- Northwestern High School
- Attendance Policy
-
Rock Hill School District Three Attendance Guidelines - page 43 - 45 of
Student Handbook - addendum 1/23/17 - Attendance AddendumTRUANCY - After 3 consecutive or a total of 5 unlawful absences, regulations require
that school officials contact parents and students for a conference. The purpose of this
conference is to identify reasons for a student's absences and to complete an
intervention plan. Letters will be mailed to the home after 3, 5, and 10 days of absences.Excessive tardies may result in an intervention plan.
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 will be one of the factors used in the promotion/retention decisions for grades K-5. More than 10 absences and/or excessive tardies could result in a referral to Family Court.
Citation: South Carolina Code of Law 59-65-60 and South Carolina Board of Education Requirements
Students will only be allowed 6 absences of any type in a semester. (not including field
trips, documented college visits, documented shadowing and in-school suspensions).- Medical absences are treated as all other absences
- Parents are notified by mail when a student has 3 and 5 absences in a class.
- Parents are called by automated phone message each evening if a student has been absent for one
- or more classes.
Exceptions:
- Students who have reoccurring absences due to a serious illness or medical
condition may be eligible for intermittent or regular homebound services.
Applications should be picked up promptly in the Counseling Office, filled
out by a physician and then turned in to the District Office to determine
eligibility for homebound services.- If a student has missed school due to extenuating circumstances or hardship,
then an appeal must be presented in writing to the principal.
WRITTEN EXCUSES FOR ABSENCES
- Excuses should be turned in to the Attendance Office within three days of a
student's returning to school or absences will be recorded as unexcused.
- Parental Excuses may be written for up to three days each semester for illness.
- Medical Excuses should be turned in for any day a student is written out of school
for illness by a physician.
- Bereavement - A copy of a funeral program or an obituary should be submitted
for bereavement day missed for a death in a family.
- College Visits - Documentation on college letterhead must be provided for college
visits. Juniors and seniors are allowed 2 each year.
Athletics and Extracurricular Activities-
To be eligible to participate in extracurricular activities, such as sports, concerts, prom, etc.
students must be in attendance at least one-half of the school day on the day of the event.Tardies
Tardies to school and/or class
It is the desire of the Northwestern administration and faculty to put an end to tardiness to
school in the morning and to classes during the school day. Tardy students disrupt the learning
of all students when they enter a classroom. Tardiness causes a valuable loss of time. Tardiness
is also a lack of self-discipline and should never be tolerated as habitual behavior. Tardy to class/school is defined as not being seated in the classroom ready to work when the tardy bell rings. Physical education students are to be in their assigned roll call areas when the tardy bell sounds.
Please note that tardies due to traffic, running out of gas, oversleeping, flat tires, loss of electrical power, eating breakfast at school, etc. are not excused tardies. Excuses for tardies should be submitted to the attendance office. Tardies to class will result in disciplinary action as shown below:1st Tardy - Warning;automated call to parents 7th Tardy – 1 day ISS;automated call
to parents
2nd Tardy - Warning; automated call to parents 8th Tardy – 1 day ISS;administrator call
to parents
3rd Tardy - Warning;automated call to parents 9th Tardy – OSS;administrator call to
parents
4th Tardy – Warning;automated call to parents 10th Tardy – OSS;administrator call to
parents
5th Tardy – After school detention (45 min.); 11th Tardy – OSS;administrator call to
automated call to parents parents
6th Tardy – 1 day ISS;automated call to 12th Tardy – Long Term Suspension
parentsContact Attendance Clerk
For more information, please see the complete State guidelines.