ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — After considering the disappearance and death of 13-year-old Madeline Soto, Orange County Public Schools will notify parents of their child’s attendance sooner rather than later.
Orange County Public Schools will start notifying parents of their child’s attendance at the beginning of the school day, as well as at the end of it, WFTV-TV reported.
The district's current policy states teachers must submit attendance records by 3:30 p.m. each day. The report is then sent to parents thereafter, according to WKMG-TV.
“It really was a lot more complicated than I think any of us realized and so I will be honest, I did not expect we would have a solution in place,” OCPS chair Teresa Jacobs told the Orlando news station.
Soto’s mother found out her daughter never arrived at Hunter’s Creek Middle School when she went to pick her up during the afternoon of Feb 26., detectives said. Four hours later, Soto was reported missing.
Soto’s mother’s boyfriend, Stephan Sterns, who faces more than 60 counts associated with her disappearance, never dropped her off at the school, investigators said.
The district plans to implement a system that allows parents to see their child’s attendance, in real-time for each class period through a school's student portal, Vazquez told WFTV.
The new system will go into effect on April 8.
