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LCing a class may be a thing of the past come next school year. Critics of the current loss of credit policy (LC) argue that it is implemented inconsistently and that the numbers of students that have lost credit are disproportionately minorities. The Loss of Credit Project Team, consisting of a group of MCPS administrators, first made its recommendation for a change in the policy in November 2009.

The LC policy states that students with five unexcused absences in a class will lose credit unless their appeal is successfully granted. Three unexcused tardies equals one unexcused absence so 15 tardies also can lead to a student losing credit. According to the 2009-2010 MCPS student handbook, a teacher must warn a student after one unexcused absence, then again after the second absence and then the teacher must send a letter home to the student’s parents after the third absence. After the fifth absence, the student and his or her parents will be notified of a loss of credit for that class for the semester.

"I would like to see technology take over. Teachers enter attendance and tardies into the database, LC warnings are generated automatically and sent home, and office staff or administrators in the main office or guidance follow up with a phone call," says social studies teacher Aileen Woolley. "Why should five, six, or seven teachers [for each of the student’s classes] be going through the exercise for one case when usually the overall problem can be examined and addressed [at] one time?"

In addition to the onus the LC policy puts on teachers, the Draft Loss of Credit Project Team Recommendations document states that 10 percent of all students in Montgomery County lost credit in spring of 2008, compared to 16.4 percent of all African-American students and 19.2 percent of all Hispanic students.

The recommendation by the Loss of Credit Project Team offers several different ways to change the current policy. Instead of students losing credit due to unexcused absences, students should have consequences ranging from conferences to administrative detentions. The recommendation also states that allowing a student to have up to five unexcused absences creates the impression that it is ok to skip a few classes; the new policy would put more emphasis on being in class every day from the start.

However, an agreement to change the LC policy has not been reached. Sherwood’s union representative Gloria Condelli said that the Montgomery County Education Association still does not have a position on the matter either, though the union is monitoring the debate and seeking input from its members.

One concern is that eliminating the LC policy could allow students to make-up work no matter why they were absent. "It is unfair to both me, and my other students, to allow a student to miss class for no reason and then complete the work," says science teacher Glenn Miller, who along with Condelli serves as another representative to the union.

The debate about the current policy will continue until a vote is held at a Board of Education Meeting. BOE member Patricia O’Neil said that there is a desire for change and that there will most likely be a pilot policy put into place next fall.