The Board of Education recognizes that regular school attendance
is a major component of academic success. Through implementation
of the attendance policy, the Board expects to reduce unexcused
absences, encourage full attendance by all students, maintain an
adequate attendance record-keeping system, identify patterns of
student absence and develop effective intervention strategies to
improve attendance. To ensure the success of this endeavor, students,
parents, teachers and administrators will be made aware of the
purpose, procedures and consequences of noncompliance for the
policy. Copies will also be available to the community and will appear
in district publications.
The policy addresses excused absences and unexcused absences
and tardiness. Excused absences are defined as absences due to
personal illness; illness or death in the family; impassable roads or
weather; religious observance; quarantine; required court appearances;
medical/dental appointments that cannot be scheduled outside the
school day; approved college visits; military obligations; or such other
reasons as may be approved. All other unapproved absences, tardiness
or early departures are considered unexcused absences. All absences
must be accounted for. It is the parent’s responsibility to notify the
school office on the morning of the absence or tardiness and to
provide a written excuse upon the student’s return to school. After
five consecutive absences, as per Board policy, it will be necessary to
submit a physician’s note.
Attendance will be taken during each class period at the secondary
level and on a daily basis on the elementary level. At the conclusion
of each class period or school day, all attendance information shall be
compiled and provided to the appropriate individual(s) responsible
for attendance. The nature of an absence (full day, class cut) shall be
coded on a student’s record. Student absence/class cut data will be
available to be reviewed by attendance officers or other appropriate
school personnel. The following individuals will be responsible for
overseeing, monitoring attendance and initiating appropriate action:
principal (elementary schools), assistant principal (middle and high
school). Where additional information is received from a student
during a student/staff conference that requires corrections to be
made to a student’s attendance records, such correction will be made
immediately. Notice of such a change will be sent to appropriate
school personnel (i.e., homeroom teachers, attendance officer, etc.).
Each school will maintain an attendance honor roll, which
will be published quarterly, identifying those students with perfect
and near-perfect attendance at the elementary level and perfect
attendance at the secondary level.
Generally, disciplinary sanctions will be imposed progressively.
This means a pupil’s first unexcused absence, tardiness or early
departure will usually merit a lighter penalty than subsequent
violations. In accordance with the district’s Code of Conduct,
the following range of disciplinary sanctions may be imposed to
discourage unexcused pupil absences, tardiness and early departure:
written or oral notification to parents, detention, suspension from
recreation participation, suspension from athletic participation,
suspension from social or extracurricular activities (i.e., proms, senior
celebrity night, etc.), suspension from other privileges (i.e., senior
lunch privileges, senior parking, etc.) or in-school suspension.
The Board of Education recognizes an important relationship
between class attendance and student performance. Consequently,
each marking period a student’s final grade will be based on
classroom participation as well as the student’s performance on
homework, tests, papers, projects, etc. Students (K-12) are expected
to attend all scheduled classes. Consistent with the importance of
classroom participation, any absence from class which is not made up
shall result in the loss of points from the student’s class participation
grade for the marking period. The manner in which the loss of points
may be reflected will vary according to the school level. Any student
who misses a class is expected upon his or her return to consult with
his/her teachers regarding missed work. At the early elementary level,
parents are expected to consult with the teacher regarding missed
work. If the absence is excused, the student may earn his or her
classroom participation grade by arranging an assignment with the
teacher to cover the work missed.
In implementing this policy, students who are unable to attend
a class on a given day/period due to their participation in a school sponsored activity (i.e., music lessons, field trips, etc.) may arrange
with their teachers to make up any work missed. This also applies
to any student who is absent from school due to illness who either
receives home instruction from the district or makes arrangements
with the teacher to make up the work missed. Students will be
given the opportunity to turn in a late assignment for inclusion
in the calculation of the performance portion of their final grade.
Makeup opportunities must be completed by a date specified by the
student’s teacher for the class or subject in question.
At the secondary level, any student with more than nine
absences for one-half year or 18 absences for a full year that are
not made up will not receive credit for that course. To ensure that
parents and students are aware of the implications of this minimum
attendance requirement, the teacher and other appropriate school
personnel will counsel the student and contact the parent by
telephone and mail at appropriate intervals prior to the student
reaching nine or 18 absences. Only students with excused absences
will be given the opportunity to make up a test for the inclusion in
the calculation of the performance portion of their final grade.