Attendance Policy

All students are expected to attend regularly.  Excessive absences prevent students from meeting the requirements of individual classes.  It is the intent of our Board of Education to ensure that student attendance is such that a sufficient amount of time is available to complete the task set by classroom teachers.  

Consequences for Violations:

Students will be expected to make up all assignments from missed classes regardless of whether an absence is excused or unexcused. Each teacher may set reasonable limits regarding the timeframe in which missed work may be completed. Attendance and participation are part of a successful learning experience. Except in certain situations with foster care children in accordance with law, students with more than six excused absences or any unexcused absences in any class in a semester will be issued an academic penalty in the form of grade reductions unless a student provides documentation that he or she must be absent for an extended period of time due to a specific event or long-term illness. Grade reductions are as follows:

Excused Absences Grade Reduction Unexcused Absences Grade Reduction

7     1% - -

8     2% - -

9     3% - -

10     4% 1 4%

11     6% 2 8%

12     8% 3 16%

13     16% 4 32%

14     32% 5+ 50%

15+     50% - -

This academic penalty represents the participation portion of the student's grade and is intended as a deterrent to excessive absences. Academic consequences accumulate more quickly for unexcused absences, since they are completely avoidable. Penalties are cumulative so that a student with ten excused absences and one unexcused absence would be penalized eight percent. Unexcused absences will not count in the excused total, so a student with six excused absences and one unexcused absence would only receive a four percent penalty.

Any student may reduce accrued absences by attending buy-back sessions scheduled by the assistant principal during non-instructional times. The student must sign-up for the attendance buy-back day, and the assistant principal will provide the student information on the next available session. Make-up sessions do not match the educational value of actual class attendance, so no student will be allowed to make up more than five absences by attending make-up sessions.

FILE: JED-AP2 See Student Absences & Excuses.