Students’ absences will be recorded daily in each class by the teacher. The computer scan sheets used for daily recording will be kept on file for documentation. The attendance secretary will input attendance information by the end of each school day. Parents will be notified of daily absences.

Emancipated students are students 18 years of age or older who are self supporting and self-reliant and have taken responsibility for their own education. A parent/student conference with an administrator must be held before a student will be considered emancipated. Once

the student is emancipated, no parent contact will be required.

If a student is to be confined to home or hospital for an extended period, the school will arrange for the availability of assignments. The district will cooperate with private tutors parents may employ. In some instances of long-term illness home-bound, teachers can be provided. At the high school level, if the student is unable to do his or her schoolwork, or if there are major requirements of a particular course, which cannot be accomplished outside of class, the student may be required to take an incomplete or withdraw from the class without penalty.

Students with a chronic health condition, which interrupts regular attendance, may qualify for placement in a limited attendance and participation program. The student and his/her parents or guardian shall apply to the principal or designee and limited program shall be written following advice and recommendation of the student's medical advisor. The school principal or designee shall approve the recommended limited program. The staff shall be informed of the student's needs, though the confidentiality of medical information shall be respected at the parent's request.

Tardiness will be considered a behavior problem and will be addressed by individual teachers, based on current policy. However, when a student misses more than 10 minutes of any class, it is considered an absence and will be recorded as such.

Students who have early dismissal or late arrival are only to be on campus 10 minutes preceding or following their classes. Exceptions are to be cleared in writing by an administrator and will permit the student only to be in the library or commons, not in the halls. Students violating these exceptions will have their early dismissal or late arrival privilege revoked.

Daily attendance and participation in classroom learning activities is important for student success and progress. When a student is absent from school, the instruction that they miss cannot be replaced by make-up work. We encourage students and parents to make every effort to minimize absences from school.              Tardiness

Students have five minutes passing time between classes, and are expected to arrive to class on time. Teachers may expect students to be in their seat at the bell. Students who are repeatedly tardy will incur consequences including detention, Saturday School, and possibly suspension.      

Teachers take roll at the beginning of each class. Students who are not present or more than 10 minutes late are marked absent. Students who are out of class without permission may be marked as truant (see truancy section). Elma High School’s automated calling system will telephone the student’s primary phone number if they are marked absent during the day. This is intended to help parents monitor their student’s attendance and notify them when contact with the school is necessary. When a student is absent, they must report to the attendance office and obtain a green admit slip before returning to class. A written note from their parent stating the reason for the absence or a phone call to the attendance office is required for the absence to be excused. District policy requires absences to be excused within 48 hours or they become an unexcused absence. Elma High School’s attendance policy limits the type of absences which may be considered excused and considers 11 or more absences in a semester to be excessive. Students with eleven or more absences in a semester will be referred to the Student Concern Team for evaluation and possible intervention.

Students are considered truant if they are absent from school or class without permission. Truancy include may the following situations:

Truancy results in immediate school consequences as detailed in the discipline matrix at the back of this handbook. State law requires schools to refer students to the juvenile court when a student has 7 or more unexcused absences in a month or more than 10 unexcused absences in a year. Schools may refer students to the court when the have five or more unexcused absences in a month. Elma High School considers truancy a serious problem, and cooperates fully with the Grays Harbor Juvenile Court on truancy cases.

Daily attendance and active participation in each class are a critical part of your education. Missing classes can impact your grade, but more importantly, it impacts your learning. You are responsible for all materials, assignments, and tests covered in class, whether you are present or not. Also, unless specified differently by published classroom policy, students are expected to adhere to test and assignment dates that they were established prior to the student’s absence. If a previously announced test is taken or an assignment is due during the student’s absence, the student is expected to take the test or turn in the assignment on their first day of return. If you are marked absent in any class, parents or guardians will be contacted by the automated calling system. If you have been absent more than 20% of school days, a letter will be sent home indicating concern over excessive absences and requesting a conference with the Assistant Principal. Continued absences may be referred to Juvenile Court. If you have eleven or more absences, you will be referred to the Student Concern Team for possible intervention and, if needed, referral to Juvenile Court under the Becca law. School-related absences for school-sanctioned activities or discipline do not count toward the accumulated total.  Daily attendance and active participation in each class is a critical part of the learning process. Grades can be impacted by poor attendance only to the extent that such a reduction is in conformity with law. WAC 392-400-235 provides that 

As a means of instilling the values of responsibility and personal accountability, district policy stipulates that a student whose absence is not excused shall experience the consequences of his/her absence. A student’s grade shall be affected if a graded activity or assignment occurs during the period of time when the student is absent. Students are responsible for all materials/assignments/tests covered in class whether present or not. The following procedures and policies are designed to help students learn responsibility,

accept personal accountability, and increase their potential for success.

