Attendance

Attendance Policy

State law requires school attendance until the age of 18. Students who do not maintain good attendance may fail, lose certain privileges, and/or may have their parents taken to court. The Board of Education requires that the students enrolled in the schools of this district attend school regularly in accordance with the laws of the State of Ohio. If you believe that your child is unable to attend school, the proper documentation from a doctor, certified psychologist, psychiatrist, superintendent or principal is required to be submitted to the building office secretary within one (1) week of the student’s return to school.

Excuses submitted after this time period will not be accepted and the absence will be recorded as unexcused. However, please keep in mind that other arrangements are usually required for the continuing education of the student. A student who is absent for observation or celebration of a bona fide religious holiday shall be excused from attendance on that holiday.

The Paint Valley Board of Education is required to enforce regular attendance for all students ages 5-18. Parents have the responsibility for their child or children to attend school on a regular basis.

Medical Notes Required

A student who misses 38 hours or more in a month, or 65 hours or more in a year, excused or unexcused, must present a doctor’s note for every absence thereafter.

Excused Absence

These absences shall be for personal illness, medical and dental appointments, death in the immediate family, quarantine, observance of religious holiday functions, emergency situations or acts beyond the school’s control, i.e. snowbound, flood, subpoenaed witness, foster care, homelessness,  etc. or other absences as approved by the administration.

The district tracks all remote learning per Ohio Department of Education requirements.

Excuses must be provided within one (1) week of the student’s return to the school in order to be excused.

Medical excuses and parent absence notes will only be accepted within 1 week of a student's return to school. Any exceptions will be approved by building principal or school truant officer.

Unexcused Absence

An unexcused absence includes all other types not included such as being out of class without authorization, truancy, suspension from school, etc.

Suspensions are considered unexcused absences and students are allowed to make up work. Suspension hours are counted in the excessive category.

Tardiness

Students who arrive after the start of school will begin accumulating minutes towards truancy. It is highly recommended that students arrive no later than 8:00 a.m. When a student arrives late, leave early, or are absent from school, they should bring a note stating the reasons why they were late or have to leave school. If they do not, their tardiness is considered to be unexcused.

Notes are to be signed and dated by parents, stating the reasons for absence or tardiness regardless of the student’s age. Only 5 tardy days or up to 60 total minutes of absence will be excused with parent notes. All others must be a physician's note or other approved excuse.

Make-up Tests and Other School Work

All graded work missed because of an excused absence will be graded and recorded for the 9 weeks the student was absent. An incomplete will be recorded on the grade card if work is not made up in time to be included on the grade card. All incompletes must be replaced with a letter grade prior to the end of the next 9-week grading period.

When a child is absent from school, parents should request that work be sent home. The student should complete all work sent home within a reasonable amount of time. The amount of work time will vary depending on the number of days missed and the volume of work missed. The amount of time will be the number of days missed plus 1 day. (Example: if a student misses 3 days, they will have 3 days plus 1 day to make up all the work – all totaled the student will have 4 days to make up work.)

Contacting the Parent/Guardian of an Absent Student

When a parent, guardian, or other person having care of a student has failed to initiate a telephone call or other communication notifying the school or building administration of the student’s excused or unexcused absence within 120 minutes after the beginning of the school day, the attendance designee for each school building shall make at least one (1) attempt to contact the parent, guardians, or other person having care of any student who is recorded as absent without legitimate excuse within 120 minutes after the beginning of each school day by a method designated by the Superintendent in accordance with Ohio law and Federal law.

Vacations during the School Year

Parents are encouraged NOT to take their child out of school for vacations. If a vacation must be scheduled during the school year, the parents should discuss the matter with the Principal and teacher to make necessary arrangements. It may be possible for the students to receive certain assignments that are to be completed during the trip.                             

Notification Timelines for Truancy

Excessive Truancy – Habitual Truancy – Chronic Absenteeism

Step 1 – Excessive Absences (38 hours approximately 5% absence rate)

This step starts when a student is absent 38 or more hours in one school month with or without a legitimate excuse; or absent 72 or more hours in one school year with or without a legitimate excuse.

Step 2 – Habitual Truancy (usually at approximately 6% to 7% absence rate)

This step starts when a student accumulates 30 consecutive hours, 42 or more hours in one month, or 72 or more hours in one year of unexcused absences. At this time, the principal/attendance officer notifies the child and the child’s parents of the compulsory school attendance laws by mailing a letter and a copy of the attendance laws and will form an intervention team to meet with both student and parent(s), if possible, and will go over current attendance records for a specialized absence intervention plan for the student. No later than 7 days after the plan is developed, parents/guardians will receive a written copy.

Step 3 – Chronic Absenteeism (10%+ absence rate of the required hours excluding suspension/expulsion)

This steps could possibly include one or all of the following stages:   counseling, parental programs, student mediation in the court system, or possible legal action against the parent(s)/guardian.

Step 4 – Failure to Cause and Compel (Legal Action)

This step starts when a parent fails to meet the requirements set forth by the specialized intervention team. The district will file charges of “Failure to Cause and Compel” with the Ross County Juvenile Court. The officer will then transfer the attendance records to the County Prosecutor. The student may face an “Unruly Child Charge” which is defined as any child that does not subject the child’s self to the reasonable control of the child’s parent, teacher, guardians, by being wayward or habitually truant.  The officer will then transfer the attendance records to the County Prosecutor.