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Attendance/Absence/Tardy

Attendance

Purpose

  1. The Board believes that regular school attendance is directly related to success in academic work, benefits students socially, provides opportunities for important communications between teachers and students and establishes regular habits of dependability important to the future of the student. The purpose of this policy is to encourage regular school attendance. It is intended to be positive and not punitive.
  2. This policy also recognizes that class attendance is a joint responsibility to be shared by the student, parent or guardian, teacher and administrators. This policy will assist students in attending class.
General Statement Of Policy

Responsibilities
  1. Student’s Responsibility
    It is the student’s right to be in school. It is also the student’s responsibility to attend all assigned classes every day that school is in session and to be aware of and follow the correct procedures when absent from an assigned class. Finally, it is the student’s responsibility to request any missed assignments due to an absence.
  2. Parent/Guardian’s Responsibility
    It is the responsibility of the student’s parent or guardian to ensure the student is attending school, to inform the school in the event of a student absence, and to work cooperatively with the school and the student to solve any attendance problems that may arise.
  3. Teacher’s Responsibility
    It is the teacher’s responsibility to take daily attendance and to maintain accurate attendance records in each assigned class. It is also the teacher’s responsibility to be familiar with all procedures governing attendance and to apply these procedures uniformly. It is also the teacher’s responsibility to provide any student who has been absent with any missed assignments upon request. Finally, it is the teacher’s responsibility to work cooperatively with the student’s parent or guardian and the student to solve any attendance problems that may arise.
  4. Administrator’s ResponsibilityIt is the administrator’s responsibility to require students to attend all assigned classes. It is also the administrator’s responsibility to be familiar with all procedures governing attendance and to apply these procedures uniformly to all students, to maintain accurate records on student attendance and to prepare a list of the previous day’s absences stating the status of each. Finally, it is the administrator’s responsibility to inform the student’s parent or guardian of the student’s attendance and to work cooperatively with them and the student to solve attendance problems.
 In accordance with the Minnesota Compulsory Instruction Law, Minn. Stat. § 120A.22, the students of EMID schools are REQUIRED to attend all assigned classes every day school is in session, unless the student has been excused by the building administration from attendance because the student has already completed the studies ordinarily required to graduate from high school, has withdrawn, or has a valid excuse for absence.

When a Child is Absent
  • Please call 651-379-2595 before 9 a.m. to report your child's absence. Should we not hear from you, it is our practice to call your home or work number to check on your child.
  • Please report to the school immediately if your child has contacted any communicable disease (suspected or confirmed) and nuisance conditions such as head lice or scabies.
  • If a child continually complains about illness and does not wish to go to school, yet displays no apparent symptoms, there may be other reasons. Please call your child's teacher or the principal.
  • We urge you to carefully consider circumstances that keep your child out of school. Regular school attendance is related to the degree of success in school. Thank you for your cooperation in insisting that your child attend every school day.
  • When a child must leave during the school day because of illness or an appointment, parents will need to come into the Front Office to sign their child out of school before taking their child out of the classroom or nurse’s office.
 Types of Absences

There are two types of absences: excused and unexcused.

Excused absences include:
  • illness
  • medical/dental appointments
  • school-sponsored activities
  • funeral services
  • legal appointments
  • religious activities
  • family emergencies such as fire, storm, flood
  • death in the student’s immediate family or relative
  • unusual circumstances not listed above if approved by the principal
 All other absences are considered unexcused, and therefore truant. Families going on vacation are considered unexcused absences. Families are encouraged to take vacation during the intersession breaks.

Consequences of Unexcused Absences

Tardiness

We request that a parent/guardian call if a child will be late for a valid reason such as a doctor's appointment. The parent should accompany their child to school and sign them in at the front office.

Students are expected to be in their classroom at 9:35 a.m. Failure to arrive in class by this time will constitute a tardy. Students who are tardy at the start of a school day must report to the front office for a tardy slip given by the front office personnel (i.e. building secretary)

Excused Tardiness

Valid excuses for tardiness are illness; serious illness in the student’s immediate family; a death in a student’s immediate family or a relative; medical or dental treatment, physical emergency conditions such as fire, flood, storm, etc.; any tardiness for which the student has been excused in writing by an administrator or designee.

Unexcused Tardiness

An unexcused tardiness is failing to be in an assigned area at the designated time class period commences with a valid excuse; consequences of tardiness may include notification to Ramsey County Attorneys’ TIP Program (Truancy Intervention Program). In addition, five (5) unexcused tardies are equivalent to one unexcused absence.