Students in grades 9 through 11 attended an assembly information session in the Roberts-Dubbs Auditorium regarding a new attendance policy during T-block on Tuesday, June 11.

Associate Dean Anthony Meyers and Dean Melanie Alexander conducted the assembly.

The policy, which will take effect on September 9, 2013, revises the current attendance policy by capping total absences at 21 per year-long course and at 11 per semester-long course.

All absences, whether excused or unexcused, count towards the cap except absences that are the result of “religious holidays, MCAS, AP exams, special education testing and meetings, China Exchange, suspensions, or extending health emergencies,” according to the policy.

Excession of 21 absences in a course will result in no credit for that course. Additionally, accruing 6 unexcused absences for a particular class, even without transgressing the 21-absence limit, will also result in no credit, according to the policy.

“Excellent student attendance promotes learning for all students in all classrooms,” Meyers said in the assembly, quoting the new attendance procedures. “When a student is in school, he or she must attend all of his or her scheduled school classes and programs. The BHS attendance policy is designed to improve student learning and enhance the learning environment in all classrooms.”

Additionally, the new policy forbids parents from excusing a student for a single class if the student remains in the school building. Sophomore Nathan Noel said this new rule will be difficult to enforce and will burden students trying to get work done.

“Sometimes you have work to do, and they shouldn’t try to prevent that,” he said. “They’re not going to be able to monitor whether you’re on school grounds or not.”

According to School Within a School Teacher Rich Goldberg, this new clause of the policy is necessary.

“In my own thinking, there’s a vast disconnect that a student would be in school and not in class, he said. “This is not a social club or a hangout. It’s a school. People have places to go that they’re assigned to go.”

Dean Diane Lande said that although some students have expressed initial discontent with the new policy, she has hope that they will adjust.

“I think they had a lot of questions and concerns, but when students really see what the policy is, they will realize it will not impact the vast majority of students,” she said. “Other students may need to change plans a little bit, but in the end, 21 absences is a lot of absences. Everyone knows your academics suffer. Everyone knows it puts a strain on teachers and it puts a strain on the class when teachers have to go over things. In the end, I think it will be fine and that it will work out.”

Sophomore Ethan Goroff said he worries that too much of the new policy is left up to interpretation.

“I think there’s too much leeway in some places and not enough in others,” he said. “There are too many blind spots where misunderstandings can happen and where you can get in trouble for something that really you shouldn’t have. Way too many ‘what if’ moments are left on the table, and maybe that could have resulted from a lack of student input. It is our job to be at school, so it should be a lot clearer.”

Freshman Adam Beckler said that he is concerned that the new policy will force students to skip field trips and exchange trips in order to avoid accumulating absences.

“The policy was not well thought out at all,” he said. “The fact that someone would get no credit for a class if they were to go on the Cambodia trip and then be sick for maybe a week and then go on another field trip is terrible. No one should have to choose between field trips and getting credit for classes.”

Some teachers, however, said that they like the fact that fieldtrips will count as absences under the new policy.

“There will have to be a change in the teacher community about what a field trip is,” Goldberg said. “It’s only fair that all field trips should now be voluntary. Because basically, if you’re ordering a student to take a field trip, you’re ordering them to take an absence.”

Some students worry that the new policy will penalize students who, regardless of their high absences, maintain high grades.

“You shouldn’t be missing twenty classes to start with, but I don’t think its fair that you can fail because of those absences,” sophomore Nathan Noel said. “If you maintain your grades, absences shouldn’t be affecting them. If you’re an A student but you miss twenty classes, it should affect you somehow, but you shouldn’t have to fail. I understand why its bad because people can get called out an unlimited number of times but at the same time, that can be dealt with individually. The entire school doesn’t have to be punished.”

Miriam El-Baz can be contacted at [email protected].