Policy 4115
Page 1 of 16
BRAXTON COUNTY SCHOOLS
STUDENT ATTENDANCE
Rationale.
1.1The Braxton County Board of Education recognizes that a direct relationship exists between students’ daily school attendance, academic performance, graduation, and good work habits. Daily attendance is necessary for students to meet their schools' academic program standards as each day's learning builds on the work previously completed. While students and parents/guardians have the ultimate responsibility for daily school attendance, the laws of West Virginia require school administrators to enforce compulsory school attendance.
Policy Development
3.1 Toinsure input into this policy revision, the revision committee will consist of the County Attendance Director, one administrator from each of the three school configuration levels, one school secretary, two parents and one community leader. Each revision of the Braxton County Attendance Policy 4115 will be submitted to the West Virginia Department of Education for approval. Braxton County Attendance Policy 4115 will be reviewed by the Office of Education Performance Audits’ on-site review teams to ensure compliance with WV State Board of Education Policy 4110.
Definitions
4.1.Absence – Not being physically present in the school facility for any reason. Also includes: a) Skipping – any absence from school/class/school-approved activity without administrative permission; b) Tardy – entry into school or class after the designated starting time; c) Early Departure – Signing out of school prior to the end of the instructional day.
4.2Allowable Deductions for Schools – Absences that result from school-approved curricular/co- curricular activities; failure of the bus to run/hazardous conditions;students not in attendance due to
disciplinary measures; and school/county directed placements outside the traditional classroom
environment including, but not limited to, homebound placement and in-school suspension.
4.3Attendance – For statistical purposes, attendance will be reported and aggregated to the nearest half- day according to definitions in 4.3.1 and 4.3.2
4.3.1 Full day attendance is being present at least .74of the school day.
4.3.2 Half-day attendance is being present at least .50of the school day.
4.4 Attendance Rate – The number of days present divided by the number of days of membership, multiplied by one hundred, equals attendance rate for students on the attendance registers in classes K-12.
4.5 Awaiting Foster Care Placement - Any child or youth who: (1) is in the custody of the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, (2) has been placed in out-of-home care, and
(3) is not in a permanent placement. This includes, but is not limited to, children and youth in
family foster care, kinship care, emergency shelter care, or in a residential group home.
4.6 Dropout – A dropout is astudent who:
4.6.1 was enrolled in the school at some time during the previous school year and was not enrolled on October 1 of the current school year; or
4.6.2 was not enrolled on October 1 of the previous year although expected to be in
membership (i.e. was not reported as a dropout the year before); and
4.6.3 has not graduated from high school, obtained aTest Assessing Secondary Completion, (hereinafter TASC) diploma, orcompleted a state- or district-approved education program;
and
4.6.4 does not meet any of the following exclusionary conditions:
- transfer to another public school district, private school, home school,
or state or district-approved education program;
- temporary school-recognized absence due to suspension or illness; or
- death.
4.7Dropout Date - The school day after the dropout’s last day of attendance.
4.8 Enrollment – A student is officially enrolled when one of the following conditions occur:
4.8.1 student was enrolled the previous year
4.8.2 student appears at school to enroll with or without a parent/guardian; or
4.8.3 student and/or parent/guardian appears at school to enroll with or without records.
4.9 Enrollment Count – A status count that reports the number of students on the attendance register as required by the West Virginia Department of Education.
4.10Excused Student Absences – Absences that result from school-approved curricular/co-curricular activities; failure of the bus to run/hazardous conditions, SAT, IEP or 504 Plan meetings, and other county board approved excused absences.
Excused absences include a documented chronic medical or documented disability as defined below.
4.10.1. Personal illness or injury of the student,or personal illness or injury to the student’s parent, guardian, custodian, or family member. In the case of such absences, the written excuse must explain why the student’s absence was necessary and caused by the illness or injury in the family.
4.10.2. Medical or dental appointment with written excuse from physician or dentist.
4.10.3. “Documented chronic medical conditions” that may require multiple or regular
absences. Theseconditions must be documented annually witha valid physician’s note
that explains the condition and anticipated impact on attendance. The necessity for the
absences must be approved and reviewed quarterly by the SAT, IEP, or team (See §5.3.3.d).
4.10.4. Participation in homebound or hospital instruction due to an illness or injury or other extraordinary circumstances that warrants home or hospital confinement.
4.10.5. “Documented disabilities” consisting of any mental or physical impairment that
substantially limit one or more major life activities and are documented annually with a
valid physician’s note that explains the disability and anticipated impact on attendance.
The necessity for the absences must be approved and reviewed quarterly by the SAT,
IEP, or 504 team (See §126-81-5.3.C4).
Examples of possible excused absences include the following. Absences for other reasons may be excused or unexcused, as determined by the attendance director, principal, superintendent or board of education.
