Attendance

When to Keep Your Child Home from School

In order to maintain the health and safety of everyone in our school district, please review these guidelines for determining when your child should be kept home from school.

Please keep children home if they have the following;

• Nasal secretions (yellow or green in color)
• Persistent cough
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Fever
• Sore throat
• Rashes
• Conjunctivitis (red or runny eyes)

Fever

A Fever is a strong indicator of the body fighting and infection. Children should be kept home if they have a temperature of 100.0 degrees or higher. Children need to be fever FREE for 24 hour (without fever-treating medications) before returning to school.

Vomiting or Diarrhea

Recurrent vomiting or diarrhea often means infection. Children need to be kept at home for at least 24 hours after any episode of vomiting or diarrhea, especially if accompanied by a fever.

Sore throats, especially if your child has swollen glands

During the school year, we see a number of children with strep throat. Not all children will have classic sore throat symptoms. Difficulty swallowing, a sore neck, headache, stomach ache, loss of appetite, swollen or tender neck glands are all signs to watch for in your child. If you notice these symptoms, please contact your health care provider.

Antibiotics

Children who are placed on antibiotics for strep throat or conjunctivitis (pink eye), must be on these medications for more than 24 hours before returning to school to prevent the spread of infection.

Cold or Flu symptoms

Children who are coughing or sneezing are spreading infection and need to be kept home from school. Be especially cautious if your child has a productive cough, or has nasal secretions which are yellow or green in color.

The above symptoms need to be absent for at least 24 hours prior to returning to school.

Parents can log into their PowerSchool Account and click on “Chronic Absenteeism” to view the total absence hours their student has accumulated per month and per year for the current school year.

Did You Know?

A student is chronically absent if he or she misses as few as two days of school a month.

2 DAYS PER MONTH x 9 MONTHS = CHRONIC ABSENCE

WHEN DO ABSENCES BECOME A PROBLEM?

While students sometimes get sick or have medical appointments, missing any amount of school can be harmful to their learning.

• Excessive Absence = missing 38 or more hours of school in one month OR 65 or more hours in one school year with or without an excuse

• Habitual Truancy = 30 or more consecutive hours OR 42 hours in a month OR 72 or more hours in a year without an excuse

• Chronic Absence = missing 10 percent of the school year with or without an excuse

If a pre-planned absence exceeds 38 hours in a month or combination of all absences exceeds 65 hours for the year, any absence above the 38 or 65 must be marked as unexcused.  By law, a letter will be sent home notifying parents of the excessive absences and requirement of medical excuse needed for all future absences for the school year. Without a medical excuse, additional absences will be marked as unexcused.  

For additional information please reference The Ohio Department of Education Chronic Absenteeism 

Families MUST complete a Planned Absence Form if your student will not be attending school due to travel or other circumstances on any day that school is in session. This includes taking extended time off over the holidays and spring break. Whether it's one day, five days, etc. your child will not be excused if the form is not completed PER HB 410 stipulations.

The completed form is required to be submitted to the building secretary of your child’s school at least one week prior to the absence.

Failure to complete and return this form prior to the absence will result in the student’s absences being documented as unexcused and counted toward attendance threshold limits established by the State of Ohio.

Students not returning to NAPLS after holiday or spring break MUST COMPLETE A WITHDRAWAL FORM. This form documents information correctly in order to comply with HB 410 and the Missing Child Act.

Book  Policy Manual

Section  5000 Students

Title ATTENDANCE

Code po5200

Status Active

Adopted March 21, 1988

Last Revised December 13, 2021

5200 - ATTENDANCE

The educational program offered by this District is predicated upon the presence of the student and requires continuity of instruction and classroom participation. Attendance shall be required of all students enrolled in the schools during the days and hours that the school is in session or during the attendance sessions to which s/he has been assigned.

A student in grades 9 through 12 may be considered a full-time equivalent student provided the student is enrolled in at least five (5) units of instruction, as defined by State law, per school year.

