EXCLUSIVE: OCPS Superintendent discusses new attendance callout policy on WDBO

Orlando, FL — After the disappearance and death of 13-year-old, Madeline Soto, questions were raised about the timeline.

Soto was reported missing late in the evening of February 26th, after she was last seen early in the morning.

Orange County Public Schools made a phone call to Soto’s mother at the end of the school day, per the districts previous callout policy.

The timeline gap lead to OCPS implementing a policy change for callouts to parents when their child is absent.

READ: OCPS Superintendent details impact after implementation of school cell phone policy

OPCS parents are now able to take advantage of a new notification system, that makes additional callouts to parents when their child is not in attendance at school in the morning.

OCPS encourages their teachers to enter in attendance during first period, so callouts can begin as soon as possible if a student is absent.

The district said their will be additional follow-up calls in the afternoon, if students are out an entire school day, or the school is unable to reach the parents or guardians after the first phone call.

OCPS Superintendent, Dr. Maria Vasquez, joined WDBO to discuss the new policy.

“In a way, I am very touched that were able to have some positive outcome out of that horrible tragedy that brought to light that our (previous) callout system had been in place for over 15 years,” said Dr. Vasquez. “(The old policy) Really needed to be revisited and I feel that this is now an added safety measure, that parents can have to feel more secure about their children in school.”

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Dr. Vasquez said, because the policy rolled out on the same day as the solar eclipse, over 34,000 duplicated calls went out on the policy’s first day in action.

However, the OCPS Superintendent said those numbers settled down as the week went on.

The district averaged approximately 18,000 non-duplicated calls in the policy’s first week.

The new policy went into effect on Monday, April 8th.

READ: Orange County School Board, Classroom Teachers Association votes to ratify ‘historic’ raise

Listen to the full interview with OCPS Superintendent, Dr. Maria Vasquez, on Orlando’s Morning News Express:

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