WKMS In-Depth Reports
(2009-07-01)
BENTON, KY
(wkms) -
School administrators got suspicious after 86 of Marshall County's 47-hundred students accrued more than 2-thousand absences last year. Director of Pupil Personnel Ledonia Williamson investigated the absences and found that many students had abused their medical excuses, collecting them from multiple doctors."What happened is we're unable to have communication with all the doctors in the area, and they're unable to have communication with one another. So, a person could go to the doctor one week and get an excuse and the next week, go to the other doctor, and you might accumulate 60 days of school - and all of these doctor's excuses say that they are excused."
Williamson has written forms for area doctors to fill out for children who have missed more than 10 days of school. The papers will help keep track of frequently absent students and inform doctors of potential truants. She also says officials plan to reinforce the six-call limit on instances when parents may excuse their children from school by telephone.
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