Excused Absences
There are, of course, legitimate reasons for being absent
from school. The following list, although not totally inclusive, details valid
reasons for student absences:
1. Personal Illness of Student-Student absenteeism
for personal illness is considered excused. The illness, of course, must be
valid. The administration reserves the right to make a final determination in
any questionable cases.
2. Death Within Family-A death within a student's
immediate or extended family will be considered an excused absence. The length
of such absence may vary from case to case. Therefore, the administration reserves
the right to make individual judgements regarding total days excused.
3. Family Emergencies-This category refers to cases
of family illness, hardships, and unexpected circumstances. Because of the nature
of these cases, the administration reserves the right to make individual judgements
concerning the validity of the requests and the actual number of days excused.
4. Family Vacations-Since the school calendar allows
ample time for vacations in and around holiday seasons, parents should make
every effort to arrange their vacations to coincide with school vacations. However,
whenever parents believe additional family vacation days are needed, such days
(not to exceed five total per year) may be taken without penalty.
Family Vacation Days are not to be taken during examination
weeks (i.e., the five day period prior to the end of first semester and the
last five days of the school year).
5. College Days-Each high school junior and senior
is allotted up to a maximum of five (5) days per year for college visitation.
The request to miss school to visit any college campus must be valid. Any abuse
of this privilege will result in its revocation.
College Days should not be taken later than April 1, unless
required for scholarship considerations (determined by principal).
Any violation of these Family Vacations and/or College
Days provisions will result in the absence(s) declared as unexcused and all
appropriate penalties invoked.
6. Professional Appointments-Professional appointments
(i.e., appointments with doctors, dentists, etc.) provide reasons for legitimate
student absenteeism. The administration reserves the right to request notes
from any professional if confirmation of the absence is needed. Whenever possible,
professional appointments should be made after school hours.
7. In-School (or In-House) Suspension-Any day(s)
spent in the in-school (in-house) suspension room will be considered excused.
All appropriate policies relative to excused absences will be invoked.
8. Approved School Activities-Students missing classes
for field trips, athletic contests, music programs, etc. will be considered
excused if such activity is sanctioned by the administration as "school business."
These absences will not be recorded on the student's attendance record.
9. Homebound Instruction-Certain situations may
occur (e.g., surgery) that require a student to miss school for an extended
length of time. The administration requires appropriate written verification
of such absenteeism. Please carefully note the "Excessive Absences" section
for pertinent information.
10. Miscellaneous-It is possible that occasions
may arise other than those listed in this section, necessitating that a student
miss school. The administration shall make the sole determination if such an
absence is excused or unexcused.
Unexcused Absences
All student absences not declared as Excused Absences
will be recorded as Unexcused Absences. Examples of Unexcused Absences include,
but are not limited to, the following:
1. Not following proper absence declaration procedures.
(See Office Notification)
2. Missing class without proper authorization.
3. Leaving the BCS campus without signing out with proper school personnel.
4. Not providing proper prior notice of absence when prior notice is required.
5. Absenteeism (whole or partial day) not deemed acceptable by the appropriate
BCS principal.
6. Suspended out-of-school.
NOTE:
Being absent for some of the reasons just listed may result in a student being
declared truant. Truancy is defined as being absent from school without the
parent's permission and the school's permission.
Please remember-declaring a student to be unexcused is an administrative right
of appropriate school personnel, not a student/parent prerogative. Therefore,
just because a parent calls BCS to report a student's absence, that does not
make the absence excused. For example, the following reasons do not
qualify as excused absences:
-"He didn't want to
go to school."
-"She stayed up late last night working on her research paper."
-"I missed my ride."
-"Our family went to the ball game."
-"He was doing chores assigned by his father."
Excessive Absences
Any student missing more
than fifteen (15) days of school per semester will receive an "F" (i.e., 65%)
for the semester's course work.
For purposes of this provision of the attendance policy, any student placed
on homebound instruction for more than five (5) consecutive days will have all
remaining days of that extended absence waived. For example, if a student misses
school six (6) successive weeks due to surgery, only five (5) days will be counted
as absences. Please remember--exceeding the fifteen (15) day absence limit per
semester will affect the accumulation of academic credits in high school and
may affect the promotional opportunities for students in middle school. High
school students exceeding the fifteen (15) day absence limit will receive an
"F" for each and every class where the limit has been exceeded.
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Excused Tardiness
1. Arriving at School-Unforeseen problems
may occur prohibiting students from arriving at school on time (e.g., inclement
weather or an acceptable validated medical problem). Any student who cannot
be in the teacher-designated location when the bell rings to begin school is
considered tardy. Each such student should obtain a Tardy Pass from the proper
office. Those students who are tardy for such emergency-related reasons
will be assigned an excused tardy if an acceptable verbal or written explanation
for such tardiness is provided by the parent or guardian. In the case of high
school students driving to school, they will need proper clearance from the
high school principal.
