Principals will now get the final decision as to what is school sponsored and what is school related when it comes to student absences at their schools.The decision was made after Director of Schools Bobby Cox said there needed to be more flexibility when it comes to allowing students to make trips that directly involve school.“These are things like ballgames, competitions and college visits,” said Cox in pointing out some examples of what constitutes a school-sponsored absence. School related would be trips to the fair for a 4-H event or perhaps a church trip that had some kind of educational aspect.Under the former rule, a student was limited to six school-sponsored events before their absences would be unexcused. The new chronic absenteeism initiative closely tracks absences.