WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — How Iowa school districts calculate the absenteeism rate changed without much warning or reasoning.
On Aug. 14, the Iowa Department of Education posted a FAQ document on its website, answering a variety of questions about students and teachers returning to the classroom.
On page 2, one of the questions was about how the absenteeism rate is calculated for a district.
"Absenteeism rate should include all students who are absent due to covid-related reasons - including illness, quarantine and isolation," noted the DOE.
In addition to the 10% absenteeism rate, the county where the district resides must reach a community transmission rate between 15-20% positivity rate, on average, over the last 14 days, in order for a district to request a temporary waiver for remote instruction. That waiver must be approved by the state.
Those benchmarks were established by the Department of Education in consultation with the Iowa Department of Public Health. They are not the law, but rather guidelines for schools.
Three weeks after the FAQ document was posted online, DOE and IDPH officials hosted a webinar for school district nurses and administrators. In the webinar, they covered a change to absenteeism guidance.
In the above slide, students who are absent from school because they are in quarantine due to an exposure to COVID-19 are not to be counted toward the total number of absent students. That's different than the Aug. 14 guidance.
Only students who are absent due to a reported illness or who have tested positive for COVID-19 and/or are experiencing coronavirus symptoms can be counted.
Local 5 asked the DOE and IDPH for clarification and reasoning behind the change.
"That’s an older FAQ document that needs to be updated," said a spokeswoman for DOE. "The Department of Education and IDPH believe that the absenteeism due to illness only applies to individuals who are ill and not healthy students participating in remote learning opportunities. Absenteeism is only one factor considered whether a school can be moved temporarily online, and the Department of Education has already granted waivers to schools who have not met the 10% absenteeism threshold."
No school in Iowa has met the 10% absenteeism rate, yet dozens have reported sick and quarantined students since the beginning of the semester.