How Ohio schools reduced chronic absenteeism

Ohio educators are encouraged to take a positive approach to school discipline. Maskot / Getty Images by Anthony James, Miami University Schools in Ohio, like other schools across the country, are struggling to reduce chronic absenteeism, which spiked during the pandemic. But Ohio may have a head start on dealing with the problem, thanks to a 2018 state law encouraging a positive approach to discipline. Six years ago, the Ohio Legislature passed House Bill 318. Known as the Supporting Alternatives for Fair Education Act, the law was a comprehensive approach to discipline. It set standards for school safety officers and limited the use of suspensions for children in the early grades. It also encouraged districts to use what are known as “positive behavior interventions and supports.” This positive approach attempts to improve student behavior and a school’s environment by emphasizing prevention over punishment. The idea is to stop problems before they happen, reward good behavior and give extra help to students who need it the most. At its most basic, an intervention could be a teacher using proximity to students to keep them on task or praising students who behave well. A small number of students may need more extensive...