EXCUSED ABSENCES
Parents are requested to contact Student
Services by 10 a.m. on the day of the absence. Parents are to send a note
to school the day following the absence. If parents do not send in a note
AND make contact by phone, the absence will be considered unexcused.
Excused absences may be granted for the following:
·
Illness of the student.
The principal may require a doctor’s statement. Although a doctor’s
statement may be required at any time for an absence to be excused, it will
be required of any student that accumulates 10 or more absences of any kind.
·
Illness in the immediate family
which requires absence of the student from school. A doctor’s statement may
be required.
·
Death in the immediate family
(should not exceed 5 days).
·
Religious holidays
regularly observed by persons of the student’s faith. A statement from the
minister or other person recognized by the given religious group may be
required.
·
Absences for other reasons
as approved by administration.
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Early Dismissal
Early dismissals will be granted for doctors’ visits. (See
“prearranged absences” for early dismissals for events other than doctor’s
appointments.) The student will present a note from his/her parent/guardian
to Student Services before school. Student Services will verify the note
with the parent. During break, the student will go to Student Services to
pick up an early dismissal slip. Student Services will notify the teacher
of the dismissal electronically. The student should check with the teacher
before class to be sure he or she has been notified of the dismissal.
Students must sign out through Student Services. The dismissal slip must be
signed by the student’s parent and/or a doctor (if applicable) and returned
to Student Services when the student returns to school. Early dismissals
cannot be issued during assemblies or special school events.
If a student becomes ill during the day, he/she must get a
note from the teacher then report to the clinic. The nurse will contact the
parent/guardian and refer the student to Student Services for sign out.
Students are not allowed to call a parent because of illness without
checking into the clinic first.
When checking out early for a field trip, the student should
notify his/her teacher at the beginning of the period they will be leaving.
Upon leaving class, go immediately to the place the group has arranged to
meet to leave the school.
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Athletic or Extracurricular
Activities
Students who are ill and unable to attend school on the day
of an athletic or extracurricular activity will not be permitted to
participate on that date. Students involved in extracurricular and athletic
activities are expected to arrive at school on time and remain in school for
the entire day. Any exceptions to this policy must be approved by an
administrator. The policy shall be whatever percent of the day a student
misses; he/she will not participate in that same percent of time in the
extracurricular activity. Any student missing four or more periods will not
be allowed to participate in that days’ activity.
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Pre-Arranged Excused Absences
Students must present a note from their parents
detailing the date and reason for the requested absence (e.g. family trip,
family event at another school, extracurricular competition). The note must
be taken to Student Services at least ONE WEEK prior to the requested
absence. The one week period allows grades and attendance to be verified
and arrangements to be made with teachers. Failure to do so could result in
the request being denied. The administration will look at the student’s
attendance record, as well as current academic performance, to decide
whether or not to grant the request. Only those students who have a 95%
attendance rate and are passing all classes can expect to be excused. Two
days after turning in the request, the student returns to Student Services
to see whether the request has been approved or denied. If approved, the
student will be given a form by Student Services, which must be signed by
all of his/her teachers indicating whether the work will be due the day
prior to the absence or the day of return to school.
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Pre-Arranged
Absences for College Visits
Seniors may be allowed two visits per year;
juniors may be allowed one visit per year. In order to receive an excused
absence, the student must have their absence approved by Student Services
one week prior to the visit. College visits will count as an absence toward
senior exemption from semester exams. When the student returns to school,
he/she must bring a statement from the college admission office on college
letterhead to verify the visit. Students are responsible for all work
missed.
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Field Trips
A field trip will not count as an absence, but students will
be responsible for making up all work. The student will receive a form from
the teacher sponsoring the field trip. This form must be signed by all of
the student’s current teachers indicating whether the work will be due the
day prior to the field trip or the day the student returns to school.
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Exams, Holidays, Unusual Events
Please
note that special circumstances apply around holidays and other special
events. The day immediately before and the day immediately after a break,
doctor’s statements will be required for all illnesses and doctors’
appointments. This same rule will apply to other days that change the
normal routine of the school day.
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CHECKING IN AFTER AN ABSENCE
Upon returning to school after an absence, a
note from a parent/guardian must be presented to the Student Services Office
before school. The note should include: student name, date of absence,
reason for absence, and a phone number where a parent/guardian can be
reached during the day. If the absence is excused, the student will be
given an excused slip that must be shown to each teacher. Student Services
will only issue admit slips for excused absences that are verified within
three days of returning to school. Once an excused slip is given, it is the
responsibility of the student to have all of his/her teachers sign the
slip. This is the only record the student will receive of an excused
absence and should be kept as a “receipt” of the excused absence. If the
slip is misplaced, another slip will not be written.