In accordance with statute, the Superintendent shall require, from the parent of each student of compulsory school age or from an adult student who has been absent from school or from class for any reason, a written statement of the cause for such absence. The Board of Education reserves the right to verify such statements and to investigate the cause of each single absence or prolonged absence.

The Board considers the following factors to be reasonable excuses for time missed at school:

A. personal illness (a written physician's statement verifying the illness may be required)

B. appointment with a health care provider (a written health care provider statement verifying the appointment is required)

C. illness in the family necessitating the presence of the child

D. quarantine of the home

E. death in the family

F. necessary work at home due to absence or incapacity of parent(s)/guardian(s) 

G. observation or celebration of a bona fide religious holiday

H. out-of-state travel (up to a maximum twenty-four (24) hours per school year that the student's school is open for instruction) to participate in a District-approved enrichment or extracurricular activity 

    Any classroom assignment missed due to the absence shall be completed by the student.

    If the student will be absent for twenty-four (24) or more consecutive hours that the student's school is open for instruction, a  classroom teacher shall accompany the student during the travel period to provide the student with instructional assistance.

I. such good cause as may be acceptable to the Superintendent

J. medically necessary leave for a pregnant student in accordance with Policy 5751

K. service as a precinct officer at a primary, special or general election in accordance with the program set forth in Policy 5725

L. college visitation

The District requires verification of the date and time of the visitation by the college, university, or technical college.

M. 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

N. absences due to a student being homeless

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.

The Board shall consider each student assigned to a program of other guided learning experiences to be in regular attendance for the program provided that s/he reports to such staff member s/he is assigned for guidance at the place in which s/he is conducting study, and regularly demonstrates progress toward the objectives of the course of study.

The Superintendent may excuse a student over fourteen (14) years of age from attendance at school for a future limited period for the purpose of performing essential work directly or exclusively for his/her parents or guardians. Such excuse should not exceed five (5) days and may at the discretion of the Superintendent be renewed for five (5) additional days. At no time, however, shall such excuse cause a student to be absent from school for a period of more than ten (10) consecutive days.

At the discretion of the Superintendent, a student may be excused for a longer period of time than ten (10) days if a child's parent or guardian has recently died or become totally or partially incapacitated and there is no older brother or sister living in the home who is out of school. (The Superintendent may request a certificate of a physician attesting to the physical condition of the parent or guardian.) 

Attendance shall be taken at the beginning of every block/period in buildings with block/period-based scheduling. Absences from a class block/period shall be accounted for to the nearest full hour.

Attendance shall be taken at the commencement of the school day in buildings with non-period-based schedules. Attendance for students arriving late or leaving early must be tracked and recorded to the nearest full hour.

Contacting the Parent/Guardian of an Absent Student

When a parent, guardian, or other person having care of a student has failed to initiate a telephone call or other communication notifying the school or building administration of the student's excused or unexcused absence within 120 minutes after the beginning of the school day, the attendance officer or designee for each school building shall make at least one (1) attempt to contact the parent, guardian, or other person having care of any student who is recorded as absent without legitimate excuse within 120 minutes after the beginning of each school day by a method designated by the Superintendent in accordance with Ohio law (see AG 5200).

Excessive Absences

When a student of compulsory school age is absent from school with combined nonmedical excused absences and unexcused absences in excess of thirty-eight (38) or more hours in one (1) school month, or sixty-five (65) or more hours in a school year, that student is considered excessively absent from school. The District or school shall notify the child's parent or guardian of the child's absences, in writing, within seven (7) school days after the date of the absence that triggered the notice requirement. At the same time written notice is given, any appropriate intervention action listed herein may be taken.

The following “medical excuses” will not count toward a student’s excessive absence hours: (1) personal illness; (2) illness in the family necessitating the presence of the child; (3) quarantine of the home; (4) health care provider appointments (doctor, dentist, mental health provider, etc.); (5)  medically-necessary leave for a pregnant student in accordance with Policy 5751; (6) death in the family; or (7) other set of circumstances the Superintendent deems on a case-by-case basis to be a good and sufficient cause for medical absence from school.

