Attendance Policy

Excused absences

  • A student is absent for the entire day if he or she misses more than one half of the school day. All absences are recorded as unexcused until the student returns and provides documentation concerning the reason for the absence. TEACHERS must mark a student UNEXCUSED if they are not in their room for instruction. Only the attendance clerk may change the absence to excused.
  • There are specific reasons for excusing an absence. LNMS follows the district guidelines.
  • Requests that fall outside the guidelines of district policy require the discretion of the principal; however, all excused absences outside the list provided should offer educational opportunities that are age appropriate for the student.
  • For purposes of excused absences concerning family illness or death, there are no specific guidelines provided for the definition of “immediate family”; however, the generally accepted definition includes the student’s mother, father, siblings, stepmother, stepfather, stepsiblings, and other relatives who live in the student’s home.
  • If a student begins to demonstrate a pattern of absences for medical reasons, the school may require a physician’s note for any future absences. Best practices indicate that students who are absent for three or more consecutive days or who request more than five non-consecutive absences for medical reasons should be required to bring in a doctor’s note. Illness can also be verified by the school nurse. This practice is encouraged.
  • Students who are granted an excused absence must be allowed a reasonable time to make up any missed work. At least one day must be allowed for each excused absence.
  • Because so many of the school’s functions depend on accurate attendance, all excuse notes should be received within 48 hours of the student’s return to school. The reason for the absence should be changed (if necessary) in the computer the day it is received.
  • Not all absences are excused. Merely providing a note is not enough to excuse an absence. The reason provided on the note must be considered before granting the excused absence.
  • Phone calls and emails are not acceptable communications for excusing an absence. Hand-written notes must be provided to excuse an absence.
  • Take Your Child to Work Day is recognized by OCPS as an excused absence. It should not be counted against a student for perfect attendance purposes.
  • Any student whose parent/legal guardian is an active member of the United States Armed Forces, set for deployment, on leave, or has returned from deployment, may be excused up to five days per OCPS Policy, provided all assignments for missing dates are completed and returned within the allotted time.

Suspensions

  • Days during a suspension are considered excused.
  • Suspended students are allowed to make up missed school work according to the guidelines provided under the Excused Absences section.

Tardiness

  • Students are tardy if they are not in class at the beginning of the school day.
  • Tardies TO SCHOOL are all recorded electronically. Tradiness to school will be excused only with a doctor's note or other legal documentation. Hand-written notes are not accepted to excuse a tardiness.
  • Students can be counted as tardy for each individual period, but for truancy purposes, only tardy to school at the beginning of the day is considered.
  • Students may not be suspended out of school for excessive tardiness TO SCHOOL.
  • For truancy purposes, five tardies to school or five early departures, equal one unexcused absence. However, this is for referral purposes, and the electronic record is not to be altered. Actual presence or absence on campus must be accurately reflected in the electronic record.

Early Departures

Students who have attended more than half a school day and are released from school prior to the closing of the school day shall be considered an early departure. Early departures are either excused or unexcused. Students may or may not be excused for the following reasons:

Excused

  • Medical appointments
  • Counseling
  • Legal appointments
  • Funeral of family member or closely related friend (school may request proof)
  • Family emergency (school may determine if valid)

Unexcused

  • For convenience of parent
  • Personal reasons
  • Shopping trips

Early Release

Early departure of any student during the last hour of the school day is Strongly Discouraged Truancy and Habitual Truancy

  • Truant means one who is subject to compulsory school attendance, but who is absent from school with or without a justifiable consent from a parent or legal guardian.
  • Truancy means the student has had at least five unexcused absences within a calendar month or 10 unexcused absences, within a 90-calendar-day period, or a combination of unexcused absences and tardies equivalent to the above numbers.
  • Habitual Truancy means the student has 15 unexcused absences within 90 calendar days with or without the knowledge or justifiable consent of the child’s parent or legal guardian, is subject to compulsory school attendance and, is not exempt under any other exemptions specified by law or the rules of the State Board of Education.

Religious Absences

  • There are a number of religious holidays which qualify as excused absences. In order to qualify as an excused absence, the religious tenets must forbid secular activities on that day, and the parents must have declared that their student is observing the holidays of that specific religion. Religious absences are treated like pre-arranged absences, and must be requested in writing at least five days prior. Religious holidays which fit the criteria defined by the FDOE:

Jewish

Rosh Hashanah
Yom Kippur
Sukkot
Simchat Torah
Passover
Shavout

Muslim

Eid ul-Fitr
Eid ul-Adha

Christian

Good Friday
Holy Epiphany