NC High Schools Banned from Failing Students Solely for Absences

North Carolina -- August 12, 2025: Residents need to be aware of a significant change in North Carolina's educational policy: public high schools can no longer fail students based only on attendance.

This new rule, approved by the State Board of Education, is slated to begin for the 2025-26 school year.

A Shift in Grading Philosophy

This policy change redefines what a student's grade represents. Previously, many schools used an "FF" grade to fail students who had too many absences, often more than 10 per semester, regardless of their academic performance. The new rule states that an "FF" grade can only be given if a student has both a failing academic grade and significant absences. This means that if a student is mastering the course material and has a passing grade (like an A or B), they cannot be failed for their lack of attendance.

State education officials have stressed that this change is about making a student's grade a pure reflection of their academic mastery, not their behavior or attendance. Sneha Shah-Coltrane, senior director for Academic Policy and Advanced Learning at the state Department of Public of Instruction, stated, "You can't fail a kid if they're making an A but just don't show up to class." She added that if a student can pass a class while missing a lot of time, it suggests a problem with the classroom instruction, not with the student's learning.

New Consequences for Absenteeism

While the policy removes the threat of a failing grade for attendance, it does not mean that attendance is no longer important. Schools can still impose non-academic consequences for excessive absences. These can include:

In-school suspension

The loss of privileges

Being ineligible for extracurricular activities

The goal is to address the root causes of chronic absenteeism with interventions and support, rather than by simply issuing a failing grade that could jeopardize a student's graduation.

Chronic Absenteeism on the Rise

This policy arrives at a time when chronic absenteeism is a significant and growing problem in North Carolina. Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10% or more of school days in a school year. The rate has climbed dramatically since the pandemic:

In 2019, 16% of students were chronically absent.

By 2024, that number had surged to 25%.

Some school districts and principals have expressed concern that the new policy could be misinterpreted as devaluing attendance. However, state officials maintain that it is simply a more honest way of grading and that the focus should be on addressing the root causes of absence through other means.

WNCTimes

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