Comal ISD to submit low-attendance waiver for safety concern

The Comal ISD board of trustees approved the submission of a low-attendance waiver for Canyon Middle and High schools to preserve funding at a regular board meeting Nov. 20.

The waiver was recommended by district staff after a threat to the campuses caused attendance to dip below daily averages Oct. 10, agenda documents state. The threat was posted to social media but was later investigated by authorities and determined to be unfounded, according to the district.

Two-minute impact

Low-attendance waivers can be submitted by school districts for days with lower-than-average attendance due to inclement weather or a health and safety issue. If approved, the day would not be used in calculations for Foundation School Program funding, according to the Texas Education Agency.

The measured attendance for the day to be submitted must fall below 10 percentage points of the daily averages. For the 2024-25 school year, both schools saw 94.3% and 92.8% average daily attendance, respectively, according to agenda documents.

On Oct. 10, Canyon High School saw only 57.5% attendance, while Canyon Middle saw 72.3%—both falling well below the 10-point benchmark set by the TEA, according to CISD.

What’s next

There is no definite timeline for when the waiver will be approved or denied, but a response typically arrives within a year, according to the district.