Attendance Matters

Documentation of the circumstance outlined below must be submitted to the school to be considered a verified absence.

• Illness if attendance would endanger his/her health or the health of others.
• If student has an illness that causes him/her to be absent eight or more days, you may make a request to apply for homebound instruction. You must have the proper form submitted from a medical practitioner.
• Illness or death in the immediate family
• A recognized religious holiday of the student’s faith
• Medical or dental appointments; court appearances
• Student’s participation in approved school-related activity
• Class suspensions
• An absence will only be counted as verified if a note (medical or parent) is turned in within five days of the absence

No documentation is submitted to the school.

• Absent from school without the knowledge of parent/guardian.
• Absent and does not meet the conditions previously listed above for verified absences.

• Parent/guardian will be notified of daily absences.
• Parent/guardian will be notified when absences start to accumulate.
• Parent/guardian will be notified when an Attendance Intervention Plan needs to be completed to determine how to improve future attendance.
• A student is considered truant when he/she has three consecutive unverified absences or a total five unverified absences.
• If truant, a petition may be sent to the Richland County Family Court where the parent and/or student may be placed on a court order.
  • Parent may be fined up to $50 a day and /or jailed up to 30 days for each unverified absence.