A medically excused absence occurs any time a student is out of school due to illness or medical visit (physician, dentist, mental health, etc.). A medical excuse for personal illness will be accepted in the form of doctor’s note within five (5) school days of the absence or parent call-in on the day of the absence due to illness or doctor’s visit. A student may have up to ten (10) medically excused absences without a doctor’s note, but with a phone call from a parent/guardian. This policy will be extended beyond ten (10) days if the student or someone in the student’s family is in quarantine due to recognized pandemic/epidemic (e.g., COVID-19) or experiencing symptoms of the pandemic/epidemic.

Habitually Truant

A student will be considered habitually truant if the student is of compulsory school age and 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 for seventy-two (72) or more hours in one (1) school year.

Legitimate excuses for the absence of a student who is otherwise habitually truant include but are not limited to:

A. the student was enrolled in another school district;

B. the student was excused from attendance in accordance with R.C 3321.04; or

C. the student has received an age and schooling certificate.

Absence Intervention Team

To the extent required by law as determined on an annual basis, within ten (10) days of a student becoming habitually truant, the Principal/Assistant Principal shall assign the student to an absence intervention team.

Within fourteen (14) school days after the assignment of a student to an absence intervention team, the team shall develop an intervention plan for that student in an effort to reduce or eliminate further absences.  Each intervention plan shall vary based on the individual needs of the student, but the plan shall state that the attendance officer shall file a complaint not later than sixty-one (61) days after the date the plan was implemented, if the child has refused to participate in, or failed to make satisfactory progress on, the intervention plan. Within seven (7) school days after the development of the plan, reasonable efforts shall be made to provide the student's parent/guardian/custodian, with written notice of the plan.

Each absence intervention team may vary based on the needs of each individual student but shall include a representative from the child's building, another representative from the child's building who knows the child, and the child's parent or parent's designee, or the child's guardian, custodian, guardian ad litem, or temporary custodian. The team also may 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. 

The members of the absence intervention team shall be selected within seven (7) school days of the student meeting the habitually truant threshold. Within the same period of seven (7) school days, the Principal/Assistant Principal shall make at least three (3) meaningful, good faith attempts to secure the participation of the student's parent/guardian/custodian, guardian ad litem, or temporary custodian on that team. A good faith attempt to secure the participation of the parent shall include, but not be limited to, contacting (or attempting to contact) the parent by telephone, email, or regular mail. If the student's parent responds to any of those attempts, but is unable to participate for any reason, the Principal/Assistant Principal shall inform the parent of the parent's right to appear by designee. If seven (7) school days elapse and the student's parent/guardian/custodian, guardian ad litem, or temporary custodian fails to respond to the attempts to secure participation, the attendance officer shall investigate whether the failure to respond triggers mandatory abuse or neglect reporting to the public children services agency. At the same time, the absence intervention team shall continue to develop an intervention plan for the child notwithstanding the absence of the child's parent/guardian/custodian, guardian ad litem, or temporary custodian.

Intervention Strategies

In order to address the attendance practices of a student who is habitually truant, the intervention team may, as part of an intervention plan, take any of the following intervention actions:

A. provide counseling to the student

B. request or require the student's parent to attend a parental involvement program

C. request or require a parent to attend a truancy prevention mediation program

D. notify the Registrar of Motor Vehicles of the student's absences

E. take appropriate legal action

F. assignment to an alternative school.

In the event that a student becomes habitually truant within twenty-one (21) school days prior to the last day of instruction of a school year, the Principal/Assistant Principal may, in his/her discretion, assign a school official to work with the child's parent/guardian/custodian, guardian ad litem, or temporary custodian to develop an absence intervention plan during the summer.

The absence intervention process shall commence upon the first day of instruction of the next school year.

Reporting Requirements

The attendance officer shall file a complaint in the juvenile court against a student on the sixty-first (61st) day after the implementation of an absence intervention plan or other intervention strategies, provided that all of the following apply:

A. The student is habitually truant.

B. The school district or school has made meaningful attempts to re-engage the student through the absence intervention plan, other intervention strategies, and any offered alternatives to adjudication, if applicable.

