ATTENDANCE | Policy Manual | Jefferson, School District of

5200 - ATTENDANCE

The Board will enforce regular student attendance in the District's program in which each student is enrolled as required pursuant to State law. Further, the Board recognizes that the District's educational program is predicated upon the participation of each student in the program of instruction in which the student is enrolled and required to attend. Student success requires continuity of instruction and program participation. For purposes of this policy, the regular period and hours of instruction including both those periods and hours a student's program require that they are in school as well as any attendance requirements defined as part of a course of virtual instruction, or a combination of the more than one type of instructional delivery.

Compulsory Student Attendance

All children between six (6) and eighteen (18) years of age shall attend school regularly during the full period and hours, religious holidays excepted, that the school in which the child is enrolled is in session until the end of the term, quarter, or semester of the school year in which the child becomes eighteen (18) years of age unless they fall under an exception under State law, this policy, or administrative guideline issued under this policy. A child who is enrolled in five (5) year-old kindergarten shall attend school regularly, religious holidays excepted, during the full period and hours that kindergarten is in session until the end of the school term.

For information on summer or interim school attendance, see Policy 2440.01 - Summer or Interim School Attendance.

Parent Notification of Absence Required

The District Administrator shall require, from the parent of each student or from an adult student, who has been absent for any reason either a written or oral notification stating the reason for the absence and the time period covered by the absence, except a parent-excused, pre-planned absence requires written notification as indicated below. The Board reserves the right to verify such statements and to investigate the cause of each:

single absence;
prolonged absence;
repeated unexplained absence and tardiness.

School Attendance Officer

The District Administrator shall designate an administrator at each school to be the School Attendance Officer. The School Attendance Officer shall perform any duties and responsibilities as required by State law, this policy, and any administrative guidelines issued by the school.

Excused Absences

As required under State law, a student shall be excused from school for the following reasons:

Physical or Mental Condition

The student is temporarily not in proper physical or mental condition to attend a school program, but can be expected to return to a school program upon termination or abatement of the illness or condition.

A written statement from a health care provider may be required to be submitted as proof of the student’s condition for student absences due to illness in these cases:

the absences are three consecutive school days or more in length
the absences surpass the allowed ten (10) parent excused absences within the school year

Such health care provider’s excuse shall state the period of time for which it is valid, and shall not exceed thirty (30) calendar days.

Obtaining Religious Instruction

To enable the student to obtain religious instruction outside the school during the required school period (see Policy 5223 - Absences for Religious Instruction).
Parent-Excused Pre-Planned Absence

The student has been excused in writing by their parent before the absence for any reason. A student may not be excused for more than ten (10) days per school year under this paragraph and must complete any coursework missed during the absence. Examples of reasons for being absent that should be counted under this paragraph include, but are not limited to, the following:
1. professional and other necessary appointments (e.g., medical, dental, and legal) that cannot be scheduled outside of the school day. The District strongly encourages parents and guardians to make every effort to schedule non-emergency medical examinations and appointments, e.g., for health maintenance/preventative care, at times that avoid or at least minimize the student’s loss of instructional time;
2. to attend a funeral;
3. legal proceedings that require the student's presence;
4. severe weather conditions that, in the parent’s or guardian’s reasonable judgment, are a danger to the health and welfare or safety of the student;
5. vacations.
Religious Holiday

For observance of a religious holiday consistent with the student's creed or belief.
Suspension or Expulsion

The student has been suspended or expelled.
Program or Curriculum Modification

The Board has excused the student from regular school attendance to participate in a program or curriculum modification leading to high school graduation or a high school equivalency diploma as provided by State law. The student's parent or guardian may review a request for a program or curriculum modification including but not limited to:
1. modifications in the student's current academic program;
2. a school work training or work-study program;
3. enrollment in an alternative public school program located in the School District;
4. homebound study.
High School Equivalency – Secured Facilities

The Board has excused a student from regular school attendance to participate in a program leading to a high school equivalency diploma in a secured correctional facility, a secured child caring institution, a secure detention facility, or a juvenile portion of a county jail, and the student and the student's parent(s) agree that the student will continue to participate in such a program.
Child at Risk

The student is a "child at risk" as defined under State law and is participating in a program at a technical college on either a part‑time or full-time basis leading to high school graduation, as provided under State law.
Election Day Official

