Hilldale school administrators plan to monitor attendance more closely this school year.

“We need to better define what is an absence,” said Hilldale’s new school superintendent, Dr. Kaylin Coody.

Coody said she did not like the terms “excused” or “unexcused” absences. She said she preferred “verified” absences, when a parent notifies the school, and “unverified.”

Noting that school regulations dictate students cannot miss more than 10 days of class per semester, Coody said, “We have to emphasize the importance of a student being there.”

Coody said she understands there would be times, such as lengthy illnesses, when students are gone for more than 10 days.

The Hilldale Board of Education revised an attendance policy setting up a committee to hear parents’ appeals. The policy revision says a committee made up of the building administrator, school counselor and a teacher will hear and decide on the parent’s exception to the attendance rule. If the parent does not agree with the committee ruling, it may be appealed to the superintendent, then to the board of education, the policy states.

The existing regulation also states that students who are more than 10 minutes late for class or miss more than 10 minutes of class would be marked as absent from the class.

Administrators clarified that students cannot just arrive at school to be counted present; they must be in class.

“They cannot just come in and hang out at the principal’s office in the morning,” Hilldale High School Principal Deborah Tennison said.

Attendance regulations also say students cannot miss more than 10 days of class for extracurricular activities. The school board approved a new policy saying students can appeal to be given up to five additional days for school activities. Coody said the revision would be for students involved in multiple activities. For example, if a student has activity-related absences, then notices in February that she still has softball season, Coody said.

Tennison said, “I looked at last year, and we did not have anyone who went over the absence limit.”

“If we do not know where that child is, if the child’s parent has not called, if the child is not at an activity, that child is truant,” Coody said.

Reach Cathy Spaulding at (918) 684-2928 or cspaulding@muskogee

phoenix.com.