Excused absences now count toward chronic absenteeism in Ohio schools. The change affects families across Sycamore Township, Montgomery and Blue Ash as the 2026-27 school year begins.

House Bill 96 defines chronic absenteeism as missing at least 10% of the minimum required school hours in a year. That's about 18 full days. The law draws no distinction between excused and unexcused absences.

Because Ohio tracks attendance by hours, tardies and early dismissals also count. For high school students, the state requires 1,001 instructional hours per year; for kindergarten through sixth grade, 910 hours, according to the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce.

Princeton City Schools, which serves parts of Sycamore Township and about 5,700 students in Hamilton County, reported a chronic absenteeism rate of 20%, WCPO reported Tuesday, Aug. 25. Ronald Fausnaugh, secondary director of teaching and learning for Princeton, said small absences accumulate fast.

"So if a student comes in 15 minutes tardy… that adds up very quickly," Fausnaugh said.

Each of Princeton's 11 buildings has a team of administrators, counselors and office staff tracking attendance and connecting students with support. The district employs two dedicated attendance officers. Princeton contacts families when a student reaches 38 hours of absence as an early warning and holds an unofficial diversionary meeting at 72 hours.

Under HB 96, districts statewide must notify parents when a student reaches 5% of the minimum required hours missed for any reason.

Kenna Haycox, deputy director for board management services at the Ohio School Boards Association, said the law is not punitive. She said the shift moves away from truancy and court involvement and toward early intervention.

Sycamore Community Schools, which serves about 5,900 students across seven schools in Montgomery, Blue Ash and Sycamore Township, has not publicly detailed its response to the new law. Statewide, about one in four students meets the chronic absenteeism threshold, according to the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce.

Gov. Mike DeWine launched a statewide attendance dashboard at attendance.ohio.gov in April, with data updated weekly, WYSO reported.

Students can still be classified as habitual truants for unexcused absences. That separate threshold is met when a student misses 30 or more consecutive hours without an excuse, 42 or more hours in a single school month, or 72 or more hours in a school year.

The Sycamore Community Schools Board of Education meets next on Wednesday, Sept. 9, at the Kenwood Learning Commons at 6 p.m.