Durham Public Schools Board of Education - April 23, 2026: Chronic Absenteeism and Immigration Policy
The Durham Public Schools Board of Education confronts rising chronic absenteeism with new data-driven, relationship-focused strategies while debating how discipline, economic stress, and student safety shape who shows up to class. The board also finalizes immigration-enforcement procedures for campuses and approves a legislative agenda calling for full K–12 funding and stronger support for every learner. 44mins
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Original Meeting
Thursday, April 23rd, 2026
13719.0
#DPSCommunity | DPS Board of Education Monthly Meeting | 4/23/26
Video Notes
#DPSCommunity | DPS Board of Education Monthly Meeting | 4/23/26
In This Video
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Superintendent Dr. Anthony Lewis outlined concerns about proposed federal budget shifts that would cut overall education and language acquisition funding, described a projected $7.2 million local shortfall, and emphasized the need for community advocacy and balanced strategies to protect student services.
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LaVerne Mattocks-Perry reported that chronic absenteeism in Durham Public Schools remained elevated as a sustained post-pandemic condition, compared DPS rates with peer districts and statewide data showing one in four North Carolina students chronically absent, and stressed the need for urgent, early interventions to bend the attendance curve.
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Laverne Mattocks-Perry reported that chronic absenteeism remained disproportionately high for Black, Hispanic/Latino, American Indian, and other historically marginalized student groups compared to white peers, underscoring the need for more culturally responsive engagement and noting that Asian students had shown recent improvement.
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LaVerne Mattocks-Perry linked chronic absenteeism to the district’s strategic plan priority on student well-being, explaining that Durham Public Schools had missed recent attendance benchmarks and stressing that incremental gains were insufficient, calling for accelerated improvements through stronger attendance and student wellness efforts.
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Assistant Superintendent Chanel Sidbury explained that while some schools informally used mentors and community partners to support chronically absent students, the district did not yet have a universal, system-wide strategy or tracking mechanism for these efforts but could develop one if directed by the board.
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Assistant Superintendent Chanel Sidbury explained that the transition to the Infinite Campus system delayed automated attendance letters but that a new, earlier two-day warning letter was now in place, and emphasized clarifying teacher, principal, school team, and district responsibilities to ensure consistent attendance practices and monitoring.
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Board Member Jessica Carda-Auten asked how suspensions contributed to chronic absenteeism, and Assistant Superintendent Chanel Sidbury responded that discipline in the district still relied too heavily on punitive approaches despite efforts to expand restorative practices and social-emotional learning, with suspension data remaining high and disproportionately impacting Black and Brown students.
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A speaker and Superintendent Dr. Anthony Lewis clarified that nearly all time out of class—including excused absences and most suspensions—counts toward chronic absenteeism, noted that lingering post-COVID health habits and medical appointments can push students over the 10% threshold, and reminded families to use the adopted calendar to plan around school days.
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Assistant Superintendent Chanel Sidbury described how high school students’ full-time work, caregiving responsibilities for family members, and unmet mental health needs created complex barriers that made daily school attendance difficult without additional supports beyond what schools could provide.
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Board Member Emily Chávez confirmed with Assistant Superintendent Chanel Sidbury that a student was counted absent if missing half the day, raised concerns that partial-day absences might be overlooked in the data, and urged the district to emphasize the long-term economic benefits of completing high school for all students, including those who work and those without secure legal status.
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Assistant Superintendent Chanel Sidbury highlighted Jordan High School’s data-driven hallway sweeps to identify and support frequently out-of-class students, emphasized not assuming families were avoiding contact when they did not respond to one outreach method, and underscored that intentional school climate work where students feel seen and supported was key to reducing chronic absenteeism.
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Chair Bettina Umstead and Superintendent Dr. Anthony Lewis discussed chronic absenteeism as a deeper symptom beyond overall attendance rates, calling for root-cause analysis by student group, data on why students miss school to better target resources and policy changes, and noting recent setbacks for Hispanic students after prior gains.
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Dr. Deborah Pittman reviewed policy updates on handling immigration-related law enforcement requests, detailing required documentation and responses when no warrant was present, alignment with school safety protocols, and new training for all staff to protect student rights consistent with a November 2025 board resolution.
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Board Member Jessica Carda-Auten reflected on extensive collaboration with staff, safety officials, legal counsel, law enforcement, and families in shaping the immigration-related law enforcement policy and expressed pride that the revised version would better protect students and strengthen partnerships with law enforcement.
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Superintendent Dr. Anthony Lewis and Board Member Natalie Beyer discussed procedures for immigration-related law enforcement, with the Superintendent emphasizing not putting principals in confrontational positions and routing officers through school and district review of warrants, while the board member reiterated a preference that immigration contacts begin with the district rather than at school front offices except in exigent circumstances.
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Superintendent Dr. Anthony Lewis, Board Member Natalie Beyer, and Dr. Deborah Pittman revisited earlier discussions about immigration-related law enforcement contacts, with the board member reiterating a preference that officers not initiate at schools and staff clarifying that while that goal was shared, current guidance reflected the practical reality that officials often first appear at school sites.
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Executive Director Mclloyd T. Bynum cautioned that asking immigration or other law enforcement officers already inside a school to leave and go to the district could create unsafe confrontations for administrators who are not trained to assess warrants, and Superintendent Dr. Anthony Lewis noted the tension this created with existing guidance that directed principals to forward judicial warrants to the district office for legal review.
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Executive Director Bynum explained that immigration officers are often already inside schools before staff realize who they are, making it difficult and potentially confrontational to direct them to the district office, while Board Member Natalie Beyer questioned policy language that both discourages officers from coming to schools and instructs them to report to the main office, stressing the need for clearer guidance for principals.
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Board Member Jessica Carda-Auten, an additional speaker, and Superintendent Dr. Anthony Lewis discussed revising immigration-enforcement policy language to direct officers to contact the superintendent’s office before visiting a school and to remove wording about reporting to the main office, while keeping guidance for principals on what to do if officers still appear on campus.
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Chair Bettina Umstead and Board Member Natalie Beyer discussed the need to share family-impacting policies in clear, accessible language and highlighted a new provision stating that standard response protocols would be followed if immigration officers appeared on or near school property as a key improvement for community reassurance.
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