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Article 62 - Student Attendance
| Section 62.1 | Definitions |
| Section 62.2 | Attendance Policy Objectives |
| Section 62.3 | Strategies Incentives to Improve Student Attendance |
| Section 62.4 | Attendance Record-Keeping Data Collection |
| Section 62.5 | Student Attendance Required |
| Section 62.6 | Minimum Attendance Standard Course Credit |
| Section 62.7 | Notice To Parents Persons In Parental Relation Of Unexcused Absences |
| Section 62.8 | Penalties Discipline For Violation |
| Section 62.9 | Appeal |
| Section 62.10 | Review of Attendance Records |
| Section 62.11 | Students Who May Attend District Schoolsi |
| Section 62.12 | Homeless Students |
Article 62
STUDENT ATTENDANCE
Adopted 7/02/02
Whenever used in this policy, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated below:
(A) "Classroom participation" shall mean that a student is in class, prepared to work and is not disruptive.
(B) "Excused Absence" shall mean an absence, tardiness and/or early departure which is due to one or more of the following reasons and for which there is a written excuse signed by the student's parent(s) or person(s) in parental relation:
(1) personal illness;
(2) illness or death in the family;
(3) impassable roads due to inclement weather;
(4) religious observance;
(5) quarantine;
(6) required court appearances;
(7) attendance at health clinics/facilities and doctor's appointments for the student's own health needs;
(8) approved college visits,
(9) approved cooperative work programs;
(10) military obligations; and/or
(11) such other reasons as may be approved by the Superintendent upon recommendation of the Principal.
(C) "Parent" or "person in parental relation" shall mean the parent, guardian or other person, whether one or more, lawfully having the care, custody or control of a student.
(D) "Register of attendance" shall mean any written or electronic record maintained for the purpose of recording the attendance, absence, tardiness, early departure, and withdrawal/dropping from enrollment (Education Law Section 3202[1-a]), of a student, and containing the following minimum information for each student:
(1) name;
(2) date of birth;
(3) full names of parent(s) or person(s) in parental relation;
(4) address where the student resides;
(5) phone number(s) where the parent(s) or person(s) in parental relation may be contacted;
(6) date of the student's enrollment;
(7) a record of the student's attendance on each day of scheduled instruction.
(E) "Scheduled instruction" shall mean every period that a student is scheduled to attend actual instructional or supervised study activities during the course of a school day during the school year from July 1st through June 30th.
(F) "Student" shall mean a child enrolled in the District's elementary, middle or high school.
(G) "Teacher" shall mean a member of the District's teaching or supervisory staff.
(H) "Unexcused absence" shall mean any absence, tardiness or early departure by a student from her/his scheduled instruction which is not an "excused absence", including but not limited to those involving family vacation, hunting, babysitting, hair cut, obtaining learner's permit, road test, oversleeping.
Section 62.2 Attendance Policy Objectives
The District recognizes that consistent school attendance, academic success and school completion have a positive correlation; and therefore the objectives of this policy are to:
(A) increase school completion for all students;
(B) raise student achievement and close gaps in student performance;
(C) identify attendance patterns in order to design attendance improvement efforts;
(D) know the whereabouts of every student for safety and other reasons;
(E) verify that individual students are complying with education laws relating to compulsory attendance;
(F) determine the District's average daily attendance for State aid purposes; and
(G) increase student awareness that school attendance is both a right and a responsibility.
Section 62.3 Strategies & Incentives to Improve Student Attendance
In order to accomplish the objectives in Section 62.2 and to encourage student attendance, the District will employ the following strategies and incentives:
(A) A positive physical and psychological environment will be created and maintained:
(1) where strong adult role models encourage respectful and nurturing interactions between adults and students;
(2) which will encourage a high level of student bonding to the school; and
(3) which will increase each student's understanding of the importance of her/his attendance to attaining academic success.
