As we have developed into a school community our Attendance Policies have come out in pieces at the beginning of the year. To help reduce confusion, here are the Attendance Policies.

• A Pre-Arranged Absence Approval Form must be completed for all Out of Town trips, Funerals, Family Vacations, Religious Holidays, etc. The school may approve absences of up to 5 days per year contingent upon student performance and attendance record. This form can be found on the website: http://www.wcs.edu/lves/student_info/PreArranged%20Absence%20Approval.pdf
• Students with a Tardy Arrival AFTER 11:46 will be considered absent that day.
• Students with an Early Dismissal before 12:05 will be considered absent that day.
• The state will allow up to 10 excused* absences per year. After 10 excused absences in a year, a note from a doctor is required for an absence to be marked as excused.
• The state will allow up to 4 unexcused absences per year. Once a student acquires 5 unexcused absences**, a letter will be sent home to notify the parent/guardian. (See Below)

 

 

*Williamson County Board of Education 6.200 – Attendance: (http://www.wcs.edu/district/boardpolicy/sect6/6200.pdf)

Conditions for which a student's absence may be excused are:

• Illness of the student. The principal may require a doctor's statement. [Longview’s Policy: A Dr. Note is required if a student is out more than 3 days consecutively, or if there have been 10 total absences during the school year.]
• Illness in the immediate family which requires absence of the student from school. The principal may require a doctor's statement.
• Death in the immediate family of the student (should not exceed 5 days).
• Religious holidays regularly observed by persons of the student's faith. (The principal may require a statement from the minister or other person recognized by the given religious group).
• **Students who have had five unexcused absences within a school year will have violated the attendance laws of this state. The name of any student who has accumulated five unexcused absences shall be submitted to the Attendance Department for proper disposition.

Legal References: TCA 49-6-3007; TRR/MS 0520-1-3-.08(1)(a); TCA 49-6-3006; TCA 49-6-3017; TRR/MS 0520-1-3-.03(15); TCA 49-6-2904

 

Also, some notes regarding dismissal and transportation.

• To avoid confusion at dismissal time, there are no Early Dismissals after 3:10.
• Transportation changes (other than using a different bus stop) must be sent via email or hand-written note to the teacher by noon that day.
  • If a student is to take a bus stop other than that assigned by the county, a hand-written (no email or fax) note must be received by school’s start that day for a bus note to be written in the office and given to the bus driver to keep on file.
• LVES’ dismissal time is over at 3:45PM. If a student is a car-rider and cannot be picked up prior to this time, they may be enrolled in SACC. If a student is already enrolled in SACC and has not been picked-up by 3:45PM, they will be taken to SACC.