A West Virginia bill would allow school officials to hold a student back if they missed 20 or more days of class.
Senate Bill 179 was introduced by Senator Laura Chapman (R- Ohio County).
According to the bill, before report cards are issued at the end of the school year, a member of each school’s administration must meet with the school attendance officer and any teachers who wish to participate to determine whether students with 20 or more unexcused absences under this article should be promoted to the next grade or graduate that year.
The school administrator would then decide whether each student with 20 or more unexcused absences should be promoted to the next grade level or graduated.
The bill states that parental requests for promotion to the next grade level cannot override the school administrator’s decision.