C. 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 alternative to adjudication.

If the student, at any time during the implementation phase of the absence intervention plan or other intervention strategies, 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 in juvenile court against that student, unless the absence intervention team has determined that the student has made substantial progress on the absence intervention plan.

In the event that the sixty-first (61st) day after the implementation of the absence intervention plan or other intervention strategies falls on a day during the summer months, the attendance officer may extend the implementation of the plan and delay the filing of the complaint for an additional thirty (30) days from the first day of instruction of the next school year.

The Superintendent is authorized to establish an educational program for parents of truant students which is designed to encourage parents to ensure that their children attend school regularly. Any parent who does not complete the program is to be reported to law enforcement authorities for parental education neglect, a fourth class misdemeanor if found guilty.

Whenever any student of compulsory school age has sixty (60)  consecutive hours in a single month or a total of ninety (90) hours of unexcused absence from school during the school year, s/he will be considered habitually absent under R.C. 3321.13(b)(2). The Board authorizes the Superintendent to inform the student and his/her parents, guardian, or custodian of the record of absences without a legitimate excuse as well as the District's intent to notify the Registrar of Motor Vehicles, if appropriate, and the Judge of the Juvenile Court of the student's unexcused absences and habitually absent status.

If a student who is habitually truant violates the order of a juvenile court regarding the student’s prior adjudication as an unruly child for being a habitual truant, s/he may further be adjudicated as a delinquent child.

The District shall report to the Ohio Department of Education, as soon as practicable, and in a format and manner determined by the Department, any of the following occurrences:

A. when a notice that a student has been absent 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 a school year is submitted to a parent/guardian/or custodian;

B. when a child of compulsory school age has been absent without legitimate excuse from the public school the child is supposed to attend for thirty (30) or more consecutive hours, forty-two (42) or more hours in one school month, or seventy-two (72) or more hours in a school year;

C. when a child of compulsory school age who has been adjudicated an unruly child for being a habitual truant violates the court order regarding that adjudication;

D. when an absence intervention plan has been implemented for a child under this policy.

This policy was developed after consultation with the judge of the juvenile court of Franklin County, with the parents, guardians, or other persons having care of the students attending school in the District, and with appropriate State and local agencies.

Tracking Attendance during Synchronous and Asynchronous Web-Based Instruction 

Student attendance in teacher-led remote learning (synchronous web-based instruction) shall be tracked in the same manner as hourly, in-person instruction.  Teachers shall determine hourly attendance by evidence of student login and logoff data.  Attendance in self-directed remote learning (asynchronous) shall be tracked by evidence of participation, which may include, but is not limited to daily logins to the learning management system, daily interaction with the instructor, and/or assignment completion.

Revised 10/22/90
Reviewed 6/94
Readopted 7/94
Revised and readopted 10/97
Revised and readopted 8/00
Revised 4/26/10
Revised 2/27/12
Revised 7/10/17
Revised 4/23/18
Revised 12/16/19
Revised 8/3/20

© Neola 2021

Legal

R.C. 2151.011, 3313.668, 3317.034, 3321.01 et seq., 3321.13(B)(2), 3321.19, 3321.191

R.C. 3321.22, 3321.38, 3323.041

A.C. 3301-35-03, 3301-47-01, 3301-69-02

HB 410 Model Policy Framework

Districts may use this framework when updating local policies to align with HB 410 requirements. As districts are updating its policies, per ORC 3321.191, districts should consult with “the judge of the juvenile court of the county or counties in which the district or service center is located, with the parents, guardians, or other persons having care of the pupils attending school in the district, and with appropriate state and local agencies.”  

A positive school climate requires students to: follow school rules; accept guidance from school staff; respect themselves and others; and be active citizens. The Board of Education has zero tolerance of violent, disruptive or inappropriate behavior by its students. Student conduct shall be governed by the rules and provisions of the [Student Code of Conduct/Student Discipline Code]. This policy will be reviewed periodically.  

