Attendance Policy

Understanding Attendance Expectations: Policies and Guidelines for Parents

Our school has established policies regarding attendance and truancy to ensure a conducive learning environment for all students. It is important for parents to familiarize themselves with these policies and understand their role in supporting their child’s attendance. Regular attendance is vital for academic success, and our policies aim to address excessive absenteeism and tardiness.

To gain a comprehensive understanding of these policies and their implications, we encourage parents to review the detailed information provided. By reading and familiarizing themselves with the policies, parents can actively contribute to their child’s educational journey and help maintain a positive school community. For further details, we recommend referring to the complete document outlining our attendance procedures and guidelines below.

Achievement and attendance are highly related. Each student should attend school daily. Rules and regulations regarding excessive absenteeism and tardiness shall be enforced.

ATTENDANCE PROCEDURES

Achievement and attendance are highly related. Each student should attend school daily. Rules and regulations regarding excessive absenteeism and tardiness shall be enforced.

Students are expected to be in school, on time, every day. Absences may be “excused” or “unexcused”. For an absence to be considered excused, a parent must provide the Principal with verification, if any, in the manner and timeframe determined to be satisfactory in the sole discretion of the Principal. Where appropriate, the School may require written documentation. Any tardy or absences will be unexcused if proper verification is required but not received. Absences may be excused for the following reasons:

Personal Illness.
Quarantine of the home. (The absence of a child from school under this condition is limited to the length of quarantine as fixed by the proper health officials.)
Serious illness or death of a relative.
Observance of religious holidays.
Court subpoena.
Medical or dental appointment
Absences due to a student’s placement in foster care or change in foster care placement or any court proceedings related to their foster care status.
Absences due to a student being homeless.
Emergency or set of circumstances that, in the judgment of the Principal constitutes good and sufficient cause of absence from school.

Parents/Guardians must notify the school on the day a student is absent unless advance notice of the absence has been submitted to the School. Lacking parental notification of an absence, the attendance officer, their assistant or designee will notify the parent of the student’s absence by telephone or written notice within 120 minutes from the start of the school day.

If a student is dismissed early for a doctor’s appointment or for another valid reason, the student must bring a note signed by their parent or guardian. The parent must meet the child in the school office before the child will be excused.

All other absences are “unexcused” as determined by the Principal and include but are not limited to truancy, oversleeping, personal appointments, and unapproved vacations.*** Students sent home due to illness or medical necessity may be required to produce a doctor’s note before being readmitted to School. If a required medical excuse is not provided, the student will need to return home (unexcused absence) until the proper documentation is provided.

PROCEDURES FOR ATTENDANCE ISSUES (TRUANCY)

Under Ohio law, a child within school age must attend school. Unless a student under the age of 18 has a legitimate excuse for missing school, they must attend school.

1. Early dismissals during the last 30 minutes of the day are very disruptive and should be avoided.
2. The attendance officer, their assistant or designee, shall investigate possible attendance violations and shall examine any case of supposed truancy. The attendance officer, their assistant or designee, shall warn the student and their parent, in writing, of the legal consequences if found to be truant.

Habitual Truancy:

a. Absent 30 or more consecutive hour without legitimate excuse;
b. Absent 42 or more hours in one school month without a legitimate excuse;
c. Absent 72 or more hours in one school year without a legitimate excuse.
• Excessive Absences:
a. Absent 38 or more hours in one school month with or without a legitimate excuse;
b. Absent 65 or more hours in one school year with or without legitimate excuse.

As required by law, within ten (10) days of the school’s determination that a student is a habitual truant, the School shall assign the student to an absence intervention team which shall develop a plan aimed at reducing or eliminating further absences. If the parent or student fails to follow the plan, Groveport Community School may file a complaint in juvenile court jointly against the child and the parent. The complaint must state that the child is an “unruly child” by virtue of being a “habitual truant” and that the student’s parent violated the School Attendance Law.

MANDATORY WITHDRAWAL

Ohio law requires the withdrawal of any student who, without legitimate excuse, fails to participate in 72 consecutive hours of learning opportunities during any academic year.