• Benefits of Regular Attendance

    *Getting the maximum benefit from school will optimize your life choices

     * Attending school regularly develops skills and attitudes that help a student be successful in later life, including self-discipline, punctuality, being organized and sticking to routines.

     *Attending regularly leads to making friends and learning to maintain relationships over a length of time.

     *School provides opportunities for socializing with friends

     *Students are safer at school than on the streets

     

     

    Please click the link below a printable copy of the Middle School Attendance Guidelines.

    Middle School Attendance Guidelines

     

     MIDDLE SCHOOL GUIDELINES

    Guidelines for Implementing Student Attendance Regulations

    Students are required to attend school 170 days out of the 180-day school year. This is South Carolina Code of Laws 59-65-50, 60, & 70 and South Carolina Board of Education Regulation. Any student who misses school must present a written excuse, signed by a parent/guardian, or a medical excuse within three days after returning to school. If this excuse is not turned in within THREE days after the student is back in school, the absence will be unlawful.

    Students will be considered lawfully absent with proper documentation when:

    a. They are ill and their attendance at school would endanger their health or the health of others.

    b. There is a death or serious illness in their immediate family.

    c. There is a recognized religious holiday of their faith.

    d. Activities are approved in advance by the principal.

    e. The student is suspended from school.

    f. There is a necessary medical or legal appointment that cannot be scheduled during non-school time.

    Lawful absences allow students to make up for missed work. The maximum number of days that will be recorded as lawful absences with parent's notes will be FIVE.

    Students will be considered unlawfully absent when:

    a. They are willfully absent from school without the knowledge of their parents or guardians.

    b. They are absent without an acceptable cause with the knowledge of their parent or guardian.

    c. Out of town trips/vacations.

    Students who participate in extracurricular activities must be in attendance at least one-half of the school day on the day of the event.

    The maximum number of days a student is allowed to miss is TEN per school year (lawful or unlawful). When a student is absent more than 10 days, attendance is an important factor used in the promotion/retention decisions for grades 6-8.

    Any student enrolled in a high school credit course will fail due to attendance if absences exceed a total of TEN days (lawful or unlawful). Students who miss more than the allowed number of absences in a high school credit course are required to attend make-up sessions or students will fail the course due to attendance.

    Student Attendance Intervention Plans

    After three consecutive or a total of five unlawful absences, regulations require that school officials contact you and your child for a conference. The purpose of this conference is to identify reasons for your student's absences and to complete a Student Attendance Intervention Plan. Students who exceed the maximum number of absences allowed may be referred to the Family Court for truancy if under the age of seventeen. Citation: South Carolina Code of Laws 59-65-50, 60, & 70 and South Carolina Board of Education Regulations.