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    Monroe County School District

    Attendance Policy

    		  
     

     

    Attendance Requirements: Each parent and legal guardian of a child within the compulsory attendance age is responsible for the child’s school attendance as required by law [Florida Statute §1003.21]. All students are expected to attend school regularly and to be on time for classes in order to benefit from the instructional program and to develop habits of punctuality, self-discipline, and responsibility.


    Excused Absences:

    Parents must report the absence the day before, the day of, or within two school days following the absence the absence will be considered unexcused.

     

     

    • Tardy students must be signed-in at the Main Office.

     **Parent/Guardian notification of an absence does not in-and-itself require the school administration to record the absence as excused**
    Tardy Policies

    • Elementary students must be dropped off. Parents must walk students in to the Main Office.

    • Excessive tardies may result in revocation of choice hardship.

    Excused Tardies: illness; medical/dental appts; automobile accident; death or funeral; emergency situations acceptable to the principal; required court appearance; established religion observance; severe weather; and breakdown of school bus. Unexcused Tardies: car problems (e.g., flat tire, no gas, car won’t start, etc.); heavy traffic; overslept; returned for forgotten items; and non-educational appts.

     

    Unexcused Absences:

    Absences not defined in the excused absence section.

    • Absences not documented within two school days.

    • Examples include but are not limited to: shopping trips; family vacations/trips; activities that should be conducted outside of the school day (e.g., hair/nail appts, sleeping, doing homework, DMV business, dance lessons); non-school events/programs/sporting activities; and activities more related to parental responsibilities (e.g., babysitting or providing transportation).

    • Any unexcused absence will result in a grade penalty for work missed.

     

    Special Guidelines:

    •Students leaving early must check out through the Main Office.

    •Students have 2 days for each day missed to make up class work upon return to school from an absence.

    •After 3 consecutive absences, the teacher determines the due date for make-up work.

    •Students are responsible for meeting due dates set prior to an absence (e.g., tests, projects, etc).

    •High School: more than 6 missed class periods requires a passing grade on the semester exam to receive course credit towards graduation.

    •Middle School: students who miss more than 90% of class time (e.g., 40 days of a 45 day marking period) must demonstrate mastery in order to earn a passing grade in a marking period for a course.

    •Students will be referred to the Child Study Team after 5 unexcused absences within a calendar month or 10 unexcused absences within 90 calendar days.

    •More than six absences per semester are considered excessive.

    •Habitual Truant is defined by law as a student who has 15 unexcused absences within 90 calendar days.

    •Truancy Petitions can be filed with the Circuit Court pursuant to §1003.26

    •Truant minor students will either have their learner’s/driver’s license suspended or will not be able to receive a learner’s license. §322.091

    • Illness or Injury of Student

    • Religious Instruction/Holidays of the Student’s Own Faith (3 days notification required)

    • Doctor/Dentist Appointment

    • Attendance at Student’s IEP Meeting

    • Court/Legal Appearances

    • Death in the Immediate Family (no more than 7 days)

    • Placement at the FL Keys Children’s Shelter

    • With Written Permission of the Principal

    • Special Event Approved by the Principal

    • Communicable Disease/Infestation

    		  
         
      Attendance Forms  
      Absence Request Form
    MCSD Attendance:
    ENGLISH
    SPANISH
    HAITIAN CREOLE     		  
         
      Attendance Office Contact Info  
     
              305-293-1549 ext. 54320