New attendance policy doesn't address root causes of truancy

Statement by NDP Education and Early Childhood Development spokesperson Claudia Chender

HALIFAX – Claudia Chender, NDP Education and Early Childhood Development spokesperson, made the following statement about the release of the new province-wide attendance policy:

“I want to thank the Council to Improve Classroom Conditions for their work on this attendance policy. I hope teachers will find it to be a useful tool in addressing attendance issues.

It’s important to note that the Liberal government’s own discussion paper on student attendance and achievement highlights that there are many causes of student absences. Major root causes include poverty, social isolation, mental health and bullying.

Our province has the highest rates of child poverty in the country, coupled with long wait times for youth mental health services. If we want to get serious about addressing attendance issues, we need to also address poverty and mental health. On these issues the government has a lot of work to do.”

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