As Mississippi public school districts update attendance policies under a new state law, some parents, educators and health care providers are questioning how the changes will affect students who miss school because of illness.
Senate Bill 2103, which took effect July 1, requires public school districts to adopt locally tailored attendance policies by Nov. 1 as part of a statewide effort to reduce chronic absenteeism.
The law generally allows students five excused absences per semester. For illness or injury, medical documentation is required after a student’s third illness-related absence. Superintendents or their designees can approve additional excused absences for extenuating circumstances, including prolonged illness supported by medical documentation.
Constance Barnes-Woods, a pediatrician at Beanstalk Pediatrics, said the requirements should account for students with chronic illnesses.
“We support every effort to have children in the classroom, but we also like to see some flexibility with those children who have chronic illnesses,” Barnes-Woods said.
Constance Barnes-WoodsShe pointed to sickle cell disease as one example, saying children can experience unpredictable complications and sometimes require extended hospital stays.
“We see patients with sickle cell anemia. It’s lifelong,” Barnes-Woods said. “They cannot predict, unfortunately, when they’re going to get sick.”
Shayla Haynes, a mother and educator in Monticello, said she supports efforts to address absenteeism.
“Speaking as a teacher, it’s good that they do have that plan in place because there are some students that just don’t come to school, and not because it’s their fault, because their parents just won’t send them,” Haynes said.
But Haynes said illness presents a different concern. Her son has asthma and allergies that do not always require medical treatment.
“If he has like an allergy or asthma flare-up, I don’t take him to the doctor. I just keep him at home because I know what it is,” Haynes said.
Requiring documentation after repeated illnesses could mean additional medical visits.
“I could take him to the doctor, but it’ll be a blank trip because I know what it is,” Haynes said.
Barnes-Woods said children with minor illnesses do not necessarily need medical treatment. A child with mild cold symptoms who is otherwise eating, drinking and behaving normally may be able to recover at home, she said.
She said the documentation requirement could also encourage some families to seek care they otherwise would not.
“To an extent I see it as positive because some parents would just self-treat at home,” Barnes-Woods said. “But if they know that a doctor’s excuse is required, that does prompt them to come and seek medical attention to ensure accurate diagnosis.”
For other families, obtaining documentation can present financial and logistical challenges. Depending on insurance, families may face copays, while uninsured patients may have to pay out of pocket. Parents may also struggle to find same-day appointments, arrange transportation or leave work.
“I have parents that are afraid of losing their jobs when they come multiple times for sick children,” Barnes-Woods said.
Barnes-Woods said parents have told her they have missed children’s routine medical appointments because they could not miss school or work or lacked transportation.
Her clinic has had days this school year when 40% to 50% of scheduled patients did not show up for appointments, she said. The rate varies significantly from day to day, and Barnes-Woods said concerns about missing school may be one factor.
Barnes-Woods said she would like districts to use the law’s flexibility for students with documented chronic conditions.
“I would suggest that children with chronic illnesses like asthma, sick cell disease and some other diseases be exempt from that policy,” she said.
The changes come as Mississippi continues to struggle with chronic absenteeism.
The Mississippi Department of Education reported 27.6% of public school students were chronically absent during the 2024-25 school year, up from 24.4% the previous year. MDE defines chronic absenteeism as missing at least 10% of enrolled school days for any reason, including excused and unexcused absences and suspensions.
Chronic absenteeism declined among elementary and middle school students during the 2024-25 school year but increased among high school students from 30% to 39%, according to MDE.
The new requirements establish earlier interventions intended to address absences before they become more serious.
After three cumulative absences, whether excused or unexcused, schools must contact the student’s parent or guardian, document the communication and begin school-based interventions. Five cumulative unlawful absences trigger a referral to a school attendance officer, with additional referrals required as unlawful absences accumulate.
Bryan Marshall, associate state superintendent, said schools will need different approaches depending on the students they serve.
“The effectiveness of the strategy is going to depend on the age of the child,” Marshall said. “What works in a high school is not going to work in elementary, so to say there’s a blanket intervention, there’s not, and there’s no magic bullet for attendance.”
Bryan Marshall, associate state superintendentIf school-based interventions do not work, districts can turn to outside services.
“Once the interventions are put in place, if those are not working, then we have to get a third-party intervention with some sort of family counseling or whatever the district chooses in their area,” Marshall said.
The law also raises the portion of the instructional day a student must attend to be counted present for the full day from 63% to 66%.
April Crozier, a special education teacher in Hattiesburg, said implementation will vary across the state.
“It’s going to just depend on from district to district,” Crozier said.
She said she received information about the changes as a parent but believes some families may not yet understand the requirements.
“There’s still a lot of parents out there that really don’t know or understand that there even is a new policy because they probably haven’t even looked at it,” Crozier said.
The law also calls for one school attendance officer for every 4,000 compulsory-school-age children. Marshall said MDE is working to add personnel needed to implement the changes.
As districts work toward the Nov. 1 deadline, Barnes-Woods said health care providers could help school officials develop policies that account for students’ medical needs.
“We can maybe meet and talk about the schools’ expectations and then what my goals are for my patients and educate themselves,” Barnes-Woods said.ees can also approve additional excused absences for extenuating circumstances, including prolonged illness supported by medical documentation.
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