A high school student, including students enrolled in private schools and students enrolled in home-based private education, age sixteen (16) or seventeen (17) is permitted to be excused to serve as an election official provided that the following criteria are met: 1) the student has the permission of their parent to serve as an election official on election day; 2) the student has signed up and the municipal clerk has informed the principal that the student has been assigned to serve in this capacity; and 3) the student has at least a 3.0 grade point average or equivalent, or has met alternative criteria established by Board, if any. The principal shall promptly notify the municipal clerk or the board of election commissioners of the municipality that appointed the child as an election official if the child no longer has at least a 3.0 grade point average or the equivalent, or no longer meets the established alternative requirements. A student's absence to serve as an election official under this policy shall be treated as an excused absence. Where possible students are encouraged to provide advance notice as much as possible. Students are responsible for completing any missed school work and responsible for making appropriate arrangements to do so.
Virtual Access

The student is unable to access virtual instruction programming due to a temporary disruption in the student's access to necessary technological systems (i.e. internet outage, computer failure, software malfunction, etc.) as communicated by the student's parent.

A student may be excused from school, as determined by the School Attendance Officer, or the School Attendance Officer's designee, for the following reasons:

Quarantine/Isolation

Quarantine or isolation of the student's home by a public health officer.
Illness of an Immediate Family Member

The illness of an immediate family member.
Emergency

An emergency that requires the student to be absent because of familial responsibilities or other appropriate reasons.
Work at Home Due to Absence of Parents

To work at home due to the absence of the student's parents. Absences under this section shall not exceed five (5) days nor be granted to any student younger than ten (10) years of age.
Severe Weather Conditions

In the parent's reasonable judgment, weather conditions are a danger to the health and welfare or safety of the student.
College Visits

Up to three (3) days per school year for college visitations by high school juniors and seniors.

Military Family Leave

Visiting a parent or guardian who is on active military duty and has been called to duty for or is on leave from deployment to a combat zone or combat support posting, or has returned from deployment to a combat zone or combat support posting within the past thirty (30) days.

Sounding Taps

A student in grades 6 to 12 may be excused for the purpose of sounding “Taps” during a military honors funeral for a deceased veteran.

Other

Any other reasonable non-discretionary absence deemed appropriate by the school attendance officer.

Unexcused Absences

Unexcused absences are absences from school for part or all of one (1) or more days from school without an acceptable excuse. Unexcused absences demonstrate a deliberate disregard for the educational program and are considered a serious matter.

The principal, or an individual designated by the principal, will determine on a case-by-case basis the appropriate methods to deal with unexcused absences. The following methods may be considered:

counseling the student
requiring the student to make-up lost time
requiring the student to make-up coursework and/or examinations, as permitted under this guideline
conferring with the student's parents

As agent responsible for the education of the children of this District, the Board shall require that the school be notified in advance of such absences by written (including e-mail) or personal (phone or face-to-face) request of the student's parent, who shall state the reason for the tardiness or early dismissal. Justifiable reasons shall be determined by the building principal.

No student who has a medical disability which may be incapacitating may be released without a person to accompany him/her.

No student shall be released to anyone who is not authorized such custody by the parents.

As a general rule, no staff member shall permit or cause any student to leave the school prior to the regular hour of dismissal except with the knowledge and approval of the principal and with the knowledge and approval of the student's parents.

No student will be released to any government agency without proper warrant or written parental permission except in the event of an emergency as determined by the building principal.

High School Students Approved to Leave School Grounds During a Class Period

The Board authorizes the administration to establish a program that allows qualifying 12th graders enrolled in the high school who have demonstrated a high level of maturity and personal responsibility to apply for school approval to leave the school premises for up to one class period each day if the student does not have a class scheduled during that class period. A student who is under the age of eighteen (18) must have parent or guardian permission to seek such approval. Absence from school with approval under such a program does not constitute an absence from school and does not affect the student’s eligibility for graduation. For Jefferson High School, this one and only period is the intervention/enrichment period of the day.

