Middle School Attendance
- Co/Extra Curricular
- Daily Attendance Expectations
- Tardy Behavior
- Leaving School During the Day
- Dublin City Schools Attendance Policy
- Prearranged Absences
- Absence Intervention Team, Habitually Truant, and Excessively Absent
- Job Shadowing
- Religious Holiday
- Long-term Student Absence for Travel
Co/Extra Curricular
Students participating in extracurricular activities must attend school during the day of the activity in order to participate in the activity. Students who are absent from school for more than one-half day on the day of a game, match, or event will not be permitted to participate. Students must be in school at least 4 periods to be considered eligible to participate in extracurricular activities.
Daily Attendance Expectations
Dublin Schools has a commitment to provide a formal quality education to its students. To achieve this goal, students must consistently be in attendance at school.
Students are expected to be in all classes and study halls. Attendance and promptness to class is the responsibility of each student and his/her parents or guardian. Attending classes and being on time allows the student to benefit from the school’s program in addition to developing habits of punctuality, self-discipline, and individual responsibility.
When a student is absent from school, a parent must call the school attendance office within 30 minutes of the start of that school day to report their child’s absence from school. If the school is not contacted by the parent, the school will make every reasonable attempt to contact parents at home or at work. Upon the student’s return to school, parents must provide written documentation explaining the absence to the main office.
Tardy Behavior
Any student late to school must report to the attendance office. A student will be considered tardy if they arrive at school up to 90 minutes after the school day begins, any time after this the student will be considered absent for their time missed. If a student comes to school and goes home ill, they will be counted absent for their time missed. P.M. tardies occur when a student leaves before the end of the school day. These tardies are tallied with A.M. tardies. Tardiness for reasons other than those listed in Ohio Revised Code in the attendance section is unexcused.
Continual tardiness to school will result in disciplinary action at the third infraction of each quarter. Further disciplinary action will be taken if tardiness persists. Failure to sign into the attendance office will also result in disciplinary action.
Leaving School During the Day
Students who have an appointment to leave school during the day must come to the office before school with a note from the parent and receive a Passport from the office. This list of students appears on the absence list daily. Students are responsible for reporting to the office and signing out at the correct time. Parents must come to the office to pick up their student. This is to ensure their safety and well-being.
Dublin City Schools Attendance Policy
Section 3321.04 of the Ohio Revised Code provides that every parent, guardian, or other person having charge of any child of compulsory school age must send such child to a school which conforms to the minimum standards prescribed by the State Board of Education for the full time the school is in session. Such attendance must begin within the first week of the school term, or within one week of the school term, or within one week of the date on which the child begins to reside in the district.
The statutes governing school attendance are very specific and leave little option for school authorities to excuse children from school. The Ohio Revised Code classifies absence from school as excused or unexcused. The following conditions constitute reasons for excused absence from school:
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Personal illness
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Illness in the family necessitating the presence of the child
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Quarantine of the home
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Observance of Reglious holidays/Absence for Religious reasons
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Death of a relative (up to 5 school days)
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Absence during the school day for professional appointments
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Work at home due to absence of parents or guardians (must be over 14 years old)
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Family emergency (up to 5 school days)
Unexcused Absences: Absences by consent of the parent or with the parent’s knowledge for a reason not acceptable to the school or absences that are not followed by written documentation from the parent or doctor. Unexcused absences may receive no credit for schoolwork. Examples could include: music lessons, hair appointments, oversleeping, traffic delays, etc.
Habitually Truant: A student who is absent
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30 or more consecutive hours without a legitimate excuse
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42 or more hours in one month without a legitimate excuse
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72 or more hours in one year without a legitimate excuse
Excessively Absent: A student who is absent WITH OR WITHOUT A LEGITIMATE EXCUSE
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38 or more hours in one school month
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65 or more hours in one school year
Extended Vacations/Extended Student Absence During the School Year
Students are permitted to go on vacation during the school year without penalty (except the week ending each semester). The purpose of this administrative guideline is to accommodate parents who must take their vacations during the school year because of company (industry) policies and the desire to enjoy that time as a family.
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Whenever a proposed absence-for-vacation is requested, parents must discuss it with the principal or his/her designee. The length of absence should be made clear, and those involved should have an opportunity to express their views on the potential effects of the absence.
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The student may be given approximate assignments and materials and pages to be completed.
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The time missed will be counted as an unexcused absence under HB410, but shall not be a factor in determining grades unless make-up work is not completed. If lengthy, time missed may cause the student to become “excessively absent” under the HB410 attendance law.
Prearranged Absences
The statutes governing school attendance are very specific and leave little option for school authorities to excuse children from school. The Ohio Revised Code classifies absence from school as excused or unexcused. Listed above are the eight (8) conditions for excused absence as defined by the state of Ohio. If the reason you wish to take your student out of school does not fall under these eight (8) conditions, the absence will be classified as unexcused.
If the absence is less than five (5) days, the teacher(s) may provide assignments and collect the completed work for full credit. For absences more than five (5) days, teachers will not be expected to provide individual instruction, as providing remote support is unsustainable for extended periods of time. Details can be discussed with your child’s principal or teacher(s).
