Regular attendance is essential for an effective school experience and necessary for annual promotion. The responsibility for regular attendance rests with the parents or guardian or adult student. The school will make every effort to keep the appropriate person informed in this most critical area and assist whenever possible.

Regular attendance is essential to the educational process. Excessive absence has adverse effects on educational progress. Students who are absent from class for any reason are deprived of a variety of educational opportunities, meaningful student-teacher interaction, and learning experiences shared with their classmates. Teachers have traditionally attempted to provide opportunities for makeup work for classes missed; however, it is extremely difficult to reproduce or recapture classroom activity. Classroom learning experiences are the basis for public school education. Time lost from class is lost instructional opportunity.

The Board of Education requires that accurate records be kept of the attendance of each child, and students should not be absent from school without parental knowledge and consent.

Excuses - Note: The use of the state-approved definitions of "excused" and "unexcused" absences are for state purposes for the reporting of truancy. Districts are not precluded from using separate definitions of such absences for their internal uses such as involving decisions on areas such as promotion and grading.

If a student is going to be absent from school, a parent or guardian MUST call the school office to notify school staff of the absence. Voicemail is available 24 hours a day for the parent or guardian who is unable to call during regular school hours or who prefers to call the night before the student will be absent.

A student's absence from school shall be considered "excused" if written documentation of the reason for such absence has been submitted within ten (10) school days of the student's return to school and meets the following criteria:

A. For absences, one through nine, a student's absences from school are considered "excused" when the student's parent/guardian approves such absence and submits appropriate documentation to school officials.

Such documentation includes a signed note from the student's parent/guardian, a signed note from a school official that spoke in person with the parent/guardian regarding the absence, or a note confirming the absence by the school nurse or by a licensed medical professional, as appropriate.

Documentation should explain the nature of and the reason for the absence as well as the length of the absence. Separate documentation must be submitted for each incidence of absenteeism.

B. For the tenth absence and all absences thereafter, a student's absences from school are considered excused, when the student's parent/guardian approves such absence and submits appropriate documentation to school officials for the following reasons:

1. Student illness (Note: to be deemed excused, an appropriately licensed medical professional must verify all student illness absences, regardless of the absence length).

2. Student's observance of a religious holiday;

3. Death in the student's family or other emergencies beyond the control of the student's family;

4. Mandated court appearances (documentation required);

5. The lack of transportation that is normally provided by a district other than the one the student attends (no parental documentation required);

6. Extraordinary educational opportunities pre-approved by District administration and to be in accordance with the Connecticut State Department of Education guidance.

C. A student's absence from school shall be considered unexcused unless:

1. The absence meets the definition of an excused absence and meets the documentation requirements; or

2. The absence meets the definition of a disciplinary absence, which is the result of school or District disciplinary action and are excluded from these State Board of Education-approved definitions.

3. When the school in which a child is enrolled receives no notification from a parent or other person having control of the child is aware of the child's absence, a reasonable effort shall be made by school personnel or volunteers under the direction of school personnel to notify by telephone and by mail such parent or other person having control of the child.

Source: Region 20 District Handbook