Virginia public school officials say an increasing number of students are missing many days of class, an issue that may have consequences for several schools’ accreditation.
In early April, the state’s Board of Education voted against a proposal to suspend the use of attendance as a factor for accreditation, enabling the state to use attendance as a factor for its school review process. It will mark the first time since the pandemic that attendance is used to evaluate schools.
The change may negatively impact schools’ accreditation statuses, Northern Virginia school officials say, which in turn could alter public perception of schools. The state uses a series of factors to determine accreditation status, and schools that aren’t fully accredited have to work with the state to resolve any lingering issues.