In the State of Ohio, House Bill 410 outlines what makes a student "chronically absent" or "habitually truant." Using information in HB 410 and our Board of Education policy 5200, extended international travel is not considered an excused absence, even if it is pre-arranged. After the child is unexcused 30 or more consecutive hours, or 42 hours in one month, or 72 hours in a year, they are considered "habitually truant."
If you wish to avoid your child being considered habitually truant, an absence intervention plan, and a file made in juvenile court, you should plan to withdraw your child and re-enroll with Dublin City Schools when you return to the country.
In addition to the above guidelines, Dublin Schools have a procedure for prearranged absences. Form (5200 F1) must be picked up in the office five days in advance of absence. This needs to be signed by teachers and parents, and be on file in the office three days prior to absence to be considered prearranged.
Absence Intervention Team, Habitually Truant, and Excessively Absent
For students determined to be habitually truant:
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Written notice will be provided to the parent/guardian
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Student will be assigned to an absence intervention team
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If the child fails to make progress after 61 days on the personalized absence intervention plan, the district will file a complaint in juvenile court
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Counseling will be provided
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The student's parent or guardian will be asked to attend parental involvement programs or truancy prevention mediation programs
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As applicable, the registrar of motor vehicles will be notified
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Children Services will be notified as deemed necessary
For students determined to be excessively absent:
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Written notice will be provided to the parent/guardian
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The student will follow the district's plan for absence intervention
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The student and family may be referred to community resources
Absence Intervention Team
State law requires districts with a chronic absenteeism rate above 5% to establish an Absence Intervention Team for students who are habitually truant. The school based absence intervention team will establish a student-centered absence intervention plan by identifying specific barriers and solutions to attendance problems.
Membership of each team should vary based on the needs of each individual student, but each team is required to include:
- a representative of the school or district.
- another representative from the school or district who has a relationship with the child.
- the child's parent/guardian.
The Absence Intervention Team may also include: 1. school psychologist, counselor or social worker. 2. representatives from a public or non-profit agency. 3. a case worker from Children Services if there is an open case or if the child is in foster care.
Job Shadowing
Middle School school students are permitted to leave from normal school classes to shadow individuals or organizations in career areas that are of interest to students. Arrangements for such experiences should be made well in advance to ensure that permission is granted. The following procedure must be completed prior to permission being granted:
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Students have up to two (2) days each year to shadow. Students may contact one of the available Industry Partners from the list available in the guidance office or they may use their personal resources to identify a professional/organization.
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The student must complete a Job Shadow request form a minimum of two (2) school days prior to the experience and submit to the attendance office for approval.
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No requests will be honored three (3) school days prior to and/or after a school vacation or holiday.
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Students should complete the Job Shadow Student Packet within one week of the experience.
Religious Holiday
Students will be granted an excused “religious absence” on days they miss school due to observing a religious holiday consistent with their truly held religious beliefs. The excused absence shall not result in academic or extracurricular consequence. In addition, the district has worked with faith-based community leaders to identify holy days for religions recognized within our school district community. To the extent possible, teachers will avoid tests and major assignments on the holiday and day following for all students. For more information please visit:
https://www.dublinschools.net/resources/calendars/religious-holy-days
Long-term Student Absence for Travel
The Dublin Board of Education recognizes that in exceptional circumstances, a student may need to be absent from school for an extended period of time. Ohio has specific compulsory attendance regulations, and Dublin City Schools must comply with those State statutes.
Ohio Revised Code Section 3321.02 states that “every child actually a resident in the state shall be amenable to the laws relating to compulsory education, and neither he nor the person in charge of him shall be excused from the operations of the sections or the penalties under them on the ground that the child’s residency is seasonal, that the parent of the child is a resident of the other state, or that the child has attended school for the legal period in another state.” The parent of a child of compulsory school age who is not employed under the age and schooling certificate must send said child through school or special education program that conforms to the minimum standards prescribed by the State Board of Education, for the full time the school or program attended is in session, which shall not be for less than thirty-two weeks per school year. Such attendance must begin within the first week of the school term or program, or within one week of the date of which the child begins to reside in the district, or within one week after his withdrawal from employment (O.R.C. 3321.04).
The following procedures apply to long-term absences and the consequences thereof:
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Any student absent for more than twenty (20) days in a school year will find that attendance records become a significant factor in a promotion or retention decision at the close of the school year.
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Should a child be absent from school for thirty (30) days, the principal may make a referral to the appropriate social agency that may bring charges of parental neglect against the parents or guardians.
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All absences including illness, truancy, vacation, family or personal business, or appointments to the doctor or orthodontist will be counted in the attendance tally.
Therefore, if parents are going to remove students from school for travel purposes or visitation of families in other states or countries for extended periods of time, they must follow these procedures.
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Notify the student’s school of attendance in writing of their intent to remove their child from school for any period beyond twenty (20) days.
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The parent/guardian must show good and sufficient cause in advance to remove the child from school. This notification should occur two (2) weeks prior to the student’s departure.
If the parent does not comply with this policy, the school district may be obligated to report the parent/guardian to the truant officer and file charges of lack of compliance with the compulsory education rules.