It is the responsibility of students, teachers and administrators to maintain a school environment that:

A. Encourages all students to be actively engaged in their learning;

B. Has consequences that are fair and developmentally appropriate;

C. Relies on preventive and supportive interventions to support positive behavior and academic outcomes; and

D. Fairly enforces the [Student Code of Conduct/Student Discipline Code].  

All students and families are provided a copy of the [Student Code of Conduct/Student Discipline Code], which contains the rules and regulations that each student is expected to adhere to while in school or participating in any school-related activity, regardless of its location. The district has developmentally and age-appropriate discipline strategies ranging from preventative approaches to supportive interventions to address student misbehavior, including excessive absences. Students who do not follow school rules on school property and/or at school-related events will be disciplined according to the terms set forth in the [District’s/Board’s] approved [Student Code of Conduct/Student Discipline Code]. The [Student Code of Conduct/Student Discipline Code] provides students and families with examples of the types of behaviors that would subject a student to disciplinary action ranging from suspension or expulsion to other less severe forms. Suspension and expulsion will only be used once other options have been exhausted, unless the student’s behavior poses a threat to the safety of him/herself or others.  

A student may be subject to school disciplinary action, including suspension or expulsion for harassment, vandalism, physical abuse or other harmful or disruptive behavior toward school personnel or school personnel’s property during non-school hours.  

If a student’s suspension is longer than the school year, the student will not be required to complete the suspension at the beginning of the next school year. However, the student may be required to complete community service or an alternative strategy for engagement, per the superintendent, to be completed during the summer.  

Students may be subject to discipline for violation of the [Student Code of Conduct/Student Discipline Code], even if that conduct occurs on property not owned or controlled by the [District/Board] but that is connected to activities or incidents that have occurred on property owned or controlled by the [District/Board], or conduct that, regardless of where it occurs, is directed at a [Board/District] official or employee or the property of such official or employee.  

Regular school attendance is an important ingredient in students’ academic success. Excessive absences interfere with students’ progress in mastering knowledge and skills necessary to graduate from high school prepared for higher education and the workforce. To support academic success for all students, the district will partner with students and their families to identify and reduce barriers to regular school attendance. The district will utilize a continuum of strategies to reduce student absences including, but not limited to:

• Notifying the parent or guardian of a student’s absence;
• Developing and implementing an absence intervention plan on a case-by-case basis, which may include supportive services for students and families;  
• Counseling;
• Parent education and parenting programs;
• Mediation;
• Intervention programs available through juvenile authorities; or
• Referral for truancy if applicable.

Ohio law requires that if a student is absent with or without legitimate excuse from school 38 or more hours in one school month, or 65 or more school hours in a school year, the following will occur.  The school’s attendance officer will notify the child's parent, guardian, or custodian of the child's absences after the date of the absence that triggered the notice requirement. If a student’s absences surpass the threshold for a habitual truant, the principal or chief administrator of the school or the superintendent of the school district shall assign the student to a district absence intervention team, which will develop an intervention plan for that student.  Every effort will be made to include a parent, guardian or custodian as a member of the student’s absence intervention team. Notice of the plan developed by the student’s absence intervention team will be provided to the student’s parent, guardian or custodian.  At no time, however, will students be expelled or suspended out of school due to excessive absences or truancy.  

Applicable Ohio Revised Code Sections contained within this policy:

ORC 3313.20 (Rules - locker search policy - professional meetings)

ORC 3313.534 (Policy of zero tolerance for violent, disruptive or inappropriate behavior)

ORC 3313.66 (Suspension, expulsion or permanent exclusion-removal from curricular or extracurricular activities)

ORC 3313.661 (Policy regarding suspension, expulsion, removal, and permanent exclusion)

ORC 3313.662 (Adjudication order permanently excluding pupil from public schools)

ORC 3321.191 (Adoption of policy regarding student absences; intervention strategies)

—This template is a general, high-level model policy. Local school boards/districts should consult with their legal counsel about the proper use of this model policy prior to its adoption. —