This is our preferred method of reporting absences due to mandatory attendance audits conducted annaully. All absences must be documented by our staff and explained to the Department of Education and/or your scholarship funding organization. It is your responsibility to let us know why your student(s) was absent, you are in jeopardy of losing your spot due to Department of Education rules, Florida statue and truancy laws. Please note that not all absences will be excused. See below for our policy (amended 10/19/2023-effective 10/20/2023):
ATTENDANCE POLICY The classroom is the core of the school learning experience. We strongly discourage parents from enabling their children to miss classes for arbitrary reasons. When a student misses’ class, he or she misses a planned progression of subject information as well as the conceptual process of learning new material. We feel strongly that each student contributes to the learning experience of the entire class, and their absence impedes this process. Daily attendance is absolutely essential to assure a quality learning environment.
As per the Florida Department of Education, students are only permitted to miss a maximum of 9 school days per semester. Students absent more than 9 days in a semester are subject to losing credit for the semester. More than 18 absences in one school year may cause the student to repeat the entire grade. The decision to issue credit to students with excessive absences is entirely at the discretion of the administration.
Students who are absent from school will be marked in one of three categories:
• School-Related Absence (SRA): A school-related absence which is pre-arranged and approved ahead of time is considered excused and does not count toward the nine permitted absences per semester.
• Unexcused Absence (UA): An absence not confirmed by a parent by 9:00 am. Teachers may enter a permanent grade of 0% for any work collected and/or completed in class that day. Please note, these absences do count toward the permitted 9 absences each semester.
• Doctor-Verified Absence (DVA): For an absence due to illness or appointment that is documented by a doctor’s note. Such absences, if verified within 48 hours of the students return to school, do not count toward the permitted 9 absences each semester. Please note that no more than ten absences per semester will be excused by Doctor Verification.
Students who have unexcused absences will not be able to make-up missed assignments and quizzes.
On the student’s ninth unexcused absence, their grade will be deducted according to the following policies:
One point will be deducted off the final semester average. An additional point will then be deducted with each additional absence. The eight allowed absences include only unexcused absences.
Absences are excused for the following reasons: student illness, death in the family, medical or dental appointments, or any other reason excused by the Executive Director or Associate Director BEFORE the absence occurs.
Examples of illnesses may include but are not limited to:
1. Contagious diseases such as measles, mumps, chicken pox, pink eye, influenza, and all flus.
2. Skin rashes–especially if the cause is unknown or if accompanied by fever or drainage. (We may require medical provider note to verify that the student is not contagious)
3. Head lice infestation.
4. Fever–students with an oral temperature of 100.4 or greater should be kept home until they have been fever-free without medication for 24 hours.
5. Vomiting–students who vomit must stay home for 24 hours after the last episode of vomiting.
6. Not feeling well due to recent vaccination-we prefer you keep your child home after vaccination since most students do not feel well. Just provide us the note from your doctor stating that your child has received a vaccination, and we will excuse the absence.
Missing Academic Instruction Not Related to Illness. Examples Include:
1. There is a major illness in the student's immediate family.
2. There is a death in the immediate family.
3. The student attends religious instruction or there is a religious holiday in the student’s own faith (noting we are closed for most Christian religious holidays).
4. Student is required by summons, subpoena, or court order to appear in court (must supply subpoena).
5. Special event: important public functions, conferences, state/national competitions, cases of family need approved by administration.
6. The student has a scheduled medical, dental, or therapy appointment.
7. A college visitation.
Students will not be allowed to make up an assignment unless an absence is excused.
A note is required for admission to school after any absence. You can also fill out our Absence Reporting Form using the following link: https://form.jotform.com/oasnopa/absence-form-attendance-policy) or via our forms page on our website to submit a note to be excused. All notes must contain a reason for the absence.
Pre-arranged absences must be pre-approved by the Administration unless it is school business.
Make-up work- It is the student’s responsibility to collect these assignments, and students need to schedule a time (outside of class) with the teacher to make-up tests, quizzes, etc. Students will not be allowed to make-up work during class time. Teachers are instructed to issue zeros for all unexcused absences.
