Social media post on school attendance sparks outrage in Madison County

Madison County Schools came under fire after a social media post regarding school attendance was shared on Thursday.

In the post, the district cited the Kentucky Department of Education, describing chronic absenteeism as missing two days of school a month. The post said missing school for any reason, excused or unexcused, puts students at risk of falling behind.

Then, the post listed the following examples of absences: Family vacations, illness, didn’t want to go, suspension, doctor’s appointment, homelessness, missed the bus, and slept in.

The post garnered more than 1,200 comments and hundreds of shares, many parents describing the message as tone deaf and shameful, particularly for its mention of students experiencing homelessness.

“Disbelief, everyone was in disbelief, how would you say that about a kid who's having housing problems?” said Madison County parent, Rob Morrin.

“I’m a mother first and foremost, and if my child is sick, his health comes first. He will not be present in class and I stand by that,” parent Ashley Lynch told LEX 18.

MJ Tanis, another parent, commented on suspension, saying, “Suspension, that is imposed by the school. How are we supposed to bring a kid to school if they're suspended from school? That is contradictory, so yeah I was angry.”

Madison County Schools later edited the post and removed the list of examples. The district also released this statement:

“Wednesday afternoon the district made a post to its social media pages in an effort to remind parents and guardians of the importance of attendance. The information shared was provided by the Kentucky Department of Education and a link to that information was included in the post. The information shared was not intended to be upsetting to anyone. It was meant to be an informational reminder to parents that absence from school puts students at risk of falling behind. There are many reasons why students might need to be absent, but we encourage parents and guardians to do their best to make attendance a priority for their students.”

“They do a great job the vast majority of the time, but this was a huge mistake and I hope it never happens again,” said Morrin.

While some accepted the acknowledgment of the error, others want an apology for the post in the first place.

“That would go a long way to alleviating parent's anger, I think, just the whole, 'Yeah we're sorry, we really didn't mean this, we'll consider the backspace in the future,’” said Tanis.

What might have simply been an absentminded post about school attendance, has now planted a seed of doubt in the minds of some parents.

“Do Madison County Schools have the best interest of my children? Do they really care about my kids being there or are they pushing another agenda? Just trying to get so many kids to show up and have them in the classroom?” said Lynch.