(B) Community, parent and student awareness and understanding of this policy will be promoted by:
(1) providing a plain language summary of this policy to parents and persons in parental relation to students at the beginning of each school year;
(2) including a copy of this policy parent/student handbooks;
(3) including periodic reminders of the components of this policy in school newsletters and publications;
(4) providing each teacher with a copy of this policy at the beginning of the school year or upon employment; and
(5) providing copies of this policy to any other member of the community upon request.
(C) Student attendance records will be periodically reviewed by the building principals and Superintendent to identify individual and group attendance patterns and to initiate appropriate action to address the problem of unexcused absences, tardiness and early departures.
(D) The District shall:
(1) maintain accurate record-keeping via a register of attendance to record attendance, absence, tardiness or early departure of each student;
(2) utilize data analysis systems for tracking individual student attendance and individual and group trends in student attendance problems;
(3) develop early intervention strategies to improve attendance for all students; and
(4) develop daily parent contact regarding student absences (K-12).
(E) Grade-appropriate, building-level strategies and programs will be implemented, including but not limited to:
(1) posting/publishing attendance honor rolls in prominent places in District buildings and in District newsletters, and with parent/person in parental relation consent in community publications;
(2) conducting monthly drawings for prizes at each grade level to reward perfect attendance;
(3) scheduling special events such as assemblies, guest speakers, field days, etc., on days that historically have high absenteeism (e.g., Mondays, Friday, day before vacation);
(4) issuing grade-level rewards at each building for best attendance;
(5) classroom acknowledgment of the importance of good attendance will be established (e.g., individual certificates, recognition chart, bulletin boards);
(6) conducting an annual poster/essay contest on importance of good attendance; and
(7) collaboratively developing and promoting assemblies with student groups such as student council, KEY club, etc.
(F) Intervention strategies to address an individual student's insufficient attendance will be developed and implemented as follows:
(1) through discussion with the student, her/his parent or person in parental relation, and District personnel,
(a) attempts will be made to identify the specific cause(s) of the student's unexcused absence(s), and
(b) develop strategies to directly intervene with the specific cause(s) so identified;
(2) recommend changes in District policy or procedure, if appropriate;
(3) utilize appropriate and available District and/or community resources to address and remediate the student's unexcused absences; and
(4) Monitor and report short and long term effects of intervention.
Section 62.4 Attendance Record-Keeping & Data Collection
(A) Each building principal shall designate a person to serve as the building attendance clerk, whose duties shall be to maintain the register of attendance, and perform attendance data collection, for each student in such building in accordance with this policy.
(B) The record of each student's presence, absence, tardiness and early departure shall be kept in a register of attendance, and the following codes shall be used to identify the reason for a student's excused or unexcused absence:
A — Absent
B — Bus Late
E — Excused
F — Field Trip
G — Graduated
I — Illegal Absence
L — Late / Tardy
P — Prior Notice
S — Suspended
T — Truant
W — Withdrew
(C) Student attendance shall be taken and recorded in accordance with the following:
(1) once per school day for students
(a) in non-departmental kindergarten through grade eight (i.e., self-contained classrooms and supervised group movement to other scheduled school activities such as physical education in the gym, assembly, etc.), and
(b) in grades six through twelve who do not change classrooms for each period of scheduled instruction; and
(2) once in each period of scheduled instruction for students in grades six through twelve who pass individually to different classes throughout the day.
(D) Any absence for a school day or portion thereof, and any tardiness or early departure, shall be recorded as either an excused absence or unexcused absence.
(E) At the conclusion of each class period or school day, all attendance information shall be compiled and provided to the building attendance clerk responsible for attendance, and the nature of each student's absence, tardiness or early departure shall be coded by such clerk on such student's register of attendance.
(F) A record shall be kept of each scheduled day of instruction during which the school is officially closed for all or part of the day because of extraordinary circumstances (i.e., adverse weather conditions, closure of or destruction/damage to a school building).
(G) The parent of, or person in parental relation to, a student shall have the right to review, copy and amend the register of attendance for such student as provided in Article 66 of the District's Policy.
