talladega city schools

ATTENDANCE MATTERS

Welcome

This website is designed to provide information regarding attendance and Talladega City Schools.

Talladeaga City Schools Website

Regular school attendance is necessary for a successful school experience. Instructional continuity is interrupted and the valuable interaction that occurs with teachers and among fellow students is lost when a student is frequently absent, tardy, or dismissed early from school. Realizing that regular attendance in school is necessary for students to gain maximum benefits from public education, the Board urges all parents/guardians to stress punctuality and regular attendance habits with their children.

A phone call to the school about an absence is not sufficient documentation. The State of Alabama requires a written note on file within three (3) school days upon the student’s return.

No more than (10) absences per year authorized by a parent/guardian will be excused during the school year. After the accumulation of (10) parent-authorized absences per year (not documented medically or legally) then medical or legal documentation must be presented for additional absences to be excused. (Board Policy 5.43)

Excused absence:

Any child who is absent from school must present a written excuse signed by the parent or guardian immediately upon his/her return. The note must clearly indicate the reason for absence and must be presented within three school days from the child’s return to school. Please note that a phone call does not excuse your child’s attendance.

The school will classify an absence as “excused” for one of the following reasons only:

Illness

Death in the immediate family

Quarantine

Exceptionally urgent reasons (will be used only in such unavoidable absences as affect the welfare of the child directly and not for the convenience of the parent)

Religious observances WITH prior approval

Tutorial work

Educational tours or trips WITH prior approval (not to exceed five days per year)

Health care

Any absence that can be anticipated beforehand should be brought to the attention of the building principal well in advance of the absence.

Secondary students who are absent in excess of twenty days from any year-long course may be denied academic credit for that course. Credit for semester courses may be denied if ten days of absence are exceeded. Special consideration will be given to those students who are seriously ill and have medical documentation.

Religious Observation: For full or part-time absence of a student to observe a religious holiday, it is necessary that a written request for absence be presented to the school prior to the religious holiday(s). Under these circumstances, the student will not be deprived of eligibility to compete for any award.

Unexcused or Unlawful Absences:

All absences for reasons other than those cited above will be considered as “unexcused.” All “unexcused” absences for students under the age of seventeen are also recorded as “unlawful.”

The student and parent/guardian will be notified of a first and second unexcused/unlawful absence. When a student accumulates three days of unlawful absence in a school year, the principal shall send an official “first offense notice” to the parent/guardian and a copy to the Principal. A letter will be sent home after the fifth and seventh unexcused absences. For each incident of unlawful absence after the fifth unlawful absence, the attendance officer shall do one or more of the following; refer the child to an attendance improvement program, refer to Children and Youth or file a truancy citation with the District Magistrate.

check in tardy

Check-in/tardy is defined as arriving at school after the tardy bell has rung. Check-ins will be coded excused or unexcused according to the “excusable absence” policy. All students who arrive late to school must be checked in by their parents through the school office. Late arrivals to school will be unexcused unless the student or parent/guardian presents a doctor's excuse or other documentation consistent with that required for excused status under the Attendance Policy. Each unexcused check-in constitutes a tardy to school for purposes of this policy. Note: A student who has unexcused class absences resulting from unexcused check-ins will not be eligible to make up work missed in such classes.

check out

Check-out is defined as leaving school prior to the end of each respective school’s regular day. Board of Education policy states that students are not permitted to leave the school during the regular school day except in case of emergency or on written permission by the parent or guardian.

A student is permitted to leave the school campus during regular school hours only in accordance with the provisions that follow:

A student’s parent(s) or guardian(s) may come to the school in person and check his/her child out of school.
A student may not be checked out of school by any person other than his/her parent(s) or guardian(s) or someone specifically designated by the student’s parent(s) or guardian(s) in the student’s check-out file in PowerSchool.
For students in grades 9-12, a student may be permitted by the principal or designee to leave the school campus in emergency situations if,
- a) the student brings a written statement signed by the parent(s) or guardian(s) that can be confirmed prior to the student leaving school; or
- b) if the parent(s) or guardian(s) telephone and request the student be allowed to leave. The principal or designee shall attempt to contact the student’s parent(s) or guardian(s) to confirm the request. (Emergencies may include a personal illness or accident of the student, illness or accident involving the parent, or any situation that could affect the student’s health or welfare.

Appointments scheduled ahead of time, personal errands, or school activities are not emergency situations. Written requests must remain on file in the principal’s office for the remainder of the school year with documentation of confirmation.)

Students will not be allowed to leave campus for any reason(s) other than those set forth in the provisions above except when accompanied and supervised by a school staff member and with the written permission of the student’s parent(s) or guardian(s) and the school principal or designee.

Cumulative Absences

Whenever a student accumulates ten (10) or more absences in a school year (fifteen or more if five of these absences are pre-approved for educational trips/tours), a “School Attendance Improvement Plan” will be developed to improve student attendance.

Consecutive Absences

Whenever a student has ten (10) consecutive absences and there is no evidence that these absences are “excused”, the district shall begin the process to remove the student from its active membership roll.

Make-up work excused absence

If a student is absent for any excused reason as previously defined including out-of-school suspension, the student shall be allowed to make up all major assignments and other work missed during said absence or absences at a time agreeable to the teacher(s). Teachers shall not be required to re-teach lessons, but students shall be given a reasonable opportunity to learn the lessons missed due to excused absences.

make-up work unexcused absence

Teachers shall not provide make-up work or examinations for students absent for unexcused reasons. Teachers at their discretion may require students absent for unexcused reasons to make-up homework, class work, etc. on a non-credit basis in order to help such students maintain academic pace.

State of Alabama Parental Notification Early

Warning Truancy Prevention Program

A parent, guardian, or other person having charge of any child officially enrolled in Alabama public schools (K-12) shall explain in writing the cause of any and every absence of the child no later than three (3) school days following return to school. A failure to furnish such explanation shall be evidence of the child being truant each day he is absent. The child shall also be deemed truant for any absence determined by the principal to be unexcused based upon the State Department of Education’s current School Attendance Manual. Seven unexcused absences within a school year constitute a student being truant for the purpose of filing a petition with the Court. The Interagency Committee on Youth Truancy Task Force recommendations known as the Early Warning Truancy Prevention Program timeline for reporting truancy shall define the truancy status of any student as follows:

First Unexcused Absence (School Letter--Warning)

Parent/guardian shall be notified by the school principal or his/her designee that the student was truant and the date of the truancy.

Third Unexcused Absence (School Letter - Meeting)

The parent, guardian, or person having control of the child shall participate in meeting at the school to create a plan for attendance. Parent/guardian shall also be provided with a copy of Alabama’s compulsory school attendance laws and advised of the penalties that can be applied and the procedures that shall be followed in the event that other unexcused absences occur.

Fifth Unexcused Absence (Early Warning--Court)

The parent, guardian, or person having control of the child shall participate in the early warning program provided by the juvenile court. Attendance shall be mandatory except where prior arrangements have been made or an emergency exists. Failure to appear at the Early Warning Program shall result in the filing of a complaint/petition against the parent under Code of Alabama (1975), Section 16-28-12(c) (failure to cooperate), or a truancy against the child, whichever is appropriate.