General Policy
Students enrolled in the School must attend School regularly in accordance with the laws of the State. The educational program offered by the School is predicated upon the presence and punctuality of the student and requires continuity of instruction and classroom participation. A parent must contact the School in accordance with the procedure set forth in Policy 252 whenever a student is absent.
Attendance shall be required of all students enrolled at the School during the days and hours that the School is in session. Attendance need not always be within the School facilities, but a student will be considered to be in attendance if present at any place where School is in session by authority of the Board.
Excused Absences
Absences due to the following will be excused:
1. Personal physical illness such as to prevent attendance at School (at the discretion of the Principal or his/her designee, a written statement from a physician may be required).
2. Personal mental illness such that the student will not benefit from instruction (at the discretion of the Principal or his/her designee, a written statement from a physician/mental health professional may be required).
3. Illness in the family (at the discretion of the Principal or his/her designee, a written statement from a physician and an explanation as to why the child's absence was necessary may be required).
4. Quarantine of the home (absence will be excused for the duration of the quarantine as determined by proper health officials).
5. Death in the family (absence will be excused for no more than eighteen (18) hours unless the Principal or his/her designee determines that a longer absence is reasonably necessary).
6. Medical or dental appointments (at the discretion of the Principal or his/her designee, a written statement from a physician confirming the appointment may be required).
7. Observance of religious holidays.
8. College or university visits (at the discretion of the Principal or his/her designee, verification of the date and time of the visit may be requested).
9. Absence due to a placement in or changes to a foster care placement or any court proceeding related to a student’s foster care status.
10. Absences due to a student being homeless.
11. Necessary work in a family business or on a family farm (after proof of necessary absence is provided to the Principal or his/her designee).
12. Instruction at home from a person qualified to teach the branches of education in which instruction is required (after adequate certification of home instruction has been provided to the Principal or his/her designee).
13. An emergency or set of circumstances which in the judgment of the School constitutes a good and sufficient cause for absence.
14. If a student is absent from School for the sole purpose of traveling out of state to participate in a School-approved enrichment activity or extracurricular activity, the School shall count that absence as an excused absence, up to a maximum of twenty-four (24) hours per school year that the School is open for instruction. The student must complete any classroom assignments he/she misses due to the absence. If the student will be absent for twenty-four (24) or more consecutive hours that the School is open for instruction, a classroom teacher must accompany the student during the travel period to provide the student with instructional assistance in order to count the student as in attendance.
The Principal or his/her designee reserves the right to verify statements and to investigate the cause of absence.
Withdrawal
A student who fails to participate in one hundred five (105) consecutive hours of learning opportunities will be automatically withdrawn, unless the student’s absence is excused. Otherwise, a parent may withdraw a student voluntarily by signing a Voluntary Withdrawal form with the Principal or his/her designee.
Whenever a student withdraws from the School voluntarily, the Student’s teacher shall attempt to ascertain the reason for withdrawal and shall immediately inform the Superintendent or his/her designee of the reason for the withdrawal. If the Student voluntarily withdrew from the School as a result of a change in residence, the Superintendent or his/her designee shall notify the superintendent of the district to which the Student has moved of all essential information regarding the Student, including the Student’s new address.
If the Superintendent or his/her designee becomes aware that a Student who has withdrawn from the School for reasons other than a change of residence is not enrolled in another school, the Superintendent or his/her designee shall notify the registrar of motor vehicles and the juvenile judge of the county in which the School is located of the Student’s likely violation of the State’s compulsory education laws. Notice shall be given within two weeks and shall include the Student’s name, address, date of birth, School, and the district where the Student resides. Any notice given in error shall be immediately rescinded by the Superintendent or his/her designee.
Disciplinary Action for Unexcused Tardiness or Absence
Repeated unexcused absences/tardiness may be grounds for disciplinary action that will not include suspension or expulsion.
A student is tardy when a student is more than five minutes late for School or for a class. If a student misses more than half a class, the student will be marked absent for the class. When tracking hours of missed instruction for excessive absence and truancy purposes, the School shall (select one):
Ö Track tardiness and early dismissals to the nearest hour of missed instruction for each instance of tardiness or early dismissal per day (e.g., if a student is 35 minutes tardy to school and leaves school 45 minutes early, the student shall be counted as absent for two (2) hours of that day).
Students shall not be considered absent for purposes of habitual truancy calculations while out of class for a legitimate reason, including but not limited to restroom breaks, visits to the nurses office, counselor meetings, or remediation sessions.
Any student who, due to a medically-documented physical or mental impairment, is absent for an extended period will not be disciplined. Such students may be entitled to receive an education tailored to their individual needs or abilities as provided for under federal and/or state law.
Truancy and Absence Intervention Strategies
The Principal or his/her designee may act as the School’s attendance officer or delegate that duty as permitted by law. The School’s attendance officer shall investigate possible School attendance violations, and is authorized under Ohio law, to serve warrants, to enter places where children of compulsory School age are employed, and to take such other actions as may be necessary to enforce the compulsory education laws.
A student is excessively absent from school if a student is absent from the School with or without legitimate excuse for thirty-eight (38) or more hours in one (1) school month or sixty-five (65) or more hours in one (1) school year. Within seven (7) days of a student becoming excessively absent from School, the attendance officer shall notify the student’s parents of the student’s absences in writing.
