Warren Township school leaders want families to have a clear idea of how to let educators know if their kids will be missing school this year.

Families can communicate a planned or unexpected absence in Warren Township in one of three ways:

The push comes as educators respond to a new state law that requires schools to make contact with parents of K-6 students who are absent for five days in a 10-week period without an excuse.

The law requires schools to send letters, convene conferences with families and make referrals to local prosecutors if students accumulate too many unexcused absences.

[New Indiana law designed to reduce chronic absenteeism could lead to more parent prosecutions]

But, Warren district leaders say they plan to be more proactive by communicating early and often with families.

Parents and guardians can expect to receive letters on the third and fourth day their student misses school without explanation. After five days, school officials will send out another letter and schedule a meeting with parents, which is required by law. And, after nine days, someone from the district will visit the student’s home.

Beyond avoiding legal interventions, Warren officials say it’s important to communicate about student absences and make sure kids are attending as much class as possible so kids don’t fall behind in school.

“If they’re not here,” Warren Township’s Allison Woods said at an Aug. 21 school board meeting, “we can’t make our biggest impact with them.”

More information on the district’s student absence policy is available online.

Mirror Indy reporter Carley Lanich covers early childhood and K-12 education. Contact her at carley.lanich@mirrorindy.org or follow her on X @carleylanich.

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How (and why) to report your Warren Township student absent

by Carley Lanich, Mirror Indy
August 25, 2024

<h1>How (and why) to report your Warren Township student absent</h1> <p class="byline">by Carley Lanich, Mirror Indy <br />August 25, 2024</p> <p>Warren Township school leaders want families to have a clear idea of how to let educators know if their kids will be missing school this year.</p> <p>Families can communicate a planned or unexpected absence in Warren Township in one of three ways:</p> <details class="wp-block-details"> <summary>Call your school</summary> <p>Families can call their school to report an absence. Each school in Warren Township has a dedicated attendance line that can be accessed by calling your school and dialing 1 from the main menu.</p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>Brookview Elementary School: 317-532-3050</li> <li>Creston Intermediate and Middle School: 317-532-6800</li> <li>Eastridge Elementary School: 317-532-3150</li> <li>Grassy Creek Elementary School: 317-532-3100</li> <li>Hawthorne Elementary School: 317-532-3950</li> <li>Lakeside Elementary School: 317-532-2850</li> <li>Liberty Park Elementary School: 317-532-1850</li> <li>Lowell Elementary School: 317-532-3900</li> <li>Pleasant Run Elementary School: 317-532-3800</li> <li>Raymond Park Intermediate and Middle School: 317-532-8900</li> <li>Renaissance School: 317-532-2996</li> <li>Stonybrook Intermediate and Middle School: 317-532-8800</li> <li>Sunny Heights Elementary School: 317-532-2900</li> <li>Warren Central High School: 317-532-6200</li> <li>Warren Early Childhood Center: 317-869-4750</li> <li>Warren Online Academy: 317-532-1860</li> </ul> </details> <details class="wp-block-details"> <summary>Use the ParentVUE app</summary> <p>Families can use the ParentVUE app on their phone or computer to report an absence. Just find the “Report Absence” button on the home screen and fill out the related fields. Don’t already have the app saved to your device? Here's how to <a href="https://www.warren.k12.in.us/page/parent-portal" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sign up for ParentVUE</a>.</p> </details> <details class="wp-block-details"> <summary>Respond to a message on ParentSquare</summary> <p>School officials will send a message home to parents and guardians using the district’s communication platform, ParentSquare. Follow the instructions in the message to confirm your student’s absence. Here's how to <a href="https://www.warren.k12.in.us/page/parentsquare-copy" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">get set up with ParentSquare</a>.</p> </details> <p>The push comes as educators respond to <a href="https://iga.in.gov/pdf-documents/123/2024/senate/bills/SB0282/SB0282.04.ENRH.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a new state law</a> that requires schools to make contact with parents of K-6 students who are absent for five days in a 10-week period without an excuse.</p> <p>The law requires schools to send letters, convene conferences with families and make referrals to local prosecutors if students accumulate too many unexcused absences.</p> <p><strong><a href="https://mirrorindy.org/parents-face-more-legal-penalties-for-chronic-absenteeism/"><em>[New Indiana law designed to reduce chronic absenteeism could lead to more parent prosecutions]</em></a></strong></p> <p>But, Warren district leaders say they plan to be more proactive by communicating early and often with families.</p> <p>Parents and guardians can expect to receive letters on the third and fourth day their student misses school without explanation. After five days, school officials will send out another letter and schedule a meeting with parents, which is required by law. And, after nine days, someone from the district will visit the student’s home.</p> <p>Beyond avoiding legal interventions, Warren officials say it’s important to communicate about student absences and make sure kids are attending as much class as possible so kids don’t fall behind in school.</p> <p>“If they’re not here,” Warren Township’s Allison Woods said at an Aug. 21 school board meeting, “we can't make our biggest impact with them.”</p> <div class="wp-block-group has-light-gray-background-color has-background"> <h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-meeting-notes">Meeting notes</h3> <p>Indy Documenter Breone Dupree attended the Aug. 21 school board meeting where officials discussed absenteeism, reading scores and school counseling. Check out his <a href="https://x.com/Dupreezine/status/1826394725458546708">live updates from the meeting</a>.</p> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"> <div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/Dupreezine/status/1826394725458546708 </div> </figure></div> <p>More information on the district’s <a href="https://go.boarddocs.com/in/msdwt/Board.nsf/files/D87SG872939F/$file/Unexcused%20Absence%20K-6%20August%202024%20school%20board.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">student absence policy</a> is available online.</p> <p><em>Mirror Indy reporter Carley Lanich covers early childhood and K-12 education. Contact her at <a href="mailto:carley.lanich@mirrorindy.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">carley.lanich@mirrorindy.org</a> or follow her on X <a href="https://twitter.com/carleylanich" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@carleylanich</a>.</em></p> <p>This &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://mirrorindy.org/warren-township-indianapolis-schools-reporting-student-absences-indy-far-eastside/&quot;&gt;article&lt;/a&gt; first appeared on &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://mirrorindy.org&quot;&gt;Mirror Indy&lt;/a&gt; and is republished here under a &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/&quot;&gt;Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;img src=&quot;https://i0.wp.com/mirrorindy.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/cropped-Mirror-Indy-square-logo-1.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;amp;ssl=1&quot; style=&quot;width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;&quot;&gt;</p> &lt;img id=&quot;republication-tracker-tool-source&quot; src=&quot;https://mirrorindy.org/?republication-pixel=true&amp;post=32966&amp;amp;ga4=G-X0R0QW371R&quot; style=&quot;width:1px;height:1px;&quot;&gt;&lt;script&gt; PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: &quot;https://mirrorindy.org/warren-township-indianapolis-schools-reporting-student-absences-indy-far-eastside/&quot;, urlref: window.location.href }); } } &lt;/script&gt; &lt;script id=&quot;parsely-cfg&quot; src=&quot;//cdn.parsely.com/keys/mirrorindy.org/p.js&quot;&gt;&lt;/script&gt;

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