Excused Absences Include:
- If a Student is ill with a fever, throwing up, or incontinence. The student must stay home for 24 hours after throwing up or 24 hours after fever has broken
without medicine.
- Legitimate days of illness. Excessive days or more than three consecutive days of illness require a physician’s statement.
- If a student has a serious family emergency.
- If a student has a death in the immediate family.
- If a student has medical appointment the student must provide a
letter from a doctor.
- It is the responsibility of the parent or guardian to CALL the school by 10:00 a.m. each day the student is absent. At the secondary level, notes will not be accepted for absences.
- Any absence that is not communicated prior to 10:00 a.m. or consists of no communication will be considered unexcused.
- It is the student’s responsibility to secure assignments and make up work when the absence is excused.
- Homework may be requested for a student who will be absent three or more days.
Students in grades Pre-K-8 must adhere to the 90% attendance law. These classes are not on a block schedule; however, 90% attendance in each class or subject offered is mandatory. Nine absences or more, whether excused or unexcused, per semester exceeds the 90% attendance requirement. If a student fails to attend 90% of the days, credit can be lost and promotion to the next grade may be in jeopardy.
At Ousley students who struggle with attendance issues maybe be assigned Thursday Night School to help make up days missed. Students may also be assigned Summer School as well if they missed too many days during the school year.
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It is absolutely necessary that students be in class and prepared for the lesson to begin when the tardy bell rings. A tardy student disrupts the instructional process for the entire class. First period starts at 8:45 a.m. any student that is not in class before this time is considered tardy. The following policy will be followed concerning tardies.
If students do not have a valid excuse such as a bus arriving late or a doctor’s appointment, etc. students will receive an unexcused tardy.
Consequences for Tardies:
Each time a student is tardy he/she will be entered into the “Tardy Sweep” and will serve lunch detention for that day. If a student receives more than one tardy in a school day he/she will serve lunch detention multiple days. (Example: On Monday a student is tardy to 1st Period and 8th Period. The student will serve lunch detention on Monday and Tuesday.)
If a student accumulates a combination of four tardies or no I.D. violations in one week a student will be assigned Thursday Night School. Failure to attend Thursday Night School will result in I.S.S. the following school day.
***It is vital that students get to class on time so they are not missing instructional minutes.
- Students who miss school without having an excused absence may not receive credit for work in the class missed during the unexcused absence.
- Vacation or business trips are not recognized by the state as acceptable reasons for students being out of school and will be treated as unexcused. Therefore, these days should be planned only for school holidays that do not disrupt student learning or cause loss of credit.
- If a student misses ten or more state days “unexcused” in a six-month period there is a possibility that a complaint will be made against the parents for truancy. Truancy is punishable by fine. Excused absences are different than unexcused absences.
- If a student misses ten consecutive days of school “unexcused” the student will be dropped for non-attendance.
- The district attendance officer may file a complaint in court against the parent or child when truancy occurs. Fines range from $100 to $500 per day that the child remains truant from school.
In Student Self-Serve and the Parent Portal, you have access to your child’s attendance so you can stay informed of your child’s total absences. Below is a screen shot of how to access the attendance tab in the Parent Portal.