Attendance

General Rules & Information

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It is important to note that students must present a written excuse, signed by a parent/legal guardian or a medical professional, for all absences within 3 days of the student’s return to school. The written excuse should include the reason for and the date of absence. Without a valid written excuse, the absence will be recorded as unlawful. Absences in excess of 5 days per semester or 10 days per year will not be considered excused with a parent/guardian note unless accompanied by official medical documentation or approved by the principal. These updates are in effect for the 2024-25 school year and can be reviewed in the student handbook or on the Greenville County Schools website.

Attendance Office Contact

Attendance Clerk--Amanda DeHart

Office# 864-355-1991 Fax# 864-355-1821 adehart@greenville.k12.sc.us

Absences 101

*All notes including medical, dental, parent notes, etc... must be turned in within three days of an absence.

*Dental notes only cover two class periods for the day unless your dentist specifies a full day absence.

*Students get 5 unexcused days per semester.

*Students must be in class for 60 minutes in order to be counted present for that class.

Unlawful Absences

Absences of a student without the knowledge of his or her parents
Absences of a student without acceptable cause with the knowledge of his or her parents.
Suspension is not to be counted as an unlawful absence for truancy purposes.

Truancy

Although the state requires students to only attend 170 of the 180-day school year, parents and students should be aware that SC Code of Regulations - Chapter 43-274 stipulates that a child ages 6 to 17 years is considered truant when the child has three consecutive unlawful absences or a total of five unlawful absences. For purposes of this section (truancy and compulsory attendance), a parent may provide up to 5 parent notes excusing a student illness or an absence related to an immediate family member’s illness or death. However, in order for any subsequent absence related to an illness to be lawful it must be supported by a physician statement/medical note.

Early Dismissals

*Students who need an early dismissal will need to turn in a hand written note before 8:45.

*Parent notes for early dismissals can be emailed to adehart@greenville.k12.sc.us.

*If a student driver needs to leave during class the student will need to have a parent/guardian come sign them out in the front office.

No early dismissals after 3:15

Tardy Policy

The following are acceptable as “Excused Tardy”

Medical appointment (must have note from doctor)

Court appearance (note from court summons)

Administrative approval

Lawful Lawful Absences

Absences caused by a student's illness and whose attendance in school would endanger his or her health or the health of others. These absences must be verified by a physician statement within two (2) days of the student's return to school.
Absences due to an illness or death in the student's immediate family verified by a statement from the parent within two (2) days of the student's return to school.
Absences due to a recognized religious holiday of the student's faith when approved in advance. Such requests must be made to the principal in writing.
Absences for students whose parents/guardians are experiencing a military deployment. Specifically absences when the parent or legal guardian of a student is an active duty member of the uniformed services and has been called to duty for, is on leave from, or immediately returned from deployment to a combat zone or combat support posting, shall be excused as long as such absences are reasonable in duration as deemed by the principal so that the student can visit with his or her parent or legal guardian relative to such leave or deployment of the parent or legal guardian.
Absences due to activities that are approved in advance by the principal. This would include absences for extreme hardships. Such approval should be prearranged when possible.

Regular school attendance is an essential part of a student's learning process and a necessary means to graduating with a good education. Students who are frequently absent may be putting their futures in jeopardy by falling behind in academics and missing important socialization concepts that enhance their ability to understand and follow directions. Chronic absenteeism, especially truancy, is a behavior that is highly associated with dropping out of school.

School Absence Policy

Absences are defined as either lawful (excused) or unlawful (unexcused). The school year consists of 180 school days. Students must attend 85 days of each 90-day semester course and 170 days of each 180-day year course to receive credit.

EXTENDED ILLNESSES

Students and parents should be keenly aware of the opportunity to obtain “Homebound” instruction should he/she have to miss school for any extended length of time. Once a parent or student realizes he/she will be out for an extended length of time, he/she can apply for a “Homebound” instructor to visit the home 5 hours per week to keep the student abreast of his/her studies. The parent or student should contact his/her counselor immediately for such services (see phone numbers at front of handbook). Medical homebound instruction cannot be approved until a physician certifies that the student is medically unable to attend school, even with the aid of transportation, but may profit from instruction. Therefore, a note from the doctor specifying the need for the student to be out for extended time must be produced to potentially authorize the service. The superintendent of the school district, or his or her designee, must then approve or deny the medical homebound instruction request.

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