Leaving School Grounds During a Student's Scheduled Lunch Period

Students are not allowed to leave campus for lunch. Exceptions for this are as follows:

A parent may excuse a student from lunch. Such excuses are for one day per request.
The Board authorizes the administration to establish a program that allows qualifying 11th and 12th graders enrolled in the high school who have demonstrated a high level of maturity and personal responsibility to apply for school approval to leave the school premises during said student's scheduled lunch period. A student who is under the age of eighteen (18) must have parent or guardian permission to seek such approval.
On certain occasions, such as high school final exam days, students are permitted to leave campus during their scheduled lunch period. Days such as these occur very seldom. The high school principal or designee will inform parents of these days well in advance.
Students who are absent from school without an acceptable excuse as authorized above will be considered truant and shall be dealt with in accordance with state law and established District procedures.

Tardiness

The District recognizes that a student, without an acceptable excuse, may arrive late for school or for a particular class or activity on an occasional and sporadic basis, and that such tardiness should not immediately and in all cases result in a finding of truancy. At the same time, repeated tardiness is inconsistent with the purpose of the compulsory attendance law and can be disruptive to a student’s learning and/or to school/classroom operations.

Elementary School Tardies

Students arriving late to school less than one hundred and forty (140) minutes after the start of school will be considered tardy, not absent.1) Students arriving late to school greater than one hundred and forty (140) minutes after the start of school will be considered absent for the morning (half-day absence). 2) Students with more than excessive tardies in any one semester will receive a communication from the school attendance officer identifying barriers and sharing suggested interventions to improve upon the student’s arrival time.

Secondary Tardies

Students not in their homeroom/IE or in class when the late bell rings are considered tardy. Students who arrive to school greater than ten (10) minutes late will be considered truant and will need to be excused by a parent. All students who are tardy or late to school must report to the attendance office to sign in. Students shall be notified that the fourth tardy to school shall result in consequences.

Each school's student handbook shall describe tardiness procedures and consequences.

Truancy Plan

The Board will issue a Truancy Plan based upon the recommendations of the County Truancy Committee convened under State law, the Board's policies and procedures, and applicable provisions of State law. The Board will review and, if appropriate, revise the Truancy Plan at least once every two (2) years.

The Truancy Plan will include, at a minimum, the following:

procedures to be followed for notifying the parents of the unexcused absences of a student who is truant or a habitual truant and for meeting and conferring with such parents;
plans and procedures for identifying truant children of all ages and returning them to school, including the identity of school personnel to whom a truant child shall be returned;
methods to increase and maintain public awareness of and involvement in responding to truancy within the School District;
a provision addressing the immediate response to be made by school personnel when a truant child is returned to school;
the types of truancy cases to be referred to the District Attorney and the time periods within which the District Attorney will respond to and take action on the referrals;
plans and procedures to coordinate the responses to the problems of habitual truants, as defined under 118.16(1)(a), Wis. Stats., with public and private social services agencies;
methods to involve the truant child's parent in dealing with and solving the child's truancy problem.

A student will be considered truant if s/he is absent part or all of one (1) or more days from school during which the School Attendance Officer, principal, or a teacher has not been notified of the legal cause of such absence by the parent of the absent student. A student who is absent intermittently for the purpose of defeating the intent of the Wisconsin Compulsory Attendance Statute Sec. 118.15, Wis. Stats., will also be considered truant.

A student will be considered a habitual truant if the student is absent from school without an acceptable excuse for part or all of five (5) or more days on which school is held during a school semester.

Notice of Truancy

The School Attendance Officer shall notify a truant student's parent of the student's truancy and direct the parent to return the student to school no later than the next day on which school is in session or to provide an excuse for the absence. The notice under this paragraph shall be given before the end of the second school day after receiving a report of an unexcused absence. The notice may be made by electronic communication, personal contact, telephone call, or 1st class mail, and a written record of this notice shall be kept. The School Attendance Officer shall attempt to give notice by personal contact, telephone call, or, unless the parent has refused to receive electronic communication, notice by 1st class mail may be given. This notice must be given every time a student is truant until the student becomes a habitual truant.

