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ATTENDANCE

 (Board of Education Policy 5121-Attendance Requirements)

 

ABSENTEEISM

 

Students are required to be in school every day school is in session unless absent for legitimate reasons.  Approved absences include following reasons:

  1. Personal illness
  2. Death in the family
  3. Religious holidays
  4. School sponsored activities
  5. Administration approved absences

 

Barring any extenuating circumstances, absences for family vacations, non-school sponsored activities, tardiness and early dismissals may lead to a loss of class credit.

 

Students must be present by the beginning of Period 5 on the day of an

event in order to represent our school in co-curricular activities

such as athletics, drama, band, etc. 

 

Students may not participate in any school-related activity on the day in which they are absent from school.  The eligibility of a student with an approved absence on the last school day before an event scheduled on a non-school day is left to the discretion of the coach or advisor.

 

ABSENCE VERIFICATION

 

  1. Parents/guardians should call the Attendance Office before 10:00 AM to report their child’s absence.  (908-231-8660 Ext.  2205).
  2. Upon returning to school after an absence, the student should     

      provide a valid excuse to his/her homeroom teacher.  The

      excuse should consist of a note signed by the parent or   

      guardian indicating date of absence and the reason.

            All medical notes should be submitted to the School Nurse.

 

EARLY RELEASE

 

The school recognizes that the following situations may occur which will require a student to request an early release from school.

  1. 1.       An illness which manifests itself after the student reported to school.
  2. 2.       An appointment with a physician/dentist (although every effort should be made to schedule these appointments during non-school hours).
  3. 3.       A driver’s test or court appearance.

 

The following procedure should be followed for an early release

1.     The parent/guardian note requesting an early release should be

        delivered to the Attendance Office prior to Period 1 on the day

        of the dismissal. The note must contain a parent /guardian telephone  

        number for note verification purposes. Notes written after the student

        has left early will not be accepted and the classes missed due to the

        early release will be counted as class cuts.

   

2.   Early dismissal related to illness during the school day can only be

granted by the Nurse.  Students cannot be excused from school if they feel               ill without securing release by the Nurse.  Students are not to call their parents to take them home.  The Nurse is the only person authorized to contact the parents for permission to sign a student out of school.

 

LOSS OF CREDIT

 

Students missing over sixteen (16) meetings of a course or sixteen (16) school days for a full-year course, or over eight (8) meetings of a course or eight (8) school days for a semester course (half year), may not qualify to receive the assigned credit for the course.

 

Students missing over twelve (12) meetings in Physical Education and over four (4) meetings for a single marking period course (e.g., Health) may not qualify to receive the assigned credit for the course.

 

The eight (8) and (16) absent numbers noted above should not be interpreted as a permissive policy establishing or “licensing” a number of days which may be missed with no harm. Every school day is important and students should make every effort to attend school each day.

 

Make-up of Non-Credit Courses

 

Pupils who lose credit for having exceeded the limits noted in Policy 5121 and who remain in class throughout the remainder of the course, may complete the credit requirements in a summer school.  The final grade achieved in the regularly scheduled class will be added to the final summer school grade and divided by two to determine the final grade for the course.

 

Make-up of Subject Failures

 

Pupils who maintain proper credit-receiving status but fail a subject may make up the subject in summer school.  The final course grade will be determined as above.

 

Withdrawal from Course

 

Pupils in a non-credit condition who subsequently withdraw from class will have a “Withdrawn Failing” (WF) recorded on their permanent record.  Subjects from which a student has withdrawn cannot be made up in a remedial summer school program

 

ATTENDANCE  APPEALS  POLICY

 

The Board is cognizant of possible unforeseen factors which may create hardships related to the operation of the attendance policy.  In keeping with the dictates of fairness and procedural due process, an appeals procedure will be established.  Consideration may be given to extenuating and mitigating circumstances including verified illness.  Judgments made will be based upon what is the best educational interest of each student.

 

Pre-Planned Absence Appeal

A written request for determining the status of a pre-planned absence from school which would place the student in violation of the attendance requirement must be submitted to the principal by the student or parent/guardian at least ten (10) school days prior to the absence.

 

Appeals to Attendance Appeals Committee

A written petition for consideration by the Attendance Appeals Committee must be presented to the principal by the student, his/her guidance counselor and/or parent/guardian no later than ten (10) school days after the receipt of notification of no-credit status.

 

Students and parents/guardians will be notified of decision on appeals in a timely manner.

 

Appeals Beyond the School Level:

Appeals to the Superintendent relating to decisions of the Attendance Appeals Committee must be made in writing to the Superintendent within seven (7) school days of receipt of the Attendance Appeals Committee’s decision.

 

Appeals to the Board of Education relating to the decision of the Superintendent must be made in writing within ten (10) school days of receipt of the Superintendent’s decision.

 

Board of Education decisions may be appealed to the Commissioner of Education.

 

ATTENDANCE APPEALS PROCEDURE

 

Upon receipt of a FINAL NOTICE from any class teacher or

notification of NO CREDIT STATUS in the respective course, the student is required to report to his/her guidance counselor to complete an appeals form.

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It is the STUDENT’S RESPONSIBILITY to correct any attendance errors with the respective class teacher upon receipt of the required attendance warning notices.  These errors often include assigned suspension days and approved school-related field trips, and should therefore be corrected immediately.

 

It is also the STUDENT’S RESPONSIBILITY, with the assistance of their Guidance Counselor, to complete the Appeals Form