Tardiness

Tardiness, a persistent problem in schools, is defined within the educational system as late arrival to school or class and is linked to absenteeism and school dropouts. On-time arrival to school and class became an issue with compulsory school attendance. The first legislation to address tardiness in the United States was Massachusetts' Compulsory Education Act of 1852, which stated that students between the ages of 8 and 14 had to attend school at least three months out of the year and maintain at least 12 weeks of consecutive attendance. These rules have evolved to account for the time spent in classrooms and in schools. That is, though compulsory education varies by state, the law mandates that academic calendars are 180 days long and each day ...