> Welcome > Calendar of Events > About NSA > Counseling & Career Center > Credits System > Available Studies > Policies & Procedures      + Attendance           - Arrival           - Tardiness to School           - Excusing Absences           - Compulsory Attendance           - Verification of Absences           - Types of Absences           - Driver's License Act           - Early Dismissals      + Discipline	Arrival Students will be encouraged to arrive at school between 7:30 and 7:45 a.m. and report to the cafeteria. Those students who must arrive prior to 7:45 are to proceed to the cafeteria until 7:50 a.m. Students are not to be in the locker area or any hallways before the 7:50 a.m. bell. Students must eat food in the cafeteria, not in the hallways or the foyer. At the ringing of the 7:50 a.m. bell, students will be expected to proceed to their lockers and/or their first period class. A warning bell will ring at 7:59 a.m., and the tardy bell will ring at 8:00 a.m. Tardiness to School Students arriving after 8:00 a.m. must report to their first period class. Students will be counted as tardy by their first period teacher from 8:00 a.m. thereafter. Students who arrive after 8:15 a.m. must report to the discipline office. All teachers will require a note signed by your parent or doctor. Tardy policy consequences will apply equally whether you are tardy to school or to class. (See tardy policy) Students are not to be counted tardy when the magnet bus arrives at school behind schedule. Arrival of late buses will be announced over the intercom. Students arriving on late buses must report directly to their first period class. See the Tardy Discipline Procedures. Excusing Absences Students returning from an absence are responsible for providing the discipline office with a written statement, signed by the parent or guardian, stating the reason for the absence. The discipline office will issue an official excused or unexcused note in which the student is to take to each class to show teachers. All written statements from home will be kept in the office. Students who do not bring a written statement from their parent or guardian giving an acceptable reason for the absence can expect their absence to be unexcused as stated above. Seniors are to remember that along with grade requirements, they must attend 93% of their classes in a subject to be exempt from exams. Compulsory Attendance Parents, guardians, and other persons having control or charge of any child or children between the ages of six (6) and seventeen (17) years, both inclusive, shall be responsible for their attendance in a public or non-public school. In the event of failure to do so, the parents, guardian, or other persons will be subject to the penalties provided in the Compulsory School Attendance Law. Children Exempt from Attendance Children mentally or physically incapacitated to perform school duties (such disability to be attested by a licenses physician in all cases). Children who have completed high school and hold a high school diploma. Children temporarily excused from attendance in school under rules and regulations of the State Board of Education. Children who have attained their seventeenth birthday and whose continued compulsory attendance, in the opinion of the Board of Education in charge of the school to which such children belong and are enrolled, results in detriment to good order and discipline and to the instruction of the students and is not a substantial benefit to such children, provided that in all such cases, the Board of Education shall first obtain the recommendation in writing from the Director of Schools and the principal of the school to which such children attend. Administration of Attendance Law The responsibility and authority for enforcement of the Compulsory School Attendance Law shall be placed with the Board of Education and its designated employees. Nothing shall preclude a student from attending high school beyond the age of seventeen if the student has not graduated but maintains good behavior, attendance and continues to make academic progress. Verification of Absences All absences must be verified in writing within three (3) days from the parent or guardian. All absences for which no written verification is received will be considered unexcused. Types of Absences and Consequences 1. Excused Absences Personal Illness Illness in the family requiring the student's temporary help Death in the family (not more than 3 days) Head lice, up to three days per infestation Recognized religious holidays regularly observed by persons of child's faith Court appearances or legal mandates Documented college visitations for juniors and seniors (3 days per year) 2. Justifiable Personal Absences Upon request of the parent/guardian, a student's absence may be excused for the following reasons: Unforeseeable emergencies such as car problems. Employment interview or conference. Doctor or dental appointments. Other reasons requested in writing by the parent/guardian and considered legitimate by the principal or designee. 3. School Events/Field Trips Students will not be counted as absent if they are: On school approved field trips or activities. Serving on Board or staff appointed committees. 4. Suspension from School 5. Making up Work for All Types of Absences At the K-12 level, students with an excused, justifiable personal absence or who are on a school event or field trip or suspended shall be provided the opportunity to receive assignments missed during the absence and to make up to work upon their return for the full grade. At the K-12 level, students with unexcused absences shall not be given the opportunity to make up the work. Make up work must be requested by the students or parent no later than three days after returning to school. The work should be turned in at a mutually agreed time frame between the teacher and the student. 6. Principal Authority With written documentation in the student's record and in accordance with this policy, principals may: Excuse an absence, including, but not limited to justifiable personal absences, school events/field trips, and excused absences. Refuse to excuse an absence. Require an explanation (written or oral) from the parents or guardian explaining the reason for each absence. Require other documentation they deem appropriate. Require a physician's statement of consent to participate in the regular school program, extracurricular activities, or to validate an extended illness or excessive absences due to illness. 7. Attendance Records When a students misses school, even if work is made up, the attendance record for the student and the school cannot be changed. 8. Tardies and Early Dismissals Each school principal in consultation with the local building staff must develop and communicate tardy/early dismissal guidelines, including consequences. 9. Truancy In cases of chronic absence or truancy, and after consultation with the appropriate staff, in accordance with policy and procedures, principals must take strong action up to and including seeking juvenile court intervention. 10. Exclusion Children shall be excluded from Metropolitan Schools by the Board of Education when the progress or efficiency of the schools makes such action necessary. Children shall be excluded from school temporarily if they have, or have been exposed to certain communicable diseases. As the agency responsible for control of communicable disease in the schools, periods of exclusion for the various communicable diseases shall be those prescribed by the Metropolitan Health Department. Requests for permanent exclusion of a pupil shall be submitted to the District Coordinator of the School Discipline Referrals. Driver's License Act Senate Bill 2340 is now in effect and requires any person under the age of eighteen (18) to be enrolled in school or have a valid excuse not to be enrolled in school in order to secure or retain a driver's license. The school will be required to notify the Department of Safety when any student fifteen (15) or older withdraws from school. A student is considered withdrawn with more than ten (10) consecutive or fifteen (15) days total unexcused absences in a single semester (suspension, expulsion and confinement in corrections are unexcused absences). A student who loses his or her license because of withdrawal from school has one (1) opportunity to have that license reinstated by attending school thirty (30) consecutive days. A second violation results in the suspension of the driving privileges until the age of eighteen (18). When attaining a driver's license form, please ask the attendance secretary to submit an attendance record. The principal must also sign the form. Early Dismissals Students who are to be dismissed early from school should bring a written statement from their parent or guardian to the discipline office as soon as they arrive at school. The principal or secretary will collect and file the statements and issue to the students a dismissal excuse the time when the student is to be dismissed from class. Students must report to the appropriate teacher before going to the office for dismissal. Students shall be dismissed from the office only after being notified that their ride has arrived and the student has signed the dismissal log. Students are not to wait in the lobby for early dismissal. When a student returns to school the same day following an early dismissal, he/she must pick up an "admit to class" slip from the discipline office before being readmitted to class. Students dismissed early to go to the doctor must bring a note from the doctor to be readmitted. These notes must be presented in the discipline office. Athletes, cheerleaders and members performing with other schools will be required to provide their NSA teachers with up-to-date schedules for games and practices. Leaving school early is strongly discouraged. NSA students will not be dismissed to attend pep rallies at other schools. Early dismissals are considered absences in those classes that are totally missed. Attendance is taken for each period, and unnecessary early dismissals may not be approved by administration.
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