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LATE ARRIVAL TO SCHOOL
All doors other than the main entrance doors will be locked
at the beginning of the school day. Any student who arrives late to school
will enter through the main entrance.
If a student arrives to school less than 10 minutes late,
he/she should go directly to 1st period, unless he/she has an
excused note from a parent/guardian. In that case, the note is taken to
Student Services to be verified.
If a student
arrives to school more than 10 minutes late, he/she must report to Student
Services. He/she should have a note from a parent/guardian and present it to
the Student Services Office. The student will sign in and be given a note to
enter class. A student may not enter first period class after the first 10
minutes without a note from the Student Services Office.
Ten (10) consecutive or fifteen (15) total unexcused absences
during any semester renders a student ineligible to retain a driver’s permit
or license, or to obtain such if of age.
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TARDY TO CLASS OTHER THAN LATE
ARRIVAL TO SCHOOL
• Students who are
tardy to class must sign in on the appropriate form in the classroom. These
students’ names will be reported to the Student Services Office. An
accumulation of three (3) Unexcused Tardies to class in 9 weeks time will
result in Saturday School. (3 total unexcused tardies; not 3 tardies per
class)
• A student who
arrives unexcused to class after ten minutes into the period will be denoted
as skipping class (a minimum of three hours of detention). It is not
necessary to send the student to the Student Services Office. Students are
considered absent and are not allowed to make up their missed work.
• Excessive tardies or
skipping may result in a petition to appear in Juvenile Court and /or
placement in ALC.
• Tardies are
cumulative for an entire nine weeks.
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MAKE UP
WORK GUIDELINES
• It is the student’s
responsibility to secure assignments when absent.
• When absent,
students should check the web site to secure missed assignments. Student
Services can request work only after a student has been absent 3 days.
• For absences shorter
than three days, a student will have three days after returning to school to
make up any work that was assigned and completed during the absence.
• For absences three
days or longer, the student will have the number of days missed plus one day
to make up any work that was assigned and completed on the day was absent.
• If a student is
absent for a review day before a test is given and returns to school on the
test day, he/she must take the test on the day he/she returns as long as the
test was announced in advance.
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UNEXCUSED ABSENCES
·
Unexcused absences will result in a zero or its equivalent on any graded
assignment or assignment due on the date of the absence.
·
Skipping
School – Any student who is absent from class for an unacceptable reason is
considered to be skipping and the absence is unexcused. Lunch and directed
studies are considered class periods. The penalty for skipping will result
in ISS and/or loss of parking privileges. Skipping during exam week will
bring about an ISS assignment at the beginning of the next semester.
Repeated violators may be referred to Juvenile Court and the ALC. Seniors
are reminded that any type of suspension means a loss of exam exemptions.
·
After
the first class of the school day, tardiness to class of more than 10
minutes is considered skipping and an unexcused absence
for that period.
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COMPULSORY ATTENDANCE LAWS
• If a student has a
total of 2-3 unexcused absences, a “warning letter of compulsory attendance
law” should be sent to the parent and a conference should be held with the
parent. State Law 49-6-3007 (i) 1,2
• If a student has a
total of 5 unexcused absences, a “compulsory attendance law letter” must be
sent to the parent. State Law 49-3-3007 (e) 1,2,3
• If the student
continues to be absent 3 days from the date of the compulsory attendance law
letter, then an unruly court petition for truancy must be filed. State Law
49-6-3007 (e) 1,2,3
• If a student missed
ten consecutive or fifteen total unexcused absences during any semester,
then the school must send a letter to the State Department of Transportation
(driver’s license revoked) Board Policy JB, lines 9 & 10 and State Law
49-6-3017 (f)
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DENIAL OF MOTOR VEHICLE LICENSE (TCA49-6-3017)
This
recent state law applies to all persons 15-17 years of age and requires
suspension action be taken in regards to persons that do not have a drivers
license as well as those that are licensed. The law requires that students
be enrolled and making “satisfactory academic progress” in a secondary
school. As used in this law, “satisfactory academic progress” means making
a passing grade in at least three full unit subjects or their equivalency at
the conclusion of any regular school semester. A student who fails to
maintain “satisfactory academic progress,” based on end of semester grading,
may not be considered to be in compliance until the student makes a passing
grade in at least three full unit subjects or their equivalency at the
conclusion of any subsequent grading period. Summer school credits do not
satisfy criteria for renewal of licenses revoked due to Second Semester
failures, because it is not possible to earn 3 credits in summer school.
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Brentwood, Tennessee
