Attendance Policy
Introduction
Pursuant
to sections 101, 207, 305, 3024, 3205, 3210, & 3211 of Education
Law, Section 104.1 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education
was amended effective November 29, 2001, concerning pupil attendance.
In accordance with State Education Law and State Education Department
Regulation, it is the policy of the Morris Central School District to
maintain student attendance records as stated in the following document.
I Objectives
A.
To ensure the maintenance of an adequate system to verify the
attendance of all students at Morris Central School in accordance with
Education Law Section 3205.
B.
To be accountable to parents of all students enrolled in Morris Central
School for the whereabouts of their children throughout each school
day.
C. To
ensure sufficient pupil attendance at all scheduled periods of actual
instruction or supervised study hall activities to permit
such pupils to succeed at meeting the State Learning
Standards.
D. To identify attendance patterns and to design improvement efforts.
E. To increase school completion.
F. To identify absent students, particularly for safety reasons.
II Definitions
Whenever they are used within the Comprehensive Attendance Policy, the following terms shall mean:
A. Scheduled
Instruction: Every period that a pupil is scheduled to attend
instructional or supervised study activities during the course of a
school day during the school year.
B.
Absent: Secondary (7-12), the pupil is not present for at least
one-half of the period of his/her scheduled instruction. Elementary
(K-6) – The pupil is not present for at least half of the scheduled
school day, (arrives after 11:15 a.m. or leaves before 11:15 a.m.)
C.
Tardy: Secondary (7-12), the pupil arrives after the scheduled
starting time of instruction, but does not miss more than one-half of
the class instruction. Elementary (K-6) the pupil arrives after 8:05 but
before 11:15 a.m.
D.
Early Departures: Secondary (7-12), the pupil leaves prior to the end
of his/her scheduled instruction, but does not miss more than one-half
of the class instruction. Elementary (K-6), the pupil leaves after 11:15
a.m.
E.
Excused: Any absence, tardiness, or early departure for which the
pupil has a valid school approved excuse. Such excused non-appearance
shall include: illness, death in family, medical appointment, required
court appearances, religious observance, military obligations,
attendance at another school activity, pre-approved scheduled college
visitations, pre-approved educational experiences, or others as approved
by the Principal or Superintendent. The school must receive written
notification from a parent, or person in parental relationship, for the
absence to be considered excused. All absences for which notification
has not been received will be considered as unexcused absences. Credit
Course work missed must be made up at the discretion of the teacher. If
work is not made up absence will be consider unexcused absence.
F.
Unexcused: Any absences, tardiness, or early departure for which the
pupil has no valid school approved excuse. Such unexcused
non-appearance includes, unless approved by a school administrator, car
trouble, family vacations, oversleeping, shopping and work. All other
reasons not listed under excused must be approved by the Principal or
Superintendent.
G.
Suspension: a student who is removed from attendance at school for
disciplinary reasons in accordance with the Morris Central School Code
of Conduct. Suspension is considered an excused absence.
H.
In-school suspension: students are removed from class, in accordance
with the Morris Central School Code of Conduct, and supervised in an
alternate location with-in the school. In-school suspension is
considered an excused absence.
III Record of Attendance:
Commencing with the 2002-2003 school year, attendance shall be taken and recorded as follows:
A. For pupils in Pre-K through grade 6, such pupil’s presence or absence shall be recorded after taking attendance ONCE PER SCHOOL DAY.
B. For pupils in grades seven through twelve, each pupil’s presence or
absence IN EACH PERIOD OF SCHEDULED INSTRUCTION SHALL BE
RECORDED AFTER TAKING ATTENDANCE.
C. Any absences of a school day, or portion thereof, shall be recorded as excused or unexcused in accordance with this policy.
D.
In the event that any student from Pre-K through grade 12 arrives late
or departs early from scheduled instruction, such tardiness or early
departure shall be recorded as excused or unexcused in accordance with
standards articulated in this policy.
E.
The time that the student arrived or departed will be recorded next to
the entry code describing the nature and reason for the student missing
all or part of scheduled instruction.
IV. Coding System:
The following coding system shall be used to indicate the nature and
reason for a pupil's missing all or part of scheduled instruction:
REASON CODE
Absent, Excused AE
Absent, Unexcused AU
Tardy, Excused TE
Tardy, Unexcused TU
Early Departure, Excused EDE
Early Departure, Unexcused EDU
In-school Suspension ISS
Suspension S
Field trip F
V. Attendance Requirements for Course Credit
Direct
instruction and daily classroom experiences are significantly linked to
student achievement. Therefore, attendance will be linked to student
course credit.
