ATTENDANCE POLICIES
	The Ohio Revised Code (Section 3317.01) requires that schools be in session for a specified number of hours.  The law also states that a child between the ages of 5 and 18 years of age is “of compulsory school age” and further that “every parent, guardian or other person having charge of any child of compulsory age must send such child to a school which conforms to the state minimum standards.”  It should be noted that the state minimum attendance rate is 93% (no more than 72 hours of absences per school year OR 36 hours per semester).  Since we believe there is a correlation between attendance and academic achievement in school, there must be strict policies in place to maximize the students’ opportunities for success. 
Expectations
1.	School is the first priority for all students when school is in session.
2.	Parents/Guardians are responsible for student’s attendance and communicating with the school.
3.	Attendance is expected and hours/days of absence should be kept to a minimum.
Sign In/Out of School
1.	Students late to school must report to the office to sign in before going to class.
2.	Students leaving school must have parent’s permission and sign out.
3.	Calls to parents MUST be placed through the office staff for permission to leave.  Students who use their cell phones to place a call will receive the appropriate disciplinary action regarding ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT USE.
4.	Students will not be allowed to leave for lunch during the school day without administrative approval.
5.	Students who leave school early due to medical or court appointments, driver’s permit and license tests must arrange this with the school secretary/principal before school begins (7:50 AM).  Students must sign in/out at the school office.  Students are expected to bring documentation from the appointment and must return to school immediately upon the conclusion of the appointment (depending on time/location).
Parent Call and Follow Up
1.	Required – Call the school 419-293-3853 before 8:00 AM the morning of an absence.
2.	If calling before 7:15 AM, leave a voice mail identifying yourself, your child’s name, the date/time you are calling and reason for absence.  If we do not receive a phone call, we must contact parents/guardians as mandated by the Missing Child Act.
3.	A note or excuse is required within two days after the student returns to school – to be valid, notes must include, name, date, reason for absence, and parent name/signature.
4.	If a note is not received within two days, the absence will be regarded as unexcused (truancy).
Truancy
1.	An absence without the knowledge of parents and school authorities.
2.	Skipping school or classes will not be tolerated.
3.	Consequences for truancy could be any form of discipline deemed appropriate by school administration such as but not limited to: Detentions, Friday School, (ISS) In-School Suspension, suspension of driving privileges to/from school, withdrawal/suspension of work permit or loss of credit to classes.
4.	Students who miss in excess of the minimum standard (72 hours) could receive notification of truancy charges being filed against them.  Contributing charges could be filed against the parent/guardian of said student, if it is determined that a parent/guardian has promoted student absences or not completed their obligations toward student attendance.
Excused Absence
	Appointments should always be made outside of school hours when possible. Students should only miss the time necessary for the appointment.  The maximum number of days a student is allowed absent from a class without a medical excuse is 6 days per semester.  The maximum number of hours a student is allowed to miss school without a medical excuse is 36 hours per semester.  
Acceptable reasons to miss school (includes all excused absences per ORC 3301-69-02:
1.	Personal Illness – requires written note from parent/guardian and may require a doctor’s excuse.
2.	Illness in the family – may require a written statement from the physician as to why his/her absence was necessary.
3.	Quarantine of the home – absence is limited to the length of the quarantine as fixed by the proper health care officials.
4.	Death of a relative – absence is limited to a period of three days unless a reasonable cause may be shown by the student for a longer absence.
5.	Medical/Dental appointment – may require a written statement from a doctor/dentist as to the presence of the student.
6.	Observance of religious holidays – any child of any religious faith shall be excused if his/her absence was for the purpose of observing a religious holiday consistent with his/her religious beliefs.
7.	College Visitation – the approving authority may require verification of the date/time of the visit of the college, university or technical college.
8.	Emergency or other set of circumstances – circumstances which in good judgement of the school administration constitutes a good and sufficient cause for an absence from school.

Unexcused absences
1.	Absences for an unacceptable reason – not listed above
2.	Absences beyond 36 hours in a semester that are not medically excused
3.	Removal from class for discipline 
4.	OSS – Out of school suspensions
Denial of credit
1.	A student who is absent (unexcused) from a class more than six times in a semester may receive no credit for that semester.
2.	All absences from class (except for school related activities) shall be counted in the cumulative total.  For the purposes of class attendance, if a student misses more than 15 minutes of a class due to tardiness, they shall be considered absent from that class.  Important to note – all pre-planned absences count in this total such as vacations.
3.	Exceptions to this policy may be granted by administrative approval in cases of medically approved extended illness, hospitalization, pregnancy, or other situations which would result in the student being placed on home instruction/tutoring.
4.	Following the guidelines listed under ATTENDANCE PROCEDURES, an appeal of the no-credit decision will automatically be forwarded to the attendance committee.

