School nurses could help lower chronic absenteeism

School nurses may be one solution to the growing problem of chronic absenteeism in Tennessee.Chronic absenteeism has been an ongoing issue nationwide that only increased following the pandemic.During the 2022-2023 school year, more than 20 percent of Tennessee students were chronically absent and those rates are higher with high school and economically disadvantaged students.The Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) says student health is an important reason why students are missing school.“We do have a large portion of students in Tennessee who are dealing with chronic health conditions that may impact their ability to attend school. But in that office of Coordinated School Health as well as resources like school nurses, that can assist students in being able to attend school safely. This is a really important part of this equation, making sure that if a student has a chronic medical condition, that there is a support at that school to serve their needs,” said TDOE Assistant Commissioner of Policy Implementation and Legislative Affairs Jack Powers.Powers, TDOE Chief Academic Officer Kristy Brown, and Paris Special School District Superintendent Norma Gerrell provided an overview on chronic absenteeism and its effects to the House Education Instruction Committee Tuesday.They told lawmakers Lake County Schools saw a 47 percent improvement in K-12 chronic absenteeism by strengthening its school nurse intervention outreach.Chronic absenteeism is when students miss more than 10 percent or more, or 18 or more instructional days in a school year for any reason including excused or unexcused absences and out-of-school suspensions. Students that miss school regularly face bigger challenges including a greater likelihood of retention and an increased risk of dropping out.This differentiates it from truancy, which is when students miss school due to excessive unexcused absences.During the 2022/2023 school year, Paris Special School District saw some of its highest numbers ever at 16.6 percent. Gerrell says economically disadvantaged students played a large role in those numbers.“We are seeing a push towards working with – I sometimes call it ‘ministering too’ because I feel like I’m a shepherd and these are my people, this is my community – making sure that we’re keeping track of those economically disadvantaged students. They’re not a number, they’re a face and a name,” said Gerrell.Chronic absenteeism additionally counts against school districts on state accountability, regardless of the reasons.