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Ohio schools, like others across the country, are struggling to curb chronic absenteeism, which has increased during the pandemic. But Ohio may have a head start in addressing the problem, thanks to a 2018 state law that encourages a positive approach to discipline.
Six years ago, the Ohio legislature passed House Bill 318. Known as the Supporting Alternatives for Fair Education Act, it was a comprehensive approach to discipline. It set standards for school safety officers and limited the use of suspensions for children in early grades. It also encouraged districts to use what are known as “positive behavioral interventions and supports.”
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This positive approach seeks to improve student behavior and the school environment by emphasizing prevention rather than punishment. The idea is to stop problems before they occur, reward good behavior, and provide extra help to students who need it most. In its most basic form, an intervention might involve a teacher using proximity to students to keep them on task or praising students who behave well. A small number of students may need more extensive support, such as counseling and outreach to the student’s family.
Research has shown that implementing these positive interventions broadly across schools can improve children’s concentration, boost student performance, and increase student engagement.
The 2018 law requires the Ohio Board of Education to set standards for implementing the positive approach to discipline. These standards, in turn, must be incorporated into grades K-5 as part of teacher training. The law also provides teachers and administrators with training on how to use the positive approach as part of their professional development and continuing education. Districts that implement the positive discipline method receive additional points on their state report cards.
Positive approach, fewer absences
According to an unpublished report by a team of Miami University scientists, the state’s efforts to look at the positive side of discipline have had a positive side effect. Chronic absenteeism — when students miss 10 percent or more of school days for any reason — was more than 4 percentage points lower in schools that implemented the positive behavior approach than in schools that didn’t. A 4-point difference could equate to hundreds of thousands of children across the state.
Long-term absences can lead to lower academic performance and a lower graduation rate.
As a professor and researcher who has studied the use of positive behavioral interventions, I co-led the Miami University research team whose efforts demonstrated that policy changes, combined with practical tips for implementing the new program, can lead to better student outcomes. Our analysis shows that Ohio’s approach can also be a model for states struggling with attendance.
Funded by a School Climate Transformation Grant from the U.S. Department of Education, our study sought to determine whether the positive approach reduced chronic absenteeism, one of eight areas in which the state expected improvements. To do so, we examined the grant’s impact from the 2018 through 2023 school years, collecting data directly from school staff who attended training sessions on positive behavioral approaches. We also looked at data from Ohio’s Education Management Information System, a collection of statistics on K-12 education.
Ohio schools that implemented a positive approach to discipline had lower rates of student absences than schools that did not for three out of four school years—with the exception of the 2021-22 school year. According to data from the 2022-23 school year, schools that implemented positive discipline had an average chronic absence rate of 27.93%. That same year, schools that did not adopt the positive approach reported a rate of 33.33%. While 5.38% may not seem like a lot, this difference equates to thousands of children, with major implications for cities across Ohio.
Chronic absenteeism was a persistent problem in Ohio’s K-12 student population before the pandemic. Months of online learning and repeated disruptions to in-person classes sent the numbers through the roof. In the 2018-19 academic year, the baseline, schools that implemented positive discipline had a chronic absenteeism rate of just 16.67%, the Miami University team reported. By 2022-23, that rate had increased to 27.93%, a 68% jump. Schools that didn’t implement the approach saw their chronic absenteeism rates rise from an average of 19.52% in 2018-19 to 33.33% in 2022-23, a 71% increase.
Positive discipline is only part of the solution
From the 2021-22 school year to the following school year, Ohio’s overall chronic absenteeism rate decreased slightly, to a state average of 26.8%. Still, it remains a critical problem.
Recognizing the severity of the problem, Ohio’s Department of Education has stepped up its efforts to reduce chronic absenteeism in schools and districts in 2022-23. The initiative, called the Chronic Absenteeism Improvement Indicator, compares a district’s chronic absenteeism rate to benchmarks set for annual improvement. It’s all part of the new star rating system.
The implementation of the SAFE Act in Ohio and a positive approach to managing student behavior are the first steps toward the goal of improving the learning environment and increasing student engagement in school.
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