Extended Absences- Students who miss three consecutive days must bring in a doctor’s note for an excused absence. Extended vacations during academic times are strongly discouraged. Any absences from family vacations (including excused/pre-arranged absences) will be subject to our absences policies regarding grade deductions.
Excessive Absenteeism- Because of the critical importance of classroom attendance in terms of promoting academic success, the school expects that students will meet all commitments pertaining to their academic journey at OPA.
The school considers ten (10) or more absences per semester per class to be excessive. Excessive absences (not counting school-related) from a class during the course of a semester may result in an automatic grade reduction of ten points, or one grade level (i.e., A to B, B- to C-). The grade will be further reduced as follows for each additional five (5) unexcused absences in a given class per semester: B+ to B, B to B-. An appeal may be made to the Admin Staff for extenuating circumstances, such as a prolonged documented illness. Medical documentation verifying an illness should be received no later than 48 hours after the student returns to school healthy.
A student who is absent more than 25 days during the school year may be required to repeat the entire school year at the same grade level.
Students absent 20-24 days during the school year may be required to attend summer school or perform additional hours of in school attendance in order acquire the necessary hours for grade promotion or for awarding of academic credit on the high school transcript. (The Administration may waive this requirement only if the student has received approval.)
Parents are strongly urged to consider this policy when planning medical appointments, and extended vacations.
NOTE: There is an exception to our absence policy, through our Medical Exemption (see below) noting that we will still be in contact with your medical provider to ensure that excessive absences or tardies are medically necessary:
MEDICAL EXEMPTION FOR CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM Ocala Preparatory Academy will require a medical exemption for a chronically absent student in the event of a qualified medical condition, meaning a severe, chronic, physical, or mental illness, infection, injury, disease, or emotional trauma that meets the following criteria:
-The condition affects the student so severely as to incapacitate the student and causes the student to miss school for more than 9 days in a 90-day period, or for which the student must receive regular medical care or therapeutic intervention, requiring absence from school.
When administration staff has identified that a student may qualify for a medical exemption, our medical exemption form will be provided to document the condition, verified in writing by a medical doctor, nurse practitioner, physician’s assistant or therapist licensed in the state of Florida. A copy of the documentation verifying the student's condition shall be filed in the student's educational record. This medical exemption form must be updated each instructional year. Examples of medically exempt conditions include:
-The student has a serious chronic medical condition (a condition lasting three months or more) and is absent for the purpose of receiving condition-related treatment (medical or therapeutic intervention). Examples include (but not limited to): autism, PTSD, anxiety, compromised immune system or frequently getting sick, epilepsy, severe anaphylactic response, and other chronic or related conditions.
-The death or life-threatening injury of an immediate family member of the student (student's parent/guardian, sibling, or child).
This documentation must be provided at the beginning of the instructional year, or as soon as possible after the onset of the condition, illness, or injury. In order not to have any days not counted as absences, students will be required to complete all assignments, projects, tests, quizzes, etc. assigned by the teacher and turn in any work by the assigned due date. If the student fails to complete any of the above, they will be marked as absent for those instructional days. Work must be caught up while out or upon return to ensure compliance with the Department of Education. It is at our discretion to exempt students from completing missed work. This will be done on a case-by-case basis and is not done regularly.
Of special note, if a medical provider refuses to sign a medical exemption, we must have notes for every absence if this exception is made via an action plan. Additionally, if a medical provider refers a medical exemption to a specialist, we reserve the right to wait to get the medical exemption from a specialist. We will review each case and come up with an action plan based upon a student's medical or therapeutic interventions required and/or compromised immune system.
