🛝 States Split on Truancy Laws, Virtual Schools Demand Commitment, Merit Pay Comeback

Welcome to Playground Post, a bi-weekly newsletter that keeps education innovators ahead of what's next.

This week's reality check: California just eliminated criminal penalties for truancy while Kentucky doubled down on them. Meanwhile, virtual schools are thriving by requiring parents to essentially become co-teachers, and states are betting big on performance pay again - but this time it's different.

💎 Data Gem

20% of teachers under 30 plan to leave within five years (and in some systems it's ~50%), according to a new TALIS data report on the global teacher shortage and working conditions.

Should Parents Face Criminal Penalties for Children's Poor Attendance?

California Gov. Gavin Newsom just eliminated fines and jail time for parents whose children are chronically truant. 

The new law, which takes effect Jan. 1, reverses a policy that criminally penalized parents if their kids missed 10% or more of school days.

"Families and kids need support, not criminal charges and fines, to improve school attendance," said Assembly Member Patrick Ahrens, the bill's sponsor.

The timing is notable. 

Chronic absenteeism remains stubbornly high - 23.5% of students nationwide were chronically absent in 2023-24, up from 15% in 2018, according to the Return to Learn tracker.

But California is moving in the opposite direction of states like Kentucky, which passed a 2024 law requiring districts to report parents to county attorneys if K-5 students have 15+ unexcused absences. 

Districts warned the change would overwhelm courts and predicted parents would flee to homeschooling to avoid penalties.

They were right. 

Many Kentucky districts reported dramatic upticks in parents removing children for homeschooling after the law took effect.

Research shows the punitive approach might not address the real challenges some parents face.

A March 2023 analysis found that Black, Latino, and Native American students have a higher percentage of absences deemed unexcused than their peers - often because parents don't know they need documentation like doctor's notes.

Some schools have shifted from punishing truancy to monitoring all absences (excused and unexcused) to intervene early. But 20 states still require schools to alert courts if students are truant.

For education innovators, the shifting landscape suggests demand will continue growing for early intervention systems that help schools identify attendance patterns before they become truancy cases - tools that build trust rather than trigger legal penalties.

Who Supervises Students in Virtual Schools?

Roughly 1.7% of U.S. children are enrolled full-time in virtual schools - a small but steady population since the pandemic. 

What makes them work? Parents signing literal contracts to become "learning coaches."

Oklahoma-based Caney Valley Public Schools requires a 10-page contract for 20 hours weekly in classes and daily email check-ins. 

Pennsylvania Virtual Charter School requires parents to sit directly next to elementary-aged children during live classes.

"Ultimately, we are responsible for the children getting their work done or not," said Deborah Fairclough about parents in virtual programs.

For many families the trade-off makes sense. 

Angie Price's daughter spent 3-4 hours in competitive dance, then came home for 2-3 hours of homework. 

Virtual school gave them freedom.

Virtual schools aren't just replacing traditional schools - they're creating a new category that requires different support infrastructure. 

The winning providers aren't just delivering curriculum; they're equipping parents to be effective learning coaches.

Companies building for virtual education should focus on parent enablement tools, not just student-facing content. Think learning coach training platforms, family engagement systems, and tools that help parents monitor without micromanaging.

States Are Experimenting With Teacher Pay Again - But the Focus Isn't Just Test Scores

After years out of fashion, performance pay is back. 

Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, and Utah are running new experiments - but this time they're going beyond standardized test scores.

Utah's five-year pilot evaluates teachers on student achievement growth, professional evaluations, parent and student surveys, and teacher-team collaboration. 

Top-performing teachers get $10,000 annual bonuses; the top 11-25% get $2,000. 

In high-poverty schools, those bonuses double.

In Texas, the Teacher Incentive Allotment has grown from fewer than 3,000 teachers receiving bonuses five years ago to roughly 25,000 in 2025. 

Master teachers can earn $12,000 to $32,000 annually.

Arkansas' LEARNS program bumped the minimum starting salary to $50,000, then eliminated automatic raises. Instead, it allocates bonuses up to $10,000 based on student growth, mentoring, and teaching in shortage areas.

Early results are promising. 

Research on Arkansas shows the restructuring has helped rural districts compete with larger nearby districts and reduced teachers leaving the classroom for administrative roles.

"The only way teachers had to make a meaningful increase in their pay was leaving the classroom," said University of Arkansas professor Gema Zamarro. "Now the difference is lower, so it does seem that it is reducing turnover."

The challenge? 

These programs focus on top teachers, not base pay, which has declined more than 5% since 2015-2016 after adjusting for inflation.

Half of states now encourage districts to use teacher performance when structuring pay. Many are keeping performance-based bonuses separate from shortage-based bonuses for hard-to-staff subjects and schools.

For education technology companies, the trend suggests growing demand for evaluation systems that go beyond test scores - tools that measure classroom practice, peer collaboration, and student feedback. The states experimenting with multi-measure approaches will need platforms that can aggregate and analyze diverse data sources to determine performance fairly.

⚡️More Quick Hits

This week in education:

• Cellphone restrictions show benefits  -  RAND/JAMA studies confirm most school leaders restrict phones with perceived benefits for student engagement and classroom environment

• CTE funding moves to Labor Department  -  Trump administration transferred $1+ billion in Perkins CTE funding from Education to Labor, emphasizing immediate job placement over long-term career pathways for 12+ million students

• Direct admissions programs expand  -  North Carolina offered 62,000+ seniors direct admission to 100 colleges based on GPA; Idaho research shows 4-8% enrollment increase; programs now in 12+ states

• Student surveillance tools fail privacy tests  -  Districts pay $162,000+ for tools like Gaggle monitoring students 24/7; EFF rated Gaggle an "F" for privacy; 2022 Senate investigation found little evidence these tools prevent harm

📚 Weekend Reads

Monthly roundup of resources you might like:

• Academic Recovery Still Elusive — Data showing students need 4.8 additional months in reading and 4.3 months in math to reach pre-pandemic levels.

• Current Term Enrollment Estimates — Spring 2025 undergraduate enrollment up 3.5% to 15.3 million students, with community colleges leading the resurgence at 5.4% growth

• Educator Pay Rankings 2024-25 — State-by-state analysis showing average teacher salary reached $74,177, yet inflation has teachers earning 5% less than a decade ago

• Public Confidence in Schools — Record-low public approval with only 13% giving schools an A or B grade, and 59% of parents preferring private school options with public funds

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