SHS Attendance Policy
Definition of truancy or tardy: A student is truant or tardy when he or she fails to be at the assigned place at the assigned time without permission from a parent or school official. Both of these offenses will bring a student under the review of the administrative discipline policy. Parents may excuse students for medical appointments, death in the family, illness, family emergency, or extenuating circumstances.

ATTENDANCE OFFICE: 489-2816

PROCEDURE:
1. If a student is absent from one or more classes, he or she must go to the attendance office and obtain a written admit slip before being allowed to return to the missed class. If a student is more than 10 minutes late to class, he or she must have an admit before going to class.
2. To obtain an excused admit slip, the student will go to the front office and:
a. Pick up the slip, which will be ready because the parent has already called the school and excused the absence.
b. Produce a written note from a parent or guardian to obtain an excused admit slip for the missed class(es). (Written notes will be randomly reviewed for authenticity.)
3. A student is always allowed to go to class. If the parent has not already called to excuse the absence or if the student does not have a note from the parent, the student will be given an un-excused admit slip. Note: After the student has returned to class with an un-excused admit, it is too late to have it excused.
4. Students must check in at the attendance office if they come to school any later than 8:10 a.m. Students must check out at the office if they leave anytime during the day. (A student may leave during lunch without checking out if a call is made to the school to tell the office that he or she will not return on time. The absence may then be excused later.)
5. Parents are encouraged to call the school before an expected absence, such as doctor/dentist appointments, family trips, etc. and have that absence pre-excused. District policy requires that a student may not be excused after five school days, even if the student has not yet returned to any class.
6. If a student neglects to check out at the office with parent contact before leaving school (except during lunch), it is a truancy and may not be excused later. If a student comes to school after 8:10 a.m. and does not check in at the office, it may not be excused later. Also, a student may not be excused by a parent while in the building but not in class.
7. Teachers will report their attendance via the electronic reporting system, which generates a list of absent students. If the student has not yet been excused, the parent will be called that evening by an automated system.
8. Students who are tardy (less than 10 minutes) are disruptive and tardiness is academically defeating. Therefore it is essential that all students are prompt. Occasionally, there are reasons a student must be tardy. Parents may only excuse tardies for the first class of the student’s day. Students will serve one-half hour detention for every tardy.

STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES:
1. It is the student’s responsibility to remind parents to excuse an absence before an admit is needed. If you are checking in during the day, the absence must be called in before you come to the attendance window or you must bring a note from your parent. If you missed on a previous day, the absence must be excused before 8:00 a.m. on the day you return to class.
2. Go to the attendance office before returning to the missed class and obtain a written admit slip. Get the admit slip well in advance of the next time the class meets, so you will know if your parent has excused it. If you have to miss class to get an admit, you may be charged with a tardy or absence by the teacher.
3. If you know you are going to be absent, get a pre-excused form from the front office, have all your teachers sign it, ask for your homework, and return the signed slip to the attendance office. (Note: a parent must excuse the absence before you can get the form.)
4. Remember, you must:
a. Be in every class, every day, on time.
b. If you must leave during the school day, check out through the office.
c. Check in through the office if you come to school anytime after 8:10 a.m.
d. Obtain the admit slip well in advance of the next time the class meets.
e. If you leave at lunch and are not able to return, call the school immediately so that it can be excused by a parent later. If you know you are not going to return, check out before you leave.
5. Students who have an un-excused absence (truancy) must make-up that time through after-school or before-school detention for which they have signed. Tardy detentions (one-half hour) are to be served before school.
6. Detention must be served on the day and at the time you have committed to attend. If you fail to attend, you will be sent home and a parent will need to return to school to reinstate you. A parent can temporarily excuse you from detention, but this must be done prior to the time the detention was to be served.

TEACHER RESPONSIBILITIES:
1. Take roll accurately in every class and have it entered in the computer by 3:05 P.M. that day. This includes marking absences and tardies for TA’s.
a. If a student comes in during the first ten minutes of class, he is tardy.
b. If a student comes in after ten minutes or never comes, he is absent and needs to bring an admit slip.
c. If a student leaves early, he will be marked absent and must check out through the office.
d. If a student is school excused and leaves (or comes) during class at the appropriate time, he is not to be marked absent. He should only be marked absent if he never comes.
2. If a previously absent student comes to class without an admit slip, instruct him/her to go directly to the office, obtain one and return to class promptly. a. It is expected that students will already have done this before coming to your class.
b. The student should be marked tardy (or absent) if doing this during class.
3. Teachers are encouraged to have their own classroom policies designed to encourage promptness and punctuality. They are also encouraged to work with students to reduce their total number of tardies in class.

PARENT RESPONSIBILITIES:
1. Let the attendance office know as soon as you know your student is going to be absent. Voice messaging is available before and after office hours at 489-2816.
2. If your child is absent, please call the attendance office (or send a note to school with the student) before the student returns to the missed class so he or she will be able to obtain an excused admit slip to return to class.
3. Call in advance to let the office know your child needs to check out during the day. You may also send a note. The student is not allowed to leave without parental permission, except in an emergency at the administrator’s discretion.
4. If your student will be checking in during the day, you must call or send a note prior to his arrival at the attendance office.
5. If your student leaves school during lunch and does not return, you need to excuse that absence as soon as possible.
6. The parent (or legal guardian) must excuse the absence. An older brother or sister, aunt, uncle, or other family member is not allowed to excuse, unless special written permission has been given in advance. If a parent is going to be out of town and has someone supervising the children during their absence, they must let the school know the name of the person authorized to excuse their child.
7. If possible, regularly check your student’s attendance using the Student Information System (www.nebo.edu) to determine if the attendance appears to be accurate. If there are any discrepancies or questions, contact the attendance office. (User ID and password are available from an administrator.)

ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Keep track of school attendance, being as accurate as possible in determining if the absence is excused or un-excused.
2. Have a system in place that can process students efficiently.
3. Maintain a detention program for truant students. The truant student will be required to make-up one an hour in detention for each class missed.
4. Contact parents if the student is not attending school, detention, or if there is a concern regarding the student.

ATTENDANCE OFFICE: 489-2816