APS Board Policy - Attendance
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. The State of Ohio has established
standards for student attendance. Attendance shall be required of all students enrolled in the school
during the days and hours that the school is in session or during the attendance sessions to which the
student has been assigned.
In accordance with statute, the Superintendent shall require, from the parent or guardian of each student
or from an adult student who has been absent from school or from class for any reason, a (written)
statement or logged telephone call for such absence.
The Board shall consider each student assigned to a program of other guided learning experiences to be
in regular attendance if the student reports to the appropriate teacher, or if the student regularly
demonstrates progress toward the objectives of the course of study in an approved alternative program.
A parent(s) or guardian(s) of school aged children shall be required to abide by compulsory education
laws. School attendance violations are subject to court prosecution. When any student of compulsory
school age is absent without legitimate excuse, they may be classified as habitually or chronically truant
as defined by SB 181. The Board authorizes the Superintendent to inform the student and the student's
parent(s) or guardian(s) of the truancy record and the District's intent to notify the Judge of Juvenile Court
and the Registrar of Motor Vehicles (if applicable contingent of age) of the student's excessive truancy.
The Superintendent shall count students as authorized for ADM purposes, those who have been
suspended from school during the first full week in October (official ADM count), if they are participating in
an alternative instructional program, and those students who are expelled and enrolled in an alternative
program. Those students who miss school due to an emergency or set of circumstances beyond their
control, which in the judgment of the Superintendent of Schools constitutes a good and sufficient cause of
absence from school, should be coded in EMIS as a non-attending reason number seven (7).
The Superintendent shall develop administrative guidelines governing excuses for absence from school.
R.C. 3313.664, 3321.01 et seq., 3321.13(B)(2), 3321.19, 3321.38, 3331.05
A.C. 3301-35-03(G), 3301-47-01, 3301-51-13
Revised 8/28/00
5200A - ATTENDANCE REGULATIONS
Good attendance is essential to a student’s academic success. The Akron Public Schools attendance
procedures are intended to promote regular attendance and help students attain educational goals.
When a student is marked absent or tardy for an excused reason, or is suspended, the student is
permitted to make up as much missed classroom work as is reasonably possible with the assistance of
the student’s classroom teachers.
Reasons for excused absence or tardiness include:
A.
Personal illness or injury
B.
Illness in the family
C.
Funerals (of immediate family or relative)
D.
Quarantine
E.
Work at home due to the absence of the parent/guardian
F.
Religious holidays
G.
Medical and dental appointments
H.
Appointment at the Board of Education Administration Building, Child Guidance Center,
Court appointments, or Mental Health or Family Counseling
I.
College Visitation (reasonable number and verified by parent)
J.
Emergencies (any emergency or set of circumstances beyond the student’s control
judged as sufficient cause by the school principal or the superintendent)
A student’s attendance record is not affected by class time the student missed as a result of the following
situations:
A.
Field trips (authorized by the principal)
B.
College visitations (school directed)
C
School activities, such as athletic team events, debate, choir, etc. which are authorized
.
by the principal
Make-up work for this missed class time is permitted.
The principal, as the Superintendent designee, is the final authority in determining whether an absence or
tardy is excused or unexcused.
When a student is absent or tardy, it is the obligation of the parent, guardian, or custodian to report the
absence and the reason for the absence or tardiness. This may be done by phone, written note, or any
other means acceptable to the student’s school.
Calamity Days (Weather Related Concerns): When school is closed due to the weather, all activities are
canceled. Suspension days will be forwarded and must be served after school reopens.
Expelled students are considered in attendance if they are enrolled in an alternative program. Students
should be aware that it might not be possible to make up all classroom work. It is the responsibility of the
student to initiate the request for make-up work and complete the work within a specified time as
determined by the classroom teacher and attendance rules and regulations apply.