Section 62.5 Student Attendance Required
(A) Each student shall attend and be present for her/his scheduled instruction except for an excused absence.
(B) A student will be considered in attendance if the student is:
(1) physically present in the classroom or working under the direction of the classroom teacher during the class scheduled meeting time; or
(2) working pursuant to an approved independent study program; or
(3) receiving approved alternative instruction.
Section 62.6 Minimum Attendance Standard & Course Credit
(A) No student shall have more than ten (10) unexcused absences from her/his scheduled instruction during a school year. Transfer students and students re-enrolling after having dropped out will be expected to attend a prorated minimum number of the scheduled class meetings during their time of enrollment.
(B) A percentage, determined by the building principal and/or classroom teacher, of a student's final grade for each marking period will be based on classroom participation as well as the student's performance on homework, tests papers, projects, etc.
(C) Excused absences shall not be counted as an absence for the purpose of determining the student's eligibility for course credit provided that the student has performed any assigned make-up work, assignments and/or tests. Upon returning to school following an excused absence, it shall be the responsibility of the student to consult with his/her teacher(s) regarding arrangements to make up missed work, assignments and/or tests in accordance with the time schedule specified by the teacher.
(D) Unexcused absences will affect a student's classroom participation for the marking period, and may adversely affect the student's grade.
(E) A middle or high school student who is absent for more than 25% of her/his scheduled instruction shall not receive credit for the course, except that credit shall not be denied for a course in which a student earns a passing grade. The calculation of absences shall be prorated accordingly for students in summer school and 2 year or 3 year courses.
(F) Students who are absent from class due to their participation in a school sponsored activity are to arrange with their teachers to make up any work missed in a timely manner as determined by the student's teacher. Attendance at school sponsored events where instruction is substantially equivalent to the instruction which was missed shall be counted as the equivalent to the instruction which was missed and as a regular attendance in class.
(A) The building principal or designated staff member shall notify by telephone the parent of, or person in parental relation to, a student who has an unexcused absence as soon as reasonably practical after such absence is known to the District, and shall explain:
(1) this policy,
(2) the applicable intervention procedures, and
(3) that course credit may be denied if the student does not meet the minimum attendance standard in Section 62.6 of this policy.
(B) If the parent or person in parental relation cannot be reached by telephone, the staff member will provide the notification in paragraph (A) of this section and a copy of this policy by mail to the parent or person in parental relation to promote awareness and help ensure compliance with the policy.
(C) If deemed necessary by appropriate school officials, or if requested by the parent or person in parental relation, a school conference shall be scheduled between the parent or person in parental relation and appropriate staff members in order to address the student's attendance. The student may also be requested to attend this conference in order to address appropriate intervention strategies that best meet the needs of the student.
(D) The building principal or designated staff member will meet with the student to review this policy with the student and outline the intervention strategies which will be implemented to address the student's insufficient attendance.
(E) Prior to the denial of course credit to the student for insufficient attendance:
(1) the parent or person in parental relation must have been notified of the student's unexcused absences on at least two separate occasions, at least one of which was in writing pursuant to paragraph (B) of this section;
(2) a school conference to address the student's attendance pursuant to paragraph (C) of this section
(a) was held, or
(b) was scheduled and the parent or person in parental relation failed to attend;
(3) the building principal or designated staff member reviewed this policy with the student pursuant to paragraph (D) of this section;
(4) after being notified in writing of the intervention strategies developed to address the student's attendance, the student either
(a) failed to comply with the intervention strategies,
(b) failed to cooperate with the persons or agencies providing intervention services, or
(c) had a subsequent unexecused absence.
Section 62.8 Penalties & Discipline For Violation
Unexcused absences in violation of this policy may result in:
(A) ineligibility to receive one or more course credits; and/or
(B) one or more disciplinary penalties described in Section 15.16 of the District's Code of Conduct, including but not limited to in-school suspension, detention and denial of participation in interscholastic and extracurricular activities, provided that the applicable procedures of Article 15 are followed; and/or
(C) ineligibility for participation in athletics or other extra-curricular activities.
