LAWRENCEBURG, Tenn. (WSMV) - The Lawrence County Board of Education voted to update the district’s attendance policy at their meeting Thursday night after backlash from parents.

Hundreds of parents showed up at the meeting in protest of the new attendance policy passed over the summer.

The policy classified any missed school day as an absence without differentiating between excused or unexcused absences, regardless of if parents provided a doctor’s note. It allowed principals to waive absences for limited reasons including a death in the family, religious observances and chronic illness.

A communication sent to parents about the new policy noted that students would be petitioned to court after eight absences in the school year.

The change caused outrage among parents who said they

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