Due to legislative requirements to accept choice scholarships, we reserve the right to expel based on our absence policy and FL Compulsory School Law (as shown on top of our attendance policy, which requires us to report truancy). However, please note that if we have doctor's notes for lost time due to sickness, this is generally not a reason to expel. Each situation is reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
Tardy Policy Students are to check in at the office when they arrive after 8:45am. As stated above, students are considered tardy after 8:45am (on our clock located in our front lobby). Parents must sign students in after 8:45am. Tardies will be excused for medical appointments and/or appointments. Calling the office because you are running late is excused four
times in the instructional year. Students arriving late may need to make up work and time missed at recess. If repeated tardiness occurs (after three tardies) parents will be contacted to work on a plan to ensure that the student arrives to class
on time. After five tardies, the student will go on attendance probation.
Special note: students must attend school a minimum of 4 hours on a school day to receive credit for the instructional day.
Excessive Tardiness: Parents may only excuse their student for four tardies per quarter to homeroom. Each subsequent tardy will be considered unexcused, even if the parent walks the child into the office. A doctor’s note is needed to be considered an excused tardy after 4 in the quarter.
The required 180 days are calculated at 15-minute intervals, based on 6 hours per day.
Make-Up Policy: Students who have been absent are expected to make up tests, quizzes, class, and homework within a reasonable amount of time in collaboration with their teachers and Administrative Staff. Students who neglect their makeup work can expect an academic penalty.
Health Leave Policy: Ocala Preparatory Academy has developed a Health Leave Policy to support and facilitate families obtaining care for their children while aiming to minimize long-term consequences to their child’s academic standing. If a student reaches a point where s/he has missed 20% of any or all classes because of a health-related issue, an end-of-quarter or semester review will be required to determine whether a health leave should be initiated. If the staff involved in the review anticipates that a health leave will extend beyond three weeks, a medical exemption form must be filled out and signed by healthcare professional and a determination will be made about the likelihood of the student’s being able to return to school with work completed for the academic year. Return from a health leave is contingent on agreement of the school and recommendation of the health care provider. The school will also determine what portion of the missed academic work has been made up, and the student’s status upon return.
Extended Parent Absence: Parents or guardians on an extended absence from the home will need to leave emergency contact information with Administrative Staff. This information will include the length of absence and the name and contact number(s) of those responsible for the student’s care during parent absence.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Q: How can I make up work when I have an excused absence (see above for clarification on what an excused absence is)? A: Students have 5 days to complete missed work. After 5 days, the work will be marked as incomplete.
Q. What if my student will be absent for semester exams? A: Semester exams may be given early at the teacher’s discretion. It is not guaranteed. Semester exams are not given late.
Q: What is an unexcused absence? A: Anything that does not meet the criteria of an excused absence (see listed reasons above) is considered unexcused. Examples include family trips, oversleeping, student does not want to come to class, family is in town, or anything else not on our list.
Q: May a student leave early? A: Students are expected to be in classes for the full day. If a student misses more than a 1/2 day of instruction (leaves before 11:30am), the child will be marked absent for the entire day, unless the absence is excused. Excused reasons for early dismissal follow the same guidelines as excused absences. If a student habitually
leaves early, this could be a reason for academic probation.
Q: Can a student be expelled for excessive absences or tardies or not be offered a spot for the upcoming instructional year? A. Yes, students that are excessively absent or tardy can be expelled and/or not offered a spot in the
upcoming instructional year. :
Q: Why are you open if Marion County closes due to the weather? A. Marion County utilizes many schools for shelters. Since we do not use our building for shelter, we may open at times when Marion County Public Schools does not. If it is safe to travel to us, we prefer your child to be in attendance (even if Marion County Public Schools is closed due to weather) but will excuse your absence as a courtesy if you feel it is necessary to keep your child home.
Q. Why don't you follow Marion County Public Schools instructional calendar? A. We are not required to follow Marion County's instructional calendar because it is not required for us to do so. You, as a parent are required to keep a copy of our updated calendar and ensure that your child is present for the minimum number of required days,
Q: Why are your policies so strict? A. We are required by law to adopt strict policies to ensure students receive the minimum instructional hours required.
Please note, completing this form does not guarantee your absence will be excused if it does not meet our requirements as stated above in our policy. Updated 10/19/2023 Effective 10/20/2023