(A) A student, or her/his parent or person in parental relation, may appeal once from one or more of the following determinations by serving a written request for review upon the building principal within 5 school days thereof:
(1) that an absence is unexcused;
(2) that the student is ineligible to receive a course credit;
(3) that the student is ineligible to participate in athletics or other extra-curricular activities.
(B) An adverse decision of the building principal may be appealed to the Superintendent by filing with the District clerk, within 10 school days of the date of the principal's decision, a written notice of appeal setting forth the reasons why the decision should be changed.
(C) A student, and/or her/his parent or person in parental relation, may appeal from the imposition of a disciplinary penalty as provided in Article 15.
Section 62.10 Review of Attendance Records
(A) Commencing with the 2003-2004 school year, the building principal will, in conjunction with the building attendance clerk and other designated staff, review student attendance at the end of each term to identify individual and group attendance patterns and to initiate appropriate action to address identified problems of unexcused absences.
(B) The Board of Education shall annually review the building-level student attendance records; and if such records show a decline in student attendance the Board shall make any revisions to this policy as it determines to be necessary to improve student attendance.
Section 62.11 Students Who May Attend District Schools[i]
(A) The following children may attend District schools without being required to pay tuition therefore:
(1) children who are residents of the District or have at least one parent who is a resident of the District;
(2) homeless children as defined in Section 62.12;
(3) children of full-time employees of the District;
(4) children who do not meet any of the foregoing categories but are approved for attendance tuition-free by the Board of Education pursuant to paragraph (B) below.
(B) A student who does not meet the qualifications in subparagraphs (1)-(3) of paragraph (A) above may, in the sole discretion of the Board of Education, be permitted to attend the District schools either tuition-free or upon payment of tuition, as determined by the Board. No such student shall be permitted to attend except upon written application to the Superintendent stating the reasons why such student is seeking to attend the District's schools, and the same being recommended by the Superintendent for approval.
(C) The Board of Education or its designee shall determine whether a child is entitled to attend the schools of the District. Prior to making a determination of entitlement to attend the schools of the District, the Board or its designee shall afford the child's parent, the person in parental relation to the child or the child, as appropriate, the opportunity to submit information concerning the child's right to attend school in the District.
(D) When the Board of Education or its designee determines that a child is not entitled to attend the District's schools because such child is neither a District resident nor a homeless child pursuant to 8 NYCRR '100.2 (x), the Board or its designee shall, within two business days, provide written notice of its determination to the child's parent, to the person in parental relation to the child, or to the child, as appropriate. Such written notice shall state:
(1) that the child is not entitled to attend the public schools of the District;
(2) the basis for the determination that the child is neither a resident of the District nor entitled to attend its schools as a homeless child;
(3) the date as of which the child will be excluded from the schools of the District; and
(4) that the determination of the Board may be appealed to the Commissioner of Education in accordance with Education Law '310 within 30 days of the date of the determination, and that the procedure for taking such an appeal may be obtained from the Office of Counsel, New York State Education Department, State Education Building, Albany, NY 12234 or by calling (518) 474‑5807.
Section 62.12 Homeless Students
(A) "Homeless student" shall be defined as a child or youth who does not have a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, and includes a student who is:
(1) sharing the housing of other persons because of a loss of housing, economic hardship, or similar reason;
(2) living in a motel, hotel, trailer park, or camping ground because of the lack of alternative adequate accommodations;
(3) living in an emergency or transitional shelter;
(4) awaiting foster care placement;
(5) living in a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as regular sleeping accommodations for human beings;
(6) living in a car, park, public space, abandoned building, substandard housing, bus or train station, or similar setting; or
(7) living in a migratory situation that qualifies as homeless because the child lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.
(B) The Dean of Students shall serve as t