4.8—MAKE-UP WORK
Students who miss school due to an excused absence shall be allowed to make up the work they missed during their absence under the following rules:1
Students are responsible for asking the teachers of the classes they missed what assignments they need to make up.2
Teachers are responsible for providing the missed assignments when asked by a returning student.2
Students are required to ask for their assignments on their first day back at school or their first class day after their return.2
Make-up tests are to be rescheduled at the discretion of the teacher, but must be aligned with the schedule of the missed work to be made up.
Students shall have one class day to make up their work for each class day they are absent.3
Make-up work which is not turned in within the make-up schedule for that assignment shall receive a zero.4
Students are responsible for turning in their make-up work without the teacher having to ask for it.2
Students who are absent on the day their make-up work is due must turn in their work the day they return to school whether or not the class for which the work is due meets the day of their return.
As required/permitted by the student’s Individual Education Program or 504 Plan.
Work may not be made up for credit for unexcused absences unless the unexcused absences are part of a signed agreement as permitted by policy 4.7—ABSENCES.5
Work for students serving an out-of-school suspension or expulsion shall be in accordance with the District’s programs, measures, or alternative means and methods to continue student engagement and access to education during the student’s period of suspension or expulsion.6
In lieu of the timeline above, assignments for students who are excluded from school by the Arkansas Department of Health during a disease outbreak are to be made up as set forth in Policy 4.57—IMMUNIZATIONS.
In addition to the make-up work process above, at the conclusion of a pregnancy-related or parenting-related period of absence, a student may choose from various options to make up missed work, including without limitation:
Retaking a semester at the District school where the student is enrolled;
Participating in an online course credit recovery program;
Being granted six (6) weeks to continue at the same pace and finish the semester at a later date, provided that the student may:
Complete the student’s coursework within the current school year; or
Attend previously scheduled summer school classes made available by the District Where the student is enrolled; and
Receiving home-based instruction services.
Notes: 1 Your district has the right to require students to make up work for both excused and unexcused absences; requiring work to be made up for all absences could serve as a deterrent for unexcused absences.
2 This sentence should be modified for elementary school classes.
3 Select the number of days your district deems reasonable and feasible.
4 Your district may choose to adopt a different schedule such as docking the work a certain percentage for each day it is late.
5 The contents of this paragraph are optional and can be adjusted to the extent it remains aligned with your personalization of policy 4.7. While the law requires that students be provided an opportunity and a process to maintain education services during the student’s suspension or expulsion, whether or not a student receives credit for assignments as part of this process is dependent on the student completing the work and on whether or not you have adopted specific language prohibiting the student from receiving credit.
6 The program and method(s) you provide for students to maintain their educational opportunity should be in accordance with the requirements from Policy 4.30 and Policy 4.31.
Cross References: 4.7—ABSENCES
4.30—SUSPENSION FROM SCHOOL
4.31—EXPULSION
4.57—IMMUNIZATIONS
Legal References: A.C.A. § 6-18-234
A.C.A. § 6-18-502
DESE Rules Governing Student Discipline
Date Adopted: 5/18/2015
Last Revised: 7/16/2015; 7/9/2021; 7/16/2026