4.10.6 Calamity, such as fire in the home, flood, or family emergency.
4.10.7 Contagious parasite condition, such as lice.
4.10.8 Death in the family -may be defined as parent, step-parent, brother, sister, grandparent, uncle, aunt, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, brother’s child, sister’s child, or any other person living in the same household.
4.10.9 Illness verified in writing by parent or guardian although limits may be set as to how many are allowed.
4.10.10 Illness verified by physician’s note.
4.10.11 Leave of educational value which may include: college visits, other sites of learning,
family educational trips, 4-H educational activities, etc. These absences may require specific stipulations from the individual school or county.
4.10.12 Judicial obligation or court appearance involving the student.
4.10.13 Military requirements for students enlisted or enlisting in the military.
4.10.14 Observance of religious holidays which may require verification.
4.10.15 Such other situations as may be further determined by the county board: Provided that
absences of students with disabilities shall be in accordance with the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 and the federal and state regulations adopted in compliance therewith.
4.11Homeless Children and Youth –As defined in the McKinney-Vento Act means individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence and includes:
4.11.1 children and youths who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional shelters; are abandoned in hospitals; or are awaiting foster care placement;
4.11.2 children and youths who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private placenot designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings;
4.12.3 children and youths who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; and
4.11.4 migratory children who qualify as homeless because the children or youth are living in circumstances as described in the above descriptions.
4.12 Membership Days – The days present plus the days absent
4.13 School of Origin – Is the school that the child or youth attended when permanently housed or the school in which the child or youth was last enrolled.
4.14 Transfer – A process by which a student ends enrollment or attendance in one location and begins enrollment or attendance in a second location (e.g., within a county, between counties, or out of state). This can be evidenced through a transcript request or other documentation that the student is continuing elementary or secondary education.
4.15 Truant student - Student who 1) voluntarily chooses not to attend school; 2) fails to provide valid verification for absences within three (3)school days upon return to school or 3) when a parent fails to send child to school for any reason other than an excused/legal reason.
4.16 Verification – Written documentation explaining absences, due to school secretary within three (3) school days upon return to school, or at the principal’s discretion in consideration of extenuating circumstances. Parent may write excuse for illness, limited to five per semester or ten per year.Exceptions approved by the principal. All other excuses for illness must be verified by a physician.
4.17Unexcused Student Absences
Any absence not meeting the definition of an excused absenceshall be considered an unexcused absence, including out-of-school suspensions. In addition, an unexcused absence is also failure of parent to provide school with a written verification explaining an absence within three (3) school days upon student’s return to school.
4.18HOME/HOSPITAL INSTRUCTION (“E” with no Reason Code)
A student, as certified by a physician’s recommendation as temporarily confined to home or hospital for a period of three weeks or more, and who exhibits a medical condition prohibiting them from attending school, employment,community and social functions,must follow Braxton County Special Education Policies and Procedures. Students are not marked absent from school unless there is no one at the home when the teacher arrives at the prescheduled time for instruction. Students receiving homebound instruction are marked with an “E” designating the student is not currently in the school building. This code does not go against the student’s attendance. Application forms and additional information are available at the Office of Special Education.
4.19TARDINESS and EARLY DEPARTURES (“T”)
Students who arrive late or leave school early miss valuable instruction. Parents who habitually allow their child to be tardy or to leave school early may be asked to meet with the principal, attendance director, teachers, administrators or other representatives of the school system, in order to resolve this serious detriment to the student’s education.
All schools require logs where students are signed in and signed out. At the elementary and middle school levels, the parent/guardian or parent designee must sign the log. At the high school level, students will follow the proper Tardy or Early Departure school procedure, which will be included in the high school student handbook. Students 18 years of age or older may sign themselves out of school, but only after receiving permission from the principal or the principal’s designee. Each school’s instructional day determines tardy to school. Each class period or class block determines tardy to class or early departure. Specific times are found in each school’s Student Handbook.
Tardiness
Tardiness will be marked Excused or Unexcused for school on an office admit slip, which the student must present to the teacher. Teachers will record each unexcused tardy incident in their grade books. Three Unexcused Tardies are allowed before detention becomes an option. When the fourth Unexcused Tardy occurs, the teacher will assign the student to a detention. Each Unexcused Tardy thereafter will result in the assignment to detention by the teacher. Upon the third assignment to detention, the teacher will also make a SAT referral.
Early Departures
A student’s parent or guardian must make the request for the early departure to the school office. All proper sign-out procedures must be followed with exceptions being made in emergency situations only by the principal or principal’s designee. Excessive early departures disrupting student achievement may result in a Student Assistant Team (SAT) referral.
