Attendance Policy

All students who arrive late to school are required to sign in using the iPad located at the Attendance Office. Students arriving at school after 9:00 a.m. with no parent or doctor’s note will be required to meet with an administrator. A student’s tardy count is accumulated per class period and contributes to an overall tardy count across all classes. A student's tardy count will reset each quarter. Students arriving more than 15 minutes late to a class are considered absent from that class. This absence is calculated within the excessive absence policy.

Disciplines for Tardies

• 1st - 5th – Warning
• 6th - 10th – 2 Hour After School Detention
• Additional tardies will result in more extensive interventions.

Note: All students leaving early are required to sign-out using the i-Pad at the front Security Desk. A note of reason is to be provided to be eligible for consideration of an excused absence.

Early release for students in grades 9 and 10 are required to have an authorized adult physically come into the building and sign the student out using the iPad at the front Security Desk. Students cannot be released from class prior to the arrival of the authorized adult as they must go through the proper release format. Authorized adults other than parents or custodial guardians must be on the student’s approved pick-up list. Authorized adults must be at least 18 years of age and cannot be a student at Tallwood High School.

Early release requests for students in grades 11 and 12 must be done by completing the Early Release Request form. Requests must be received by the Attendance Office no later than 7:20 a.m. the morning of and no earlier than the night before the request. All requests must include the student’s first and last name, student ID number, date of release, time of release, the reason for early release, parent signature, and a working telephone number for verification. Phone verification will be made prior to the approval of release. This does not include students who have pre-approval from the principal (excused 4th block). Students verified for early release are responsible for picking up a pass from the Attendance Office at the time of release. Students are required to sign out at the front Security Desk prior to leaving school grounds. Last minute requests must be approved by administration.

Note: Provide medical documentation to the attendance office and the school clinic if there are medical concerns that may cause your student to miss school.

Daily Absence

The parent/guardian must inform the Attendance Office of the reason for an absence or tardy, preferably prior to or within three school days of the absence. Notification that covers multiple days must be date-specific for proper verification.

---

Unverified Absences/Truancy

UNV is the code used for absences that are not verified. When a note is not submitted (excused or unexcused) the attendance for that block/day will remain coded UNV. To prevent truancy, notes must be turned in to verify the student’s absence.

---

Excessive Absences

Students who accumulate 5 all-day absences, excused or unexcused, will be referred to their school counselor. The student’s counselor will confer with the student and contact parents to devise a plan to improve attendance. After additional absences, an SRT meeting may be convened with the School Social Worker to further develop a plan to resolve non-attendance. Parents/guardians will be notified in writing of their student’s excessive absences. When a student's absences in a course become excessive, emails are automatically generated to notify families about the School Board policy related to absences.

What Should You Know about the Emails?

• The emails are automatically generated and the school is required to send them home as a communication tool.
• If there are errors in the email, please contact the attendance office and/or your student's teacher.
• The emails are generated for study blocks too. While a student cannot fail a study block, there is no way to stop the emails from generating for study blocks.
• What if a student was quarantined?
  • Yes, the absences still appear in the email.
  • Yes, the student may need to complete an attendance waiver. (see below)
• Students will not fail as a result of attendance if a waiver is submitted and verified.
  • Attendance waivers will be available in January (1st Semester) and in May (2nd Semester).
  • An AlertNow will come out, it will be on the student announcements, teachers will inform students, blank copies will be available at the Attendance Office, and reminders will be sent as well.

---

Activity/Testing

All school-sponsored activities are marked as ACT. If a student is participating in a school-related activity (i.e., class field trip, AP testing, SOL testing, etc.) a roster will be submitted to attendance to be updated for that day. Please allow at least 24 hours for attendance to update rosters before addressing concerns.

---

Advanced Absence Notification Form (Planned Absences)

In the event your student intends to miss 3 or more consecutive days of school, they are encouraged to complete the “Planned Absence Notification” form. This form is accessible for students who are going to be absent for reasons other than those listed under excused absences accepted by VBCPS policy, i.e., vacations, college visits, and non-school sponsored sporting events. The form must be completed at least seven (7) days in advance and submitted to attendance for administrators’ approval prior to the date of request. Please include official documentation for college visits and non-school-sponsored activities. Submission of the form is not guaranteed approval for an excused absence. Approval of this form does not exempt days missed from the excessive absence policy. Students are responsible for class work missed. For your convenience, this form is available in the Attendance Office.

Students are allowed up to 6 absences per course per semester. An absence includes any time a student misses more than 15 minutes of a class period. Once a student exceeds more than 6 absences in a course, he or she must submit an attendance waiver by the specified waiver deadline for the current semester to possibly receive credit for the course. If a student misses more than 6 class periods for any course and submits an attendance waiver by the specified due date, documentation on file at the school for excused absences will be considered. If no attendance documentation is on file, the student’s attendance waiver request will be denied.

• A student must be passing a course at the time of the attendance waiver request for the waiver to be considered.
• If an attendance waiver request is denied, the student will not receive credit for the course and a grade of 63 “E” will be entered as the semester grade and will be reported as an “N” on the report card.
• If a student is not passing a course (numerical grade of 64 or higher) by the attendance waiver request due date, he or she will be ineligible for an attendance waiver.

Please visit the VBSB Policy 5-17 page  to learn more.