Attendance Procedures

ATTENDANCE

The Coffee County Board of Education believes the fundamental right to attend public school places upon students the accompanying responsibility to be regular in attendance. Regular attendance can be assumed to be essential for a student’s successful progress in the instructional program.

One of the most important things a parent or guardian can do for their child is to ensure the child is in school on time every day. It is key to their learning, to their success in school, and, ultimately, to their success in life. Coffee County School System maintains an attendance and truancy policy, which was written in accordance with the Alabama State Board of Education, Education Administrative Code, and §16-28-1 et. Seq., Code of Alabama (1975).

Attendance for a school day is defined as present for more than fifty percent (51%) of the school day. Attendance will also be kept in individual classes for middle/high school. If a student misses eight (8) or more days in a semester, the credit may be withheld. Parents will be informed that they may appear before the school attendance committee to petition for reinstatement of credit.

EXCUSES FOR ABSENCES

In accordance with Alabama Law, a parent or guardian must explain the cause of each absence. Every student upon returning to school after an absence must bring a written excuse signed by the parent or guardian. For check-ins and check-outs, parents must provide written notes for the absences to be excused. The Coffee County School System will accept a maximum of eight parent notes per year. Paperwork will be filed in the Early Warning Court for students with seven or more unexcused absences. All doctors’ excuses will be accepted and shall be submitted by the parent to the school within 3 days of the student's return to school.

EXCUSED ABSENCES

An excused absence will be designated when a written excuse is provided for one of the following:
1. Personal illness
2. Inclement weather
3. Legal quarantine
4. Death in the immediate family
5. Emergency conditions as determined by the principal
6. Parent and principal permission prior to absence
7. Absence due to medical appointments that cannot be scheduled after school. A written excuse from the doctor or dentist is required.

UNEXCUSED ABSENCES

Absence for reasons other than those defined above shall be unexcused.

EXEMPTION POLICY

Administrators support the incorporation of an exemption policy for the nine-week exam. It is believed that an exemption policy will promote better student attendance.

To qualify for the exemption of nine weeks' tests, a student must:
1. Have an A average and no more than two absences, or
2. Have a B average and no more than one absence, and

3. Meet the attendance and grade requirements every nine weeks, and
4. Have no tardy referral during the nine weeks.
5. All students must take the following exams as scheduled:

• Science – 1st nine weeks
• English – 2nd nine weeks
• Math – 3rd nine weeks
• Social Science – 4th nine weeks

MAKE-UP WORK for ABSENCES

Make-up work is the student’s responsibility. If a student misses an announced test or assignment due to an absence from school, the teacher may require the student to make up the test or turn in the assignment upon the student’s return to class. Advanced assignments such as book reviews, class reports, research projects, etc., should be turned in before the absence, especially when the student knows of the absence in advance.

Students who miss class due to school-related activities must make arrangements with their teachers in advance. The teacher may require students to take tests or turn in assignments in advance.

In the event of absences, if the student needs more time for review or instruction to be prepared to make up the assignment or test, the student may have up to 3 days to make it up. The teacher and/or administrator will determine when the test or assignment is to be made up within the three-day period. (In cases of extended absences, the three-day guideline may be extended with approval from the principal.)

Any graded class work, tests, or exams missed due to unexcused absences, suspension, or failure to bring a written excuse, within three days following an absence, will require the teacher’s and/or administrator’s approval in order to be accepted. School attendance is important for students' academic success.

STUDENT CHECK-IN AND CHECK-OUTS

Students are allowed to check in or out of school only with the permission of a parent, guardian, or previously authorized person. Anyone who checks a student in or out of school must do so through the school’s approved plan, which may include a phone call verifying the parents’ written permission. Check-outs are done in the school office. Individuals should not enter the classrooms unless they have permission from the office. Check-ins and check-outs are excused for the same reasons as excused absences. Students must make up missed classroom time for unexcused absences to receive credit for the course by staying after school, attending Saturday School, or attending summer school.

If a student is absent for more than half a day, they cannot participate in or compete in extracurricular activities that day unless there are extenuating circumstances approved by administrators.

ATTENDANCE OF HOMELESS STUDENTS

Coffee County Schools implements no policies, practices, or regulations that act as a barrier to the attendance of
homeless children.

POTENTIAL CONSEQUENCES OF POOR ATTENDANCE

Poor attendance may result in the loss of the student’s STUDENT IN GOOD STANDING status. Review the STUDENT IN GOOD STANDING POLICY for more information.

TRUANCY

According to state regulations, a parent, guardian, or other person having charge of any child officially enrolled in Alabama public schools (K-12) shall explain in writing the cause of any and every absence of the child. If a child checks in or out of school, the parent may provide a written excuse at that time. A failure to furnish such explanation shall be evidence of the child being truant each day he is absent. The child shall also be deemed truant for any absence determined to be unexcused under the State Department's regulations. Seven unexcused absences within a school year constitute truancy for the purpose of filing a petition with the court. All excuses shall be submitted by the parent to the school within three days of the student’s return to school. The District's automated notification system may be used to contact parents concerning absences.

The Coffee County Court will assist the school system by implementing the Early Warning Prevention Program. This program will include:
1. First truancy/unexcused absence (warning)

• The school shall notify the parent/guardian that the student was truant and the date of the truancy.
• Parent/guardian will be referred to the truancy policy found in the Parent/Student Information Guide, or provided an additional copy of Alabama’s compulsory school attendance laws, and advised of the penalties that can be applied and the procedures that shall be followed in the event that other unexcused absences occur.

2. No earlier than the fifth unexcused absence (conference)

• The parent, guardian, or person having control of the child shall attend a conference with the school officials and/or participate in the early warning program provided by the juvenile court.
• Attendance at one of these conferences shall be mandatory except where prior arrangements have been made or an emergency exists.
• Failure to appear at the school conference and/or the early warning program shall result in the filing of a complaint/petition against the parent under Code of Alabama (1975), 816-28-12c (failure to cooperate), or a truancy complaint against the child, whichever is appropriate.

3. No earlier than the seventh unexcused absence, but within ten (10) school days, file a court complaint/petition against the child and/or parent/guardian, if appropriate.
4. Child under probation

• The school attendance officer should be notified by the juvenile probation officer of all children in the school system under probation supervision by the juvenile court.
• Where a child under probation is truant, the school attendance officer should immediately notify the juvenile probation officer.

Poor attendance can keep a student from qualifying to participate in the Coffee County School Credit Recovery Option or the Virtual School Option, or from earning the privilege of parking on the school campus. 

EXCESSIVE CHECK-IN AND CHECK-OUTS

Unnecessary check-ins and check-outs waste valuable instructional time. Students with excessive check-ins and check-outs will have to make up missed classroom time to receive credit for the
course.

TARDY POLICY

Class attendance is vital to a student’s success. Students are expected to arrive on time for each class. Students will be allowed two tardies to each class during the semester without any punishment. Each teacher will refer a student to administrators on the third unexcused tardy to class and upon each subsequent unexcused tardy. Tardies will start over at the beginning of a new semester. School administrators will accept a maximum of four parent excuses per semester for tardiness to school. Dispositions for excessive tardiness may be found in the Coffee County Schools Code of Conduct.

IT’S THE LAW

Attendance and Conduct (Act 94-782)
Each parent/guardian or other person having control or custody of a child required to attend school who fails to require the child to enroll, to regularly attend school, or to compel the child to properly conduct himself/herself as a pupil in accordance with the written policy on school behavior adopted by the local board of education shall be guilty of a misdemeanor (may be fined up to $100 and may be sentenced to hard labor for up to 90 days).