Attendance Procedures for Grades 9-12
Introduction
The Akron Public Schools Strategic Plan challenges students, staff, and community "to ensure that each
student in our diverse population achieves to his or her fullest potential…"State Law establishes 93%
attendance as the minimum performance standard for schools. The Akron Public Schools cannot accept
less than the minimum to fulfill the obligation imposed by law and vision set forth in the Strategic Plan.
Any absence, no matter the reason, impedes learning. Neither the quantity nor continuity of instruction is
adequate when a student’s attendance is unacceptable.
The following attendance regulations for high school students have been designed to foster acceptable
attendance patterns as defined by the Ohio Revised Code and the Akron Public Schools Strategic Plan.
These attendance regulations will be mailed to the homes of all senior high school students prior to the
start of the school year. Copies will be distributed and reviewed with students during the first week of
school. Students will be encouraged to share the information with their parents.
Promoting Positive Attendance
An ongoing effort will be made to help students understand the relationship of attendance to academic
achievement and to their future success in post-secondary education and employment. Each secondary
school will have a program of incentives for good attendance: for example, perfect attendance rewards or
prizes, parent notification, and eligibility for special events.
Parent Notification
To promote parent cooperation in making good attendance a priority, the school will provide parents with
information on its attendance regulations and make them regularly aware of their children’s attendance.
Attendance and Credit
The following consequences will be enforced for unacceptable attendance.
Credit for high school course work demands that the student be regularly in attendance. Students who
must be absent from school for extended periods of time are responsible for working with their teachers to
make up lost class time. Students who chose not to attend school on a regular basis are missing valuable
instructional time and should not expect to receive credit for their courses.
The State of Ohio has established 93% as the standard for acceptable attendance. A student falls below
that standard after missing seven days in a semester. A student who falls below the standard and has no
legitimate reason for the absences is in jeopardy of losing course credit.
A student’s attendance record is cumulative and follows the student if s/he transfers during the school
year.
When a student has accumulated four unexcused absences in a semester, suspensions excluded, the
parent/guardian/adult student will be notified in writing. The notification will indicate that the student will be
on probationary status if s/he misses seven unexcused days. The notification will include the regulation
with consequences and options highlighted.
If the student misses seven unexcused days, the parent/guardian/adult student will be notified by mail
that the student is now considered on probationary status and is in jeopardy of being placed on non-credit
status. The notification will explain the procedure for appealing the probationary status.
Review Process
The parent/guardian/adult student may, within ten school days of the date of the notification letter, submit
to the building principal a written explanation of the reasons for the absence, including, if appropriate,
back-up documentation such as a doctor’s statement. The parent/guardian/adult student may request a
meeting to discuss the reasons for non-attendance. Students who are determined to have been absent
for illness or emergency: i.e., hospitalization, chronic illness, long-term illness, death in the family, will not
be considered for probationary status.
A panel of three building staff members will be appointed by the building principal to review the written
responses or meet with the parent/guardian/adult student. If the review panel determines that the student
has been absent for serious illness or other emergency, the student will be taken off of probationary
status. If the parent/guardian/adult student does not contest the probationary status or the review panel
determines that the student does not have a reasonable excuse for absence, at the end of the grading
period, the student will be considered on non-credit status and will not receive credit for course work. A
parent/guardian/adult student, who disagrees with the decision of the review panel, may appeal the
decision to the building principal. Within ten (10) days of notification of the principal’s decision, that
decision may be appealed to the Student Services Department.
The principal may rescind the non-credit status of students if the student’s attendance meets the state
attendance standard during the remainder of the school year.
Eligibility for Participation in Extra-Curricular Activities
Students with more than three (3) unexcused absences or three (3) unexcused tardies to school during a
grading period will be ineligible to participate in extra-curricular activities the following grading period.
Extra-curricular activities include, but are not limited to, clubs, student council, interscholastic athletics,
dance courts and cheerleading. Eligibility will be restored if the student attends one (1) grading period
with three or less unexcused absences and three or less unexcused tardies.
