what the school did or did not do with reporting and investigating Duncan's absences. But it's not too late to address the state's chronic absenteeism epidemic.

New York State does not set a specific number of absences needed to initiate an investigation. Each school district sets its own policies. State law does require schools to maintain accurate and updated attendance records for every child and to report suspected cases of educational neglect by parents.

School employees are legally required to report suspected abuse. Attendance gets murkier. Who determines if a child's absence is legitimate? When should parents be investigated if they are lying about their child's absences? Are students absent because they are suffering a mental health crisis, fearing immigration action or traveling with parents?

Bob Vecchio, executive director of the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association, told the editorial board that the state would be wrong to implement a specific number of absences that would trigger an investigation.

"There are too many fluid issues for a one-size-fits-all approach," Vecchio said. 

A New York State Education Department spokesman agreed but said that the state Office of Children and Family Services must be more directly involved along with Child Protective Services.

"Ultimately, it has to be an effort across all fields," the spokesperson said. "It's a complex issue and requires complex solutions."

State Sen. James Skoufis, who has sponsored bills with State Sen. Patricia Fahy to fix chronic absenteeism, told the editorial board that the Senate will conduct at least one public hearing to get input from parents, community leaders and educators.

Skoufis said schools that file reports with CPS are met by officials who "throw up their hands and say, ‘It's not our problem.' "

On addressing educational neglect from absences, Skoufis said, "I don't know exactly what the solution looks like, but I know it's not that."

Schools are not law enforcement agencies. And while the legally required steps schools must take when educational neglect is suspected are broad, schools are required to track attendance and investigate excessive absences. Those investigations, though, don't take place publicly and in real time, which would violate numerous state and federal identity protection laws.

Rather than just lament the horrific details of Duncan's death, state elected officials and education leaders must hold multiple public hearings across the state to identify when school attendance reporting can triggers a CPS report without infringing on parents' rights. We cannot accept that chronic absenteeism is the new normal in education.