A student is habitually truant if the student is absent without a legitimate excuse for thirty (30) or more consecutive hours, for forty-two (42) or more hours in one (1) school month, or seventy-two (72) or more hours in one (1) school year.
Legitimate excuses for the absence of a student otherwise habitually truant include but are not limited to:
1. the student was enrolled in another school;
2. the student’s absence was excused in accordance with applicable law or policy; or,
3. the student has received an age and schooling certificate.
If the student is habitually truant and the student’s parents have failed to cause the student’s attendance, the School will assign the student to an absence intervention team (“AIT”) within ten (10) days. The Principal or designee selects the AIT members, who shall include a representative of the School who knows the child and the child’s parent, guardian, custodian, guardian ad litem, or temporary custodian. Members may also include a school psychologist, counselor, social worker, or representative of a public or nonprofit agency designed to assist students and their families in reducing absences.
Within seven (7) days of the School’s determination that the student is a habitual truant, the School will make at least three (3) reasonable, meaningful attempts to secure the child’s parent, guardian, or custodian’s (for the purposes of this policy, “parent”) participation on the AIT. If the parent responds to attempts but is unable to attend, the School will notify the parent of the right to participate by designee. In the event the parent does not respond to the attempts at all, the School will investigate whether the failure to respond triggers child abuse and neglect reporting requirements and instruct the other members of the AIT to develop a plan for the child.
Within fourteen (14) days after its formation, the AIT will develop a written plan to reduce or eliminate Student’s further absences. The AIT plan will state that a complaint will be filed in juvenile court alleging that the child is an unruly child not later than sixty-one (61) days after implementation if the child refuses to participate in or fails to make satisfactory progress on the plan or other alternatives to adjudication. The School will make reasonable attempts to provide student’s parent with written notice of the plan within seven (7) days of development.
If a student becomes habitually truant during the last twenty-two (22) school days of the year, the School may assign one official to work with the parent and develop an AIT plan in lieu of forming a full AIT.
AIT Exemption: The School shall be exempt from AIT procedural requirements if it has a chronic absenteeism rate of less than 5% of the student body per the last state report card.
Effective beginning with the 2017-2018 school year, the School shall employ absence intervention strategies for all students who are excessively absent from School. Such strategies shall include the following, if applicable:
1. Providing a truancy intervention plan for any student who is excessively absent from school;
2. Providing counseling for a habitual truant;
3. Requesting or requiring a parent to attend parental involvement programs;
4. Requesting or requiring a parent to attend truancy prevention mediation programs;
5. Notification of the registrar of motor vehicles of student’s truancy status if the student misses sixty consecutive hours of instruction or ninety hours of instruction during the course of the school year; and
6. Taking legal action under R.C. 2919.222, 3321.20, and/or 3321.38.
Absence Intervention Plans for Remedial and Obtaining Credit
If a student becomes excessively absent or habitually truant, the student will receive a “No Grade” (NG) on their report card and transcripts if applicable. If a student receives a “NG” they will not receive credit. “NG” will not be categorized as a “failure.” Students who receive a “NG” will be able to perform remedial work to receive their grade and credits.
Students can receive their grade and credit in a class by performing one of the following options before the end of the applicable school year (School year ends at the end of July):
⃝ 1.0 hour of work (Online, independent study, or face to face instruction) for each class period missed, with verification of participation and completion provided by the Parent or Teacher to the satisfaction of the School
⃝ pass an exam covering content in a specified course curriculum
⃝ Develop a credit flexibility plan (9-12 only)
⃝ Complete a specified project based on the project based learning guidelines
All absence intervention plans must include tailored intervention strategies for attendance specific to the student’s needs. Each absence intervention plan must also address preventative measures for absences, which may mitigate the need for the “NG” designation if preventative measures are successful.
On the 61st day after the implementation of an absence intervention plan or other intervention strategy, the attendance officer shall file a complaint with the juvenile court against a student, if all of the following apply:
1. the student is a habitual truant;
2. the School has made meaningful attempts to re-engage the student through the absence intervention plan, other intervention strategies, and any other offered alternatives to adjudication; and
3. the student has refused to participate in or failed to make satisfactory progress on the plan, as determined by the absence intervention team, or any offered intervention strategies or alternatives to adjudication.
If the 61st day falls during the summer months, at the School’s discretion, the absence intervention team or attendance officer may extend the implementation of the plan and delay filing the complaint for an additional thirty (30) days from the first day of instruction of the next school year.
If, however, at any time during the implementation phase of the absence intervention plan or other intervention strategy, the student is absent without legitimate excuse for thirty (30) or more consecutive hours or forty-two (42) or more hours in one school month, the attendance officer shall file a complaint with the juvenile court against the student, unless the absence intervention team has determined that the student has made substantial progress on the absence intervention plan.
The Principal or his/her designee is also authorized to establish a parent education program for parents of students who are habitually truant. Any parent assigned to the program who does not complete the program is to be reported to law enforcement authorities for neglect of parent education, a fourth class misdemeanor if found guilty.
This Board consulted with the juvenile court of the counties in which the School is located, parents of students attending the School, and state and local agencies deemed appropriate by the Board prior to adopting this policy.
R.C. 2151.011; 2151.27; 3314.03(A)(6); 3321.01; 3321.041; 3321.13-.191; O.A.C. 3301-69-02.