State Requirement:

Beginning in the 2017-18 school year, chronic absenteeism will be a part of district and school accountability.

The measure will be called the Chronically Out-of-School Indicator. This indicator will be based on what research calls chronic absenteeism, which is defined as a student missing 10% ( percent) or more of the days the student is enrolled-for any reason, including excused absences and out-of-school suspensions (Enrolled 180 days = 18 days absent will be considered Chronically ABSENT). Excessive absences from school represent lost instructional time for a student. The department of education encourages districts and schools to carefully review attendance data throughout the school year to ensure supports are in place to maximize learning time for all students.

The following shall be accepted as an excuse for absences, tardiness and early dismissal.

1. Doctor’s Note or religious reasons
2. Death in the immediate family (parent, guardian, step-parent, brother, sister, grandparent, aunt, uncle, or any other family member that resides in the student’s house.)
3. Legal (court, attorney, etc.)
4. An excused absence for one (1) day when the member is deployed, and an additional excused absence for one (1) day when the service member returns from deployment.
5. School sponsored activities (field trip, club trips etc.)
6. Head Lice is excused the day student is sent home by the nurse, if other days are missed a parent or doctor’s note is required.
7. Seniors may use up to 3 days to visit college campuses or career related trips (military, Chattanooga State, ACT, etc.) College visits must be scheduled with college advisors.

Notes shall consist of:

1. Parent notes will include: name of student, the current date, date of student’s absence, reason for absence, and parent/guardian signature. Please remember we will accept only five (5) parent notes per year and then a doctor’s signature note is required.
2. A written excuse from a doctor, dentist or other medical professional must have the following. The date and time of the appointment must be specified. Only dates specified on the note will be excused as a medical. Students who have office visits not involving an illness (ex: tests, physicals, visits to the dentist or health department) are expected to return to school and will be excused for reasonable travel time.
3. A student has a maximum of three (3) days to turn in his/her written excuse upon returning to school. Excuses turned in after three (3) days are unexcused.
4. Family vacations will not be excused.

According to the State of Tennessee Attendance manual, if a student is not a player on a team and they leave to go to the game the absence is unexcused. A tardy occurs when a student is out of the classroom after the beginning of the official school day or when a student is late reporting to a class. An early dismissal occurs when a student leaves school before the end of the official school day. Notes for early dismissal must have a contact number for parent/guardian verification or the note will not be honored.   Unless a student is leaving for a doctor or dentist appointment the early dismissal will be unexcused, including midterm or final exam days. If a parent calls to have a student dismissed early it will be unexcused unless it is an emergency. Parent notes brought in for tardies or early dismissals will count as one of the (5) parent notes that a student can use. Students that get a tardy to class or school will be required to stay after school for each tardy. (Grades 4-12) ·

The student shall be required to make up missed work as specified by the classroom teacher. It is the student’s responsibility to collect and return missed work within two (2) days of his/her return. Failure to complete missed assignments shall constitute a zero for the assignment. Students who have unexcused absences forfeit the right to receive make-up work.

Driver’s  License Revocation:

More than 10 consecutive or fifteen (15) reported unexcused absences by a student during any semester renders a student ineligible to retain a driver’s license or permit or to obtain such if of age. A student must also make “satisfactory academic progress” by making a passing grade in 50% of their subjects at the end of each semester.

Other Attendance Policies

Make-Up Work All students with absences of any kind will receive a zero for any work missed during the absence. (See below)

Students with excused absences –  After returning to school, a student will have (2) two days for every three (3) days of consecutive absences to make up work. The zero will be removed upon the completion of the work. The student has the responsibility to obtain the work and any classroom notes that were missed. For example, if a student is absent one whole week, they will be allowed (4) four days to make up the work (2) two days for the first three absences and (2) two days for the other two absences).

Students with unexcused absences – Unexcused absence cannot make up any work and will receive zeros.

• Perfect Attendance: For the purposes of attendance awards, a student must be in school every day, on time, all day. Field trips do count against attendance.
  
• Extracurricular Activities Unless otherwise permitted by the principal, students may not attend extracurricular activities (e.g. dances, sporting events, etc.) if they have been absent the day of or before the event.
  
• Sports Participation Students who are absent all day will not be allowed to play in any sporting event on that day. If a student misses part of the school day for a doctor visit, the coach and the Principal may approve playing on that day with a hand written doctor’s excuse.
  
• Out-of-School and In-School Suspension Students who receive in-school or out-of-school suspension as the result of misbehavior will not participate in any school functions for those days.

Returning to School after an Absence or Being Tardy

Students in grades 7-12 will report to the Attendance Officer (Mrs. Tate in Room 127) when returning to school after an absence. Students in grades K-6 will give their notes to their classroom teachers and those notes will be forwarded on to Mrs. Tate. Mrs. Tate will give the student a form to take to his/her teachers stating whether the absence is excused or unexcused.  Parents will be notified by mail if this occurs

Driver’s Permit Form – Students attempting to obtain a driver’s permit must request a form from the office at least five (5) days before going to take the test. Students must arrange for this by checking with each teacher to ensure that no tests are being missed.

The driver’s permit form will not be issued to students with:

1. Failing semester grades in two or more subjects at the time of the request.
2. Five or more unexcused absences for ONE semester OR TEN FOR THE YEAR.
3. Patterns of behavior that clearly demonstrated that a student is subtracting from the school by causing teachers extra work or distracting fellow classmates.

Leaving school for a driver’s test is an unexcused absence unless the student comes back to school and shows us the receipt for taking the test. We will give one excused absence for driver’s permit and one for driver’s license. Please contact the school one week prior to the date of the student needing the permit form.