A. Attendance will be taken each period in each class. The Automated Phone Messaging System will attempt to call daily to advise parents of same day absences. An absence is defined as ANY TIME a student misses class or when a student misses more than 10 minutes of any class.

B. When a student accumulates:

Student and parents must accept full responsibility for regular school attendance. Failure to do so may result in loss of credit and grades, removal from class or referral to Juvenile Court. Teachers are required by law to have accurate attendance records. The teachers' grade book is the document that will be audited. Teachers are not to have teacher assistants take roll. It is part of the teacher’s duty to maintain accurate attendance records by law.

Students are expected to attend all classes. Parents or guardians should call the school when their student will be absent for all or part of a school day to report the reason for the absence. Students returning to school after an absence must report directly to the Attendance Office to pick up an admit slip back to class. If a parent/guardian has not phoned the Attendance Office, the student must bring a note from parent/guardian explaining the nature of the absence, date of absence, student’s name, and signature of parent. Failure to phone in or bring a note within 48 hours of the absence may result in the absence being considered truancy. Failure to complete missed assignments will result in loss of credit for those assignments. Students will be given a minimum of one day for every day of absence to make up work assigned DURING the absence. Teachers may choose to extend the time at their discretion.

A student is considered truant anytime an absence has not been cleared by a parent or teacher.  

Per Elma School District policy 3122, the following are valid excuses for absences or tardiness:

Please note that it is NOT okay to be absent from school for special events such as skiing, hunting, shopping, tanning, family vacations, etc. Such activities are not considered excused under district policy or compulsory attendance law and should be scheduled outside of school hours. Numerous non-conforming (NC) absences may result in referral to juvenile court under RCW 28A.225.015 (the Becca law). In the event a student must be absent from school for reasons other than those identified above, approval must be requested from the principal or assistant principal at least one week in advance. Approval of non-conforming absences is at the reasonable discretion of the administrator EXCEPT that no approval shall be granted in any case where a student is earning a D or F in one or more classes at the time of the request.

Students who must leave the school during the day MUST checkout through the Attendance Office prior to leaving school. A telephone call or note from the parent is required to leave during the day. If students leave without signing out, disciplinary action will follow.

Pre-arranged, approved absences are included in the total accumulation of student absences. Disciplinary suspensions and competitive school related activities in which the student participates directly and is required to miss class do not count as one of the 11 absences. These absences will be identified with an “SB” or “SP” in the attendance record. Pre-Arranged absences for religious observance will also not count as one of the 11 absences. Prearranged absences will be noted with “PT”, “SB”, or “OT” in the student’s attendance record. A class that lasts for more than one period will count as one absence for each

period missed. In other words, missing a two period block class for one day will count as two (2) absences in that particular class. Dialogue between teachers/advisors/coaches is encouraged for students in danger of failing. Teachers/advisors/coaches are expected to use the process detailed below for pre-arranged student absences under their direct supervision in order to facilitate communication and ensure students’ academic success. The supervising teacher/advisor/coach must generate a tentative list of all students who will be participating in an activity/sporting event/field trip and make this list available to staff members five (5) school days in advance of the event. Staff members who have concerns regarding the academic performance/failing grades of any student participant must notify the advisor/coach within 48 hours of the event/activity. A final list of all participants must be made available to staff 24 hours in advance of the event. Following the activity/event, the supervising teacher/advisor/coach will submit to the Attendance Office the next school business day by 8:00 a.m. a list of all students who participated. The Attendance secretary will make any needed changes in a student’s attendance profile. NOTE: Students leaving the school district for any activity must have prior parent approval. A signed parent permission form for each activity must be submitted to the supervising teacher/advisor 48 hours in advance of the event. Sporting events that occur after school hours require a seasonal parent permission slip. For all other pre-arranged absences (medical appointments, family trips, out of state travel), the following procedure must be complied with. The student must:

Immediate prior approval in writing from both teachers will be adequate for this absence. It is the student's responsibility to obtain such verification. Missing a class to study for a test or completing an assignment for another class is not appropriate. For in-building events involving a few students, such as lunchtime sales, activity setups, the requesting teacher will confer with the sending teacher prior to having students circulate pre-arranged absence forms.

 

[EHS Student Handbook, 2011-12, pgs. 19-21]