Until recently in North Carolina, most students needed to attend a mandated number of school days, as well as pass the content of their courses, to pass a class. Now, NC high schools can no longer fail students for missing too many classes.
You read that correctly—as of the 2025-2026 school year, high school students cannot be given a failing grade solely for attendance reasons, regardless of how many days they miss in the semester.
This grading policy was approved by the State Board of Education in November, according to the News & Observer. However, the change still allows schools to impose non-academic repercussions for excessive absences, such as in-school suspensions or limiting students’ ability to participate in extracurricular activities.
Previously, many schools in the state had used “FF” as the letter grade designating a failure of a course due to excessive absences, the newspaper reports. Under the new policy, “FF may only be used for a student who does not have a passing grade based on content and also has significant absences based on local board policy.”
Guidelines now state that students “may not fail a course based solely on attendance.”
The debate over whether grades should reflect criteria beyond academic performance (such as attendance and behavior) is a noble one. It is worth considering whether a student’s GPA should reflect how they behave in addition to how they perform; however, there is one important factor to consider if this debate must be had.
Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the problem of student absenteeism is still “chronic,” which means that they miss 10% or more of classes. In fact, in 2024, 25% of students were considered chronically absent. While graduation rates slowly rise, the rate of absences is not dropping.
Proponents of this change may argue that it will help keep students on track for graduation in the aftermath of COVID-19, when learning was heavily disrupted. Others see it as a perpetuation of the absenteeism issue—if a key incentive for attending class (passing) is removed, what motivation will students have to go?
We invite you to share your thoughts on the subject by emailing info@schoolboardleader.com. Are you in support of this new policy, or do you feel it will encourage more absenteeism? Your feedback is greatly appreciated.