a. Maximum allowable UNEXCUSED absences per year
Type of Course Maximum Allowable Absences Per Year
Pre-K-6, Full Day 18
7-12 Everyday, Full Year 18
7-12 Everyday, One Semester 9
7-12 Every Other Day, Full Year 9
Transfer Students Absences prorated to time spend in District
b. The school must receive a written notification of the reason
for the absence, tardy, or early departure from the
parent, or person in parental relation, within five (5) days of the absence. Otherwise, the absence,
tardy, or early departure will be considered as
unexcused, permanently.
c. In
order to prevent loss of credit for failure to attend, the District take
the following steps:
1. Excused Absences: Pupils
with excused absences, excused tardies, or excused early departures,
will be allowed to make up the work for each class missed. Ways to
makeup the work may include completing missed class work, completing
class notes, completing missed homework, or doing other projects as
approved by the teacher. Once the work has been completed, to the
satisfaction of the teacher involved, the absence will be removed from
the record for that course.
2. Unexcused absences,
tardies, or early departures cannot be made up for course credit in
grades 7-12. The only exception will be for a family vacation, which
does not exceed 5 (five) school days. There must be prior written
notification from the parent or guardian and the missed work cannot
achieve a grade higher than seventy-four percent (74%).
3. Parental notification and Course Credit:
Step
1: When a student has been marked absent for 50% of the courses maximum
allowable absences, (full year -9, semester -4) the teacher will notify
the parent/guardian by phone. The teacher will state that the student
is approaching the limit of absences and is in danger of losing course
credit because of failure to attend class. Notice of this contact must
be filed in the Main Office.
Step 2: When a
student has been marked absent for 75% of the course's maximum allowable
absences (full year -13, semester -6) a conference with the
parent/guardian and student will be scheduled with the guidance
counselor. It will be the responsibility of the Guidance Office to
schedule the meeting.
Step 3: When the maximum
number of days absent for disallowing course credit has been reached,
the Principal will notify the parent/guardian. The parents or student
may appeal this decision if they feel that extenuating circumstances
exist. A conference will be scheduled with the parent/guardian,
student, teacher, guidance counselor, and Principal. The Principal,
teacher, and guidance counselor will make a decision based upon the
information presented at the conference.
4. Parent Notification of Absences
(a)
Where a pupil has not been marked present for the first period of
scheduled instruction and the school has not been previously notified of
the absence, the District will attempt to contact the parent/guardian
to learn the nature of the pupil's absence and make notification that
the pupil has not arrived at school.
(b)
For every three (3) unexcused absences, unexcused tardies, or unexcused
early departures, or any combination thereof, the pupil's parent or
guardian shall receive a notice containing the dates, times, and nature
of the pupil's non-presence.
Disciplinary Procedures
Any
of the disciplinary measures found in the Morris Central School
District's Code of Conduct may be used as consequences for student
attendance issues.
Incentives
a) No students in grades 7-11 may leave school property for lunch.
b) Seniors and students on Honor Society may eat upstairs in the hallways.
c) Seniors who are in good academic and behavioral standing and have signed permission slip by their parents and school administrator are permitted to walk home or downtown for lunch.
Good Academic and behavioral standing includes all of the following:
a) No disciplinary referrals for a given week; and
b) Passing all classes for the marking period.
Attendance Supervision Officer
The Board shall designate a person as the Attendance Supervision
Officer. The Attendance Supervision Officer is responsible for
reviewing pupil attendance records and notifying the Principal of
unacceptable attendance patterns so that appropriate action may be take
consistent with the comprehensive Student Attendance Policy.
Procedure for Unexcused Tardiness
>Tardy, unexcused (no valid excuse - see below) 3 times = After School Detention (ASD).
>After the first assigned ASD, you will be given ASD for every additional unexcused tardy.
>At the end of the first semester (February 1), you will have a clean slate and the count will begin again.
>Detentions that are skipped are a violation of the Code of Conduct and will result in an assigned In-School Suspension.
>The New York State Education Department define excused and unexcused absences.
Excused: Any absence, tardiness, or early departure for which the pupil has a valid school approved excuse. Such excused non-appearance shall include: illness, death in family, medical appointment, required court appearances, religious observance, military obligations, attendance at another school activity, pre-approved scheduled college visitations, pre-approved educational experiences, or others as approved by the Principal or Superintendent. The school must receive written notification from a parent, or person in parental relationship, for the absence to be considered excused. All absences for which notification has not been received will be considered as unexcused absences. Credit Course work missed must be made up at the discretion of the teacher. If work is not made up absence will be consider unexcused absence.
Unexcused: Any absences, tardiness, or early departure for which the pupil has no valid school approved excuse. Such unexcused non-appearance includes, unless approved by a school administrator, car trouble, family vacations, oversleeping, shopping and work. All other reasons not listed under excused must be approved by the Principal or Superintendent.
**ASD will be on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons unless other arrangements are pre-approved by the principal.**