Attendance

We expect our students to come to school every day for the entire day. If your child is ill and will be absent or late to school, the parent/guardian must call, email the Main Office before the start of the school day.

We track the following infractions: absences, tardies, and early dismissals. We also track no calls (when no one calls the Main Office by the school’s start time to inform us that your student will be absent or late). Absences and tardies can be either excused or unexcused. If a child is regularly absent, they are likely to fall behind academically and socially. In the event of repeated absences, the school will take the following actions in order to assist the family in improving their student’s attendance:

• Parent/guardian will receive a phone call upon an absence.

• The teacher will contact the parents/guardians after 3 consecutive unexcused absences.

• A letter of excessive absences will be sent home from the school district. This is defined as 10% unexcused absences or 20% excused absences in a one month period.

• The principal will contact the parent/guardian to schedule a meeting when necessary. At that meeting the school will provide the family with strategies that can help improve the child’s attendance.

Please bring and encourage your child to be in his/her designated area before the music begins at 7:55 a.m. For more information in regards to attendance rules and laws(Truancy Prevention) for the state of Utah; please visit: Utah Office of Administrative Rules

In an effort to increase student attendance and parent/guardian accountability, the Utah Legislature passed legislation during the 2007 Session in the form of House Bill 207. HB2007, “School Truancy and Compulsory Education,” (Effective July 2020) contains some new language and laws in regards to compulsory education, truancy, and consequences for excessive student truancy and parent/guardian responsibility in getting their children to school.

Parents and students need to understand what constitutes a valid excuse for being absent from school. The following are valid excuses for being absent from school.

• An illness

• A death of a family member or close friend

• A documented medical appointment, (Please bring a note from medical personnel when requesting an excused absence.)

• A family emergency

• An approved school activity

• A pre-approved family activity or travel: In determining whether to pre-approve a family activity or travel as a valid excuse, the district/school shall approve the absence if the district/school determines that the absence will not adversely impact the student’s education; (Please pre-approve all family activity or travel through the office.)

• Other absences may be considered as “valid excuses” as determined by the school

Parents/Guardians will have 5 days from when their child returns to school to contact the office to excuse an absence.

The Legislature’s intent and purpose of these laws is to improve student attendance and to establish that being in school is and should be an important priority. A parent and student’s responsibility, honesty, and integrity will become an integral part of these new attendance laws.

Utah Compulsory Attendance Laws

A student must check in at the office if they arrive after 8:15 a.m. and upon returning to school after being checked out. Teachers will not admit a student without confirmation from the office staff or principal.

To check a student out of school, the parent or an authorized adult must first go to the office and show ID, sign the student out on the student check out record, and wait for the student in the office. We cannot and will not release a student without an authorized adult (in Aspire) on the emergency contacts coming into the office to show ID.