| Nettle Creek School Corporation |
| Bylaws & Policies |
5200 - ATTENDANCE
The School Board, as an agency of the State, is required to enforce regular attendance of students. The Board recognizes that the presence in the classroom enables the student to participate in instruction, class discussions, and other related activities. As such, regular attendance and classroom participation are integral to instilling incentives for the student to excel.
Attendance shall be required of all Corporation students, except those exempted under Policy 5223 or by other provisions of State law, during the days and hours that the school is in session or during the attendance sessions to which s/he has been assigned.
The Superintendent shall require, from the parent of each student or from an adult student who has been absent for any reason, a written, electronic, or personal statement of the cause for such absence. The Board reserves the right to verify such statements and to investigate the cause of each single absence; prolonged absence; and/or repeated unexplained absence and tardiness.
Repeated infractions of the Board's policy on attendance may result in the suspension or expulsion of a student.
An out of school suspension is an excused absence. An unexcused absence is an absence from school not authorized by School Corporation rule and is in violation of I.C. 20-8.1-3.
The Board authorizes, but does not encourage, the Superintendent to suspend a student from a particular class or from school if sincere efforts by the staff and parents cannot rectify the pattern of absence. In keeping with its philosophy, the Board supports efforts to provide for out-of-school alternative educational opportunities for truant students rather than to heighten the effects of absence through suspension.
The Board considers the following factors to be reasonable excuses for time missed at school:
| A. | illness | |
| B. | recovery from accident | |
| C. | required court attendance | |
| D. | professional appointments | |
| E. | death in the immediate family | |
| F. | observation or celebration of a bona fide religious holiday | |
| G. | such other good cause as may be acceptable to the Superintendent or permitted by law |
Attendance need not always be within the school facilities, but a student will be considered to be in attendance if present at any place where school is in session by authority of the Board.
The Board shall consider each student assigned to a program of other guided learning experiences, authorized under Policy 2370, to be in regular attendance for the program provided that s/he reports daily to such staff member s/he is assigned for guidance at the place in which s/he is conducting study, and regularly demonstrates progress toward the objectives of the course of study.
The Superintendent shall develop administrative guidelines for the attendance of students which:
| A. | ensure a school session which is in conformity with the requirements of the law; | |
| B. | ensure that students absent for any excusable reason have an opportunity to make up work they missed; | |
| C. | govern the keeping of attendance records in accordance with the rules of the State Board; | |
| D. | ensure that any student who, due to a specifically identifiable physical or mental impairment, exceeds or may exceed the Corporation's limit on excused absence is referred for evaluation for eligibility either under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. |
Such guidelines should provide that a student's grade in any course is based on his/her performance in the instructional setting and is not reduced for reasons of conduct. If a student violates the attendance or other rules of the school, s/he should be disciplined appropriately for the misconduct, but his/her grades should be based upon what the student can demonstrate s/he has learned.
The Superintendent shall ensure that the administrative guidelines on attendance properly address the matter of truancy by including a process which:
| A. | identifies the habitual truant, that is, a student who is chronically absent by having unexcused absences from school for more than ten (10) school days in one (1) school year; | |
| B. | investigates the cause(s) of his/her truant behavior; | |
| C. | considers, when appropriate, modification of his/her educational program to meet particular needs which may be causing the truancy; | |
| D. | ensures that truant students are disciplined in accordance with the Corporation's policies and administrative guidelines on student discipline; | |
| E. | provides for the reporting to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles those students who have been suspended for the second time during a school year, expelled, or excluded for misconduct. |
The Superintendent shall also ensure that the Board's policy on attendance and the Corporation's administrative guidelines are made available to all parents and adult students.
I.C. 20-33-2-4 to 17
511 IAC 1-3-1
511 IAC 6-2-1(c)(12)
Revised 10/26/05