Notice of Habitual Truancy

When a student initially becomes a habitual truant, the School Attendance Officer shall provide a notice to the student's parent, by registered or certified mail, or by 1st class mail. The School Attendance Officer may simultaneously notify the parent of the habitually truant student by an electronic communication. The notice must contain the following:

a statement of the parent's responsibility under State law to cause the student to attend school regularly;
a statement that the parent or student may request program or curriculum modifications for the student under State law and that the student may be eligible for enrollment in a program for children at risk;
a request that the parent meet with the appropriate school personnel to discuss the student's truancy;

The notice shall include the name of the school personnel with whom the parent should meet, a date, time, and place for the meeting and the name, address, and telephone number of a person to contact to arrange a different date, time, or place. The date for the meeting shall be within five (5) school days after the date that the notice is sent, except that with the consent of the student's parent the date for the meeting may be extended for an additional five (5) school days.
a statement of the penalties, under State law or local ordinances that may be imposed on the parent upon failure to cause the child to attend school regularly as required by State law;
if the student is attending the District through the Open Enrollment Program, each notification shall also inform the parent: 1) that the student's open enrollment may be terminated if the student is habitually truant; and 2) the process described in Board Policy 5113 - Open Enrollment Program (Inter-District), which the parent or student may follow if they believe the student was erroneously marked truant.

The School Attendance Officer will also continue to notify the parent of a habitual truant's subsequent unexcused absences.

Referral to the District Attorney

Truancy cases will be referred to the District Attorney as provided in the County Truancy Committee Plan. The School Attendance Officer will ensure that appropriate school personnel have done the following before any case is referred to the District Attorney:

met with the student's parent to discuss the student's truancy or attempted to meet with the student's parent and received no response or were refused;
provided an opportunity for educational counseling to the student to determine whether a change in the student's curriculum would resolve the student's truancy and have curriculum modifications under State law;
evaluated the student to determine whether learning problems may be a cause of the student's truancy and, if so, have taken steps to overcome the learning problems, except that the student need not be evaluated if tests administered to the student within the previous year indicate that the student is performing at grade level;
conducted an evaluation to determine whether social problems may be a cause of the student's truancy and, if so, have taken appropriate action or made appropriate referrals.

Note that paragraph A. is not required if the meeting between school personnel, the student, and the student's parent, which was requested in the Notice of Habitual Truancy to the parent, did not occur within ten (10) school days after the Notice was sent. Paragraphs B., C., and D. are not required if appropriate school personnel were unable to carry out the activity due to the student's absences from school.

Make-up Course Work and Examinations

Excused Absences

A student whose absence from school was excused, except for an expelled student, shall be permitted to make-up coursework and any quarterly, semester, or grading period examinations missed during the absences when they return to school. It is the student's responsibility to contact their teachers to determine what coursework and examinations must be made-up. Teachers shall have the discretion to assign substitute coursework and examinations. Teachers shall also have the discretion to specify where and when examinations and coursework shall be completed, including outside regular school hours. The time for completing the work shall be commensurate with the length of the absence unless extended by the principal based upon extenuating circumstances.

Unexcused Absences

Credit in a course or subject shall not be denied solely because of a student's unexcused absences from school. A student's grade in any course shall be based on the student's performance in the instructional setting and is not reduced for reasons of conduct. If a student, violates the attendance or other rules of the school, s/he should be disciplined appropriately for the misconduct, but the student's grades should be based upon what the student can demonstrate they have learned.

Students with unexcused absences shall be permitted to make-up coursework and any quarterly, semester, or grading period examinations missed during the absence if the student is at risk of receiving no credit in a course or subject if the work is not made up.

Subject to the immediately preceding two (2) paragraphs, credit may, but is not required to be given for the completion of make-up work. Further, credit for make‑up work may be given only after the student has satisfied consequences imposed for unexcused absences. The extent to which make-up credit is given shall be determined on a case-by-case basis by the principal and the respective teachers.

If make-up work has been assigned, it is the student's responsibility to contact their teachers to determine what coursework and examinations must be made‑up. Teachers shall have the discretion to assign substitute coursework and examinations. Teachers shall also have the discretion to specify where and when examinations and coursework shall be completed, including outside regular school hours. The time for completing the work shall be commensurate with the length of the absence unless extended by the principal based upon extenuating circumstances.

Teachers, students, and parents and guardians shall be informed of the District’s student attendance policy and procedures annually via school handbooks or other means necessary to provide proper notice of student attendance related responsibilities

Revised 11/13/23
Revised 9/6/24