Verification of Attendance
Verification of attendance for insurance companies, scholarship applications, driver’s education vouchers,
work permits, Social Security or any other reason will include detailed information on a student’s
attendance record for the current and previous years.
Driver’s License Revocation
Students who are between fifteen and a half and seventeen (15.5 and 17) years of age and who
accumulate either ten consecutive or fifteen total unexcused absences within a semester will be reported
to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles and the Summit County Juvenile Court. If these students have driver’s
licenses, the licenses will be revoked. If they do no have licenses, application cannot be made. The
district will notify the Bureau of Motor Vehicles and the Summit County Juvenile Court and lift the
revocation or denial after the student attends one (1) semester with less than either ten consecutive or
fifteen total unexcused absences.
Removal From Rolls
Students who are between fifteen and a half and eighteen (15.5 and 18) years of age who accumulate
twenty consecutive unexcused absences will be deemed to have constructively withdrawn as a student in
the Akron Public Schools. They will be referred to Student Services; their parents will be contacted and
given ten school days from the date of the letter to schedule an appointment at the school building to
discuss the truancy. Juvenile Court will also be notified. Students will have the opportunity to be reenrolled following the conference with the building principal or designee and the parent/guardian.
Senate Bill 181
Senate Bill 181 became a law effective September 4, 2000. Truancy is now defined as either habitual or
chronic. The Akron Public School system has devised an intervention plan consistent with the law.
A Habitual Truant
A.
five (5) consecutive days of unexcused absence
B.
seven (7) unexcused absences within a month
C
.
twelve (12) unexcused absences during a school year
A Chronic Truant
A.
seven (7) consecutive days of unexcused absence
B.
ten (10) unexcused absences within a month
C
.
fifteen (15) unexcused absences during a school year
Personnel of the Akron Public School system have developed the following intervention guidelines:
APS Truancy Intervention Guidelines
Habitual Truant: 5/7/12
Chronic Truant: 7/10/15
A.
School Intervention strategy in cases having less than five (5) unexcused absences in
a row, seven (7) unexcused absences in a
month, or twelve (12) unexcused absences in a year.
The school is to implement at least three of the following strategies:
1. Home visits
B.
2.
Mandatory Mediation
3.
Parent Conference
4.
Counseling
5.
Incentives
6.
Scheduling Revisions
7.
Telephone Calls
8.
Letters
9.
Postcards
School Intervention strategy in cases having 5 unexcused absences in a row, seven (7)
unexcused absences in a month, or twelve (12) unexcused absences in a year.
The school is to mail a habitual truant letter – giving the parent 5 school days to
respond.
1.
Letter inactivated due to parent response
2.
Letter confirmed due to parent non-response
C
School Intervention strategy in cases of seven (7) unexcused absences in a row, ten
.
(10) unexcused absences in a month, or fifteen (15) unexcused absences in a year (i.e.
student accumulates two to three (2-3) additional unexcused absences)
The school mails a Chronic truant letter – giving five (5) days to respond
1.
a. Letter inactivated as a chronic/habitual truant due to parent response.
b. Letter inactivated as chronic truant BUT confirmed as a habitual truant – due to parent nonresponse.
c.
2.
Letter confirms a chronic truant
Attendance Referral (AT-25) sent in duplicate to Student Services with an
attached copy of the chronic truant letter and copies of all documents sent to
parent/guardian due to the excessive unexcused student absences. The
attendance referral and accompanying documents shall be called Chronic Truant
Attendance Referral.
D. Student Services Intervention in cases of a confirmed chronic truant.
1.
Chronic truant attendance referral – i.e. AT-25 /chronic truant letter plus all
documentation sent to parent/guardian due to excessive unexcused student
absences – is compiled in duplicate plus letters from Summit County Juvenile
Court and habitual truant letter.
2.
Court referral from Student Services.