Skipping school in kindergarten can cause academic problems later

DRAPER — Julie Burnett cringed two years ago when a family trip clashed with her children's school schedule. Her daughter and son were in 3rd and 5th grade, and the trip would only take them away for four days, but still, it pained her.

She knew her kids would have to play catch up with their assignments and the break would make her young daughter nervous about going back to class, but more than that, it was a matter of principle.

"I never made it as a kid to 100 percent attendance," says Burnett. "I know that sounds nerdy, but I always wanted that. And I want it for my kids. I don't know that my kids care as much as I do, but oh well."

She ultimately relented to the vacation "for the sake of being a family."

How important is attendance to school performance? Some states are hoping to do a better job answering that question, as mounting research shows that even skipping school in kindergarten can stunt learning and lead to later behavioral problems. But implementing a clearer approach to tackling truancy, as Louisiana did last year, and cracking down on "excused absences," as California did last month, isn't likely to happen any time soon in Utah, where educators agree tracking truancy is important, but missing school still means something different in all 40 districts in the state.

According to a National Center for Children in Poverty report on chronic absence, the negative impact that missing class during the first years of school — for whatever reason — can have on students can be just as indicative of underlying problems as truancy in later years. The center also says missing 10 percent or more of school can lead to lower academic performance in subsequent grades, but there is a resistance in Utah to streamlining standards of attendance.

Setting clear, state-wide guidelines might simplify tracking the problem and allow educators to more easily see areas that need improvement, but legislators are unlikely to impinge on parents' rights by setting such limits, says Carol Lear, law and legislation director for the State Office of Education.

"You've got a state philosophy that really is about parents' rights," Lear says. "You've got a Legislature that will be very deferential to parents who say, 'I don't think first grade is very important, so two days out of five is good enough.' You have to find the political will for (changing attendance laws) and that's probably not going to happen in Utah."