ATTENDANCE PROCEDURES

	Ohio law requires us with accounting for the attendance of all students.  Students and parents are both bound by Ohio attendance requirements.  Such requirements state that students must be present at school unless excused.  The determination as to whether an absence is excused or is unexcused rests with the building administration.  Parents may excuse their son/daughter 6 times in a semester for acceptable reasons (see Excused Absences).  After this occurs, a physician’s note (must be original copy) is required (ORC 3321.04).  Once a student is required to have a physician’s note, the principal will have to remove the requirement.

1.	Parents are responsible for student attendance and will report absences to the school.
2.	Teachers keep accurate attendance each period and report absent students to the office.
3.	The office will contact parents and/or a letter will be sent home to set up an Intervention Absence Plan after 3 unexcused absences.
4.	The office will notify parents of the decision to deny credit.  The office will complete a review of the student attendance record before a notice is sent to the parent.
5.	Parents/18 year-old students may submit an explanation of excessive absences for consideration by the committee.  
6.	An appeal may be granted if the student completes all stipulations set by the attendance committee.  All appeals must be received in writing to the attendance review committee at least 10 business days after the decision for denial of credit.  
7.	The attendance review committee shall consist of the principal, school counselor and at least one teacher.
8.	Decisions by the attendance review committee to deny credit or grant credit will be final.

Eighteen Year Olds

	Students eighteen years of age or older and living at home are still under their parents; authority as far as the school is concerned.  All notes, early dismissals, and required school forms are to be completed by the parents.  Eighteen-year olds will not be permitted to sign themselves in and out of school and all grades and discipline information will be shared with their parents.  Any eighteen-year old with excessive absences may be removed from school at the discretion of the administration.  All eighteen-year olds and married students must abide by this student handbook.

ATTENDANCE RELATED AREAS
	Attendance requirement on the day of a contest:  To be eligible to participate in any extra-curricular activity at McComb School, the student must attend school at least 4 complete academic periods.  Students who violate this will not be allowed to participate in the next scheduled event.  Rulings and exceptions will be made through the athletic director or advisor with approval by the principal.  Appeals to this decision can be made to the superintendent.

	Field trips and other absences:  At times throughout the year, students may be absent from the school due to a field trip or due to a commitment from another organization.  To clarify how these absences will be recorded on the student’s attendance record:
1.	Any time a staff member takes the students out of the building for a trip during school hours, this will be considered a field trip.  This would not be considered an absence, and it does not count against their attendance record.
2.	When students are absent due to attendance at other events such as 4H, Teen Institute, Hancock Youth Leadership, etc.  students will be considered absent-excused as long as they provide a written note from their parent or advisor (if it’s a staff member) within two days of their return to school.

Make up work after absence: It is the responsibility of the student to make arrangements with the teacher for any work which has been missed due to an excused absence and needs to be made up.  Students will be responsible for due dates for all work issued prior to the absence.  If work is not made up within the limits set by the teacher, the student’s grade could be affected at the teacher’s discretion.  Teachers will tell students his/her policy regarding the grading of work turned in after the deadline.  Students will be given up to the amount of days of school missed in order to make up an assignment.

Morning arrival: Students should not arrive at McComb School prior to 7:15 AM unless earlier arrival is requested or arranged by a McComb staff member.  All students should report to the cafeteria if arriving before 7:35 AM.

Special absence requests (Vacation Days): Students who know of absences in advance are to approve such absences through the school office.  A ‘Special Absence Request’ from must be picked up by the student and signed by the parent and the student’s teachers.  This form must be completed at least 3 days prior to the absence.  Upon completion of this form, the student may be excused from classes.  The student’s current attendance rate and academic record will be predominant criteria in granting the special absence as ‘excused’.  Students are responsible for all make-up work, including tests, upon return to school.  Please note that pre-planned absences such as vacation days COUNT toward a student’s total absences.  

Tardiness: The development of good attendance habits includes being on time.  It shows responsibility on the part of the student.  Tardiness applies to cases where students are late to school, to class or to detention.  Beginning with tardy #4, students will be assigned discipline.
	Tardies 4-6 – ½ hour detention
	Tardies 7-9 – 1 hour detention
	Tardies 9+ – Absence Intervention Plan, Friday School, In-School Suspension, withdrawal of driving privileges or any other discipline assigned by the school administrator.  Important to note – any detentions assigned to 7th/8th grade students will exclude those students from positive panther trips.