Attendance Regulations and Procedures

Regular school attendance increases students’ learning opportunities and likelihood of academic success.  Likewise a pattern of absences results in severe disruptions to the learning process.  School district, county, and state policies and laws exist to prevent problems related to truancy and frequent school absence.  In order to promote regular school attendance and student learning, as well as help parents avoid truancy violations that result in legal fines, parents must make every effort to start regular school attendance habits.

Truancy from school is prohibited by law. Truancy is defined as an absence of part or all of one or more days from school during which a school official has not been notified of the legal cause of the absence by a parent/guardian. Legal causes for school absence include:

• Physical or mental illness as excused by licensed medical provider
  • When to Keep Your Child Home
• Written excuse by parents for up to 10 days
• Written pre-excuse by parents for up to 10 days (family trips)
• Written excuse by parent and principal to serve as an election official

How do parents excuse absences?

In order for an absence to be excused, a phone call or note indicating the reason for any and all absences must be received by the school.