Van-Far’s school board made two updates to district attendance policies during their December meeting.

In keeping with a recent order from the state attorney general, the district will no longer require students to quarantine because of COVID-19 infection or exposure.

Superintendent of schools John Fortney said the district will use existing state law to exclude students who show symptoms from school. The law covers all infectious diseases, Fortney said.

Under the new policy, close contacts of students affected by COVID will not be required to quarantine, and school staff will no longer perform contact tracing to identify other potential COVID cases.

A second update will grant students participating in activities sanctioned by the FFA, FCCLA, 4H or State Fair excused absences for days missed for those activities.

Under the new policy, students could participate in activities such as showing livestock or attending conferences on their own. Parents must request permission and the faculty sponsor must sign off on the event. Students will have to meet the same requirements as school athletes to participate in the events. If the club sponsor isn’t a district employee, excused absences will be limited to five days a year.

State law allows for such absences, said board member Tony Dameron, who introduced the update.

In other action, the board awarded a contract for construction of a new football field with drainage to St. Louis firm Byrne and Jones. Total cost for the project is $298,531.

Finally, the board approved making the school resource officer a full-time position. The cost will be $13,000 per quarter and will be covered by existing funds.