Fort Wayne, Ind. (WOWO) – State Sen. Andy Zay (R-Huntington) is addressing misconceptions about a new school absenteeism law that recently went into effect.
Senate Enrolled Act 482 is aimed at decreasing chronic absenteeism in Indiana schools by improving the data reported to the State Department of Education regarding student absences.
The law does not change when a student is counted as absent, and it doesn’t require schools to change their local attendance policies.
SEA 482 also does not require a parent meeting for students with excused absences, and county prosecutors are not notified about a student’s absence if they are excused.
“There has been a great deal of inaccurate information spread about this bill online in recent weeks,” Zay said. “It is important to know local school districts are retaining their flexibility to decide what counts as an excused or unexcused absence for their students. SEA 482 merely improves the way school administrations report absentee data to the state so policymakers can get a better idea of why students miss school, which is very important since one in five Hoosier students are chronically absent and missing 10% of the school year.”
Zay encourages residents of Senate District 17 to contact him with any questions or comments they may have. Zay can be reached by filling out a “Contact Me” form online at //www.IndianaSenateRepublicans.com/Zay or by phone at 800-382-9467. More information about SEA 482 can be found at https://www.indianasenaterepublicans.com/school-absence-reporting-sea-482-2025.