4.20 SUSPENSION OR WITHOLDING OF CREDITS DUE TO ABSENTEEISM NOT PERMITTED
No student shall be suspended due to absenteeism. No high school credit shall be denied due to absenteeism. Other methods of discipline such as, but not limited to, detention, extra class time, or alternative class settings will be utilized.
4.21 HEAD START / PRE-KINDERGARTEN ABSENTEEISM
Head Start students will comply with Head Start regulations regarding attendance. Chronically absenteeism is a violation of the state compulsory school attendance laws. Therefore, the principal will begin the legal steps of conferencing with parent/guardian to correct the circumstances of the child’s truancy. In extreme cases the child will be disenrolled from the program.
All other WV Pre-K students will follow the same attendance reporting procedure as outlined in this policy. Students will be disenrolled from the program when the principal, teacher and parent or guardian concurs that the best interest of the child would not be served by requiring further attendance.
4.22 COURSES EARNING DUAL CREDIT (high school credit and college credit)
Students in classes that are offered as college credit must abide by the attendance policy of the college. Students may only miss as many classes as credit hours given the course. A three credit course would permit a student to miss a maximum of three classes. There are no excused or unexcused absences in college. Students who miss more classes than permitted by the credit hours of the course would not receive college hours. A high school credit, however, would be received if the student academically passed the course. All students who register for dual credit courses may be required to sign an agreement of understanding related to the college attendance policy.
4.23 MAKEUP WORK
All students are expected to make up work missed due to absences. Makeup assignments are due after the student has been in attendance for the number of days equal to the number of days absent, plus one day. An extended absence is considered to be longer than ten consecutive days. It is the responsibility of the student or his representative to obtain makeup assignments from the teachers prior to the end of each grading period. A grade of I (incomplete) will be given for each grading period in which all assignments have not been turned in. All assignments must be turned in by the end of the semester to receive a grade for the course. If assignments are not turned in, they will be averaged in as zeros for each grading period and semester. If it is not possible for a student to complete all assignments before the end of the term and he/she wishes to, he/she may make a written request to the teacher and participate in consultation with the teacher to receive an “I” (incomplete) for the term. This request allows the student an additional five days from the official end of the term to complete assignments and receive a grade for the course. Graduating seniors must make arrangements to complete assignments prior to graduation. In the best interest of students, teachers may extend any of the times listed above based upon their own discretion.
4.24 IN SCHOOL RESOURCES
Students will be referred to the Student Assistance Team (SAT) and parents will be notified of SAT meeting to address attendance issues such as excessive absences, excessive doctor excuses, and/or excessive tardies. Students may be referred to the school counselor, a mentoring program or a peer program.
4.25 INTERAGENCY INVOLVEMENT
Referrals will be made to Community agencies based on individual student needs.
4.26 DROPOUT REPORTING
The Dropout report is submitted to the West Virginia Department of Education through the WVEIS program.
4.27 ATTENDANCE APPEAL PROCEDURE
Parents and students have the right to appeal the application of this policy: Level I: School Student Assistance Team (SAT) may hear and respond to appeals. Parent may appeal the SAT’s response. Level II: Appeals Board. At the start of each school year, the attendance director shall appoint and chair an impartial five (5) member Appeals Board to hear and rule on appeals to attendance decisions. This board will be comprised of a county director, a parent and two professionals from the schools.
4.28 INSTRUCTIONAL DAY/EXCEPTION TO FOUR YEAR ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENT
Attendance for all four years during grades 9-12 is important to attain full benefit from the
educational programs offered in the schools of Braxton County. Therefore, all students shall be
scheduled for the full school day for all four years. Exceptions may be made by the Braxton
County Board of Education to accommodate placement into college courses, advanced
career /technical programs, participation in the WV Virtual School, or for other compelling
circumstances.
The Braxton County Board of Education establishes the following regulations and guidelines for
parents and students who are seeking an exception to the four-year attendance requirement.
Requests for exceptions must be presented to the Coordinator of Attendance.
Exceptions for Educational Reasons:
A student may be granted an educational exception during his/her senior year for one or more of
the required daily instructional periods in order to enroll in college courses that are the equivalent
or in excess of the content of high school courses or to attend a post-secondary technical program.
Evidence of enrollment will be required. Three college/post secondary hours will equal one high
school unit. The following conditions must be met:
4.28.1 The principal and high school counselor must recommend the student for an educational exception;
4.28.2 The student must establish a planned high school program by the end of his/her sophomore year, although exceptions can be made for new transfer students, and current students during the policy phase-in period. Changes can also be made to the plan when warranted;
4.28.3 The student's high school record must show the potential for success. Information to be reviewed shall include grades (3.0 GPA), achievement test scores, ability test scores, etc.;
4.28.4 The student must have an average daily attendance rate of 95% or above during his/her high school career, unless extraordinary circumstances exist (i.e. long-term illness or injury);