2. Classroom Tardiness-A student who
arrives at any class after the bell or teacher-designated time is considered
tardy. If a Tardy Pass is presented from an authorized faculty or staff member,
and such faculty or staff member declares that the reason for tardiness is acceptable,
the tardiness will be declared as Excused Tardiness.
Unexcused Tardiness
1. Arriving at School-Sometimes students begin the
day in an unacceptable fashion. They are tardy to class for reasons other than
unusual weather, traffic problems, or other emergencies. When such lateness occurs,
they will be given an Unexcused Tardy.
2. Classroom Tardiness-A student who is tardy to
individual classes/subjects and cannot/does not secure the proper Tardy Pass
will be issued an Unexcused Tardy.
Please Note: Unexcused tardiness for an unusually long period of time
may be considered a case of truancy. If so, all policies applicable to truancy
will come into play.
Excessive Tardiness-Student tardiness, of course,
disrupts the classroom and results in lost time and extra clerical work for
the office staff and instructor. Therefore, excessive tardiness (defined
as five or more per class per semester) on the part of any student may result
in detention, suspension, probation, etc. Again, the appropriate administrative
personnel will make the decision.
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Make-up Work for Excused Absences
1. When prior notice is required (see Office Notification)-Any student absent
for family vacations, college days, most professional appointments, certain
school activities, and some miscellaneous reasons is required to turn in all
missed work the day the student returns to school. On the day of the student's
return, the student should also be prepared to take all pre-announced missed
tests and quizzes, as well as those scheduled for the day he/she actually
returns. Also, if a student attends any part of the day after a pre-announced
absence, all work due on that day must be turned in.
2. When prior notice is not required (see Office Notification)-The student
will have one (1) calendar day for every school day missed (to a maximum
of ten (10) days) to complete make-up work. For example, if a student is
absent Friday and Monday, all work is due Thursday (two days after returning).
Make-up Work for Unexcused Absences
Class work and regular assignments due on the day or days
of unexcused absences will receive a one-letter grade reduction for each
day of class missed. Each missed test, quiz, or assignment will result in
an automatic "0". Special assignments (e.g., term paper) due during the
unexcused absence must be turned-in the day the student returns to school. There
will be a one-letter grade reduction for each day of unexcused absence. Furthermore,
if the special assignment is not turned-in on the day the student returns, there
will be an additional one-letter grade reduction for each additional day the
assignment is late.
In the case of truancy, the student will receive a zero (0) for each missed
test, quiz, or assignment. Furthermore, all assignments, regular or special,
must be made-up without credit.
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It is important that the proper BCS office personnel always
know the location of each student. Therefore, specific procedures have been
established detailing how a student absence should be reported. Some absences
require prior notification (defined as notifying the appropriate school
office of the future absence five days prior to such absence). As
stated in Make-up Work for Excused Absences, absences requiring prior notification
must result in all work for all classes due immediately upon return to school.
Family trips, college days, most professional appointments, approved school
activities, homebound instruction, and some miscellaneous reasons fall into
the prior notice category.
Other absences are more spontaneous in nature and, therefore, do not require
prior notification. Personal illness of the student, a death within the family,
family emergencies, some professional appointments, and some miscellaneous
reasons fall into this category.
When
Prior Notification Is Required
Absences requiring prior notification
(see definition above) must be handled by calling the appropriate school
office or submitting a letter explaining the nature of the absence.
Failure to follow this procedure will result in the absence being declared
unexcused.
When Prior Notification Is
Not Required
When a student is absent, the parent must call the school
office by 9:30 a.m. on the day of the absence. This procedure must be
followed each and every day a student is absent. If no telephone call is received,
the absence will be considered unexcused and all consequences of the unexcused
absence will come into play.
Some situations, including many emergencies, may arise that make it impractical
to follow this procedure. For example,an unexpected death in the extended
family may necessitate that the student immediately leave the state of Tennessee.
Complying with the telephone procedure to report the student absence may indeed
be the last thing on the parent's and student's minds. Such situations will
be handled fairly by the principal in charge.
PLEASE NOTE:
Since BCS is vitally interested in all of our students and parents, we would
consider it a privilege to uplift our families in prayer in times of need.
Therefore, we encourage you to communicate with us even in times of family
emergencies.
In all such emergency cases, a written explanation
describing the nature of the absenteeism is required in the attendance office
the day the student returns to school.
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