There is probably no factor more important to a students progress in school than regular and punctual attendance. Miami-Dade Public Schools has a vision whereby each student engages in a rigorous instructional program which prepares him/her for a myriad of successful post-secondary options. Students are expected to:

* be present at school each and every day;

* attend class as scheduled;

* arrive at school and class(es) on time; and

* demonstrate appropriate behavior and readiness to learn.

Miami-Dade Public Schools has the affirmative obligation to increase student attendance through a monitoring process that will classify all absences as excused or unexcused, to inform parents of student absences, and to ensure that compulsory attendance laws are enforced as mandated by Florida statutes. This obligation will be satisfied through the implementation of an attendance review procedure, which monitors the type and number of student absences, as well as the impact of these absences on learning. Each school has an Attendance Review Committee, which is comprised of a minimum of a student services representative and an administrator or an administrative designee. The committee will provide guidance and support to students with significant absences by providing early intervention by convening when students reach an accumulation of five (5) unexcused absences in a semester course or ten (10) unexcused absences in an annual course.

A.  Attendance Defined

1. School Attendance -Students are to be counted in attendance only if they are actually present or engaged in a school-approved educational activity which constitutes a part of the instructional program for the student.

2. Class Attendance - Students are to be counted in attendance if they are physically present in class or have been excused by the teacher on a class-related assignment, or have been requested by a member of the school support staff for an approved school activity.

3. Tardiness - It is a reasonable expectation that in order for a learning activity to take place, each student must arrive to school and class on time. Accumulated unexcused tardies will be counted toward the threshold for initiating attendance review.

4. Early Sign-outs - The early release of students causes disruption to academic performance of all students and may create safety and security concerns. No student shall be released within the final 30 minutes of the school day unless authorized by the school principal or principals designee, e.g., emergency, sickness.

B. Absences Defined

1. Excused School and Class Absences and Tardies

* Student illness: students missing 5 or more consecutive days of school due to illness or injury are required to provide a written statement from a medical provider. The written statement must include all the days the student has been absent from school. If a student is continually ill and repeatedly absent from school due to a specific medical condition, he/she must be under the supervision of a physician in order to receive excused absences from school.

* Medical appointment: If a student is absent from school because of a medical appointment, a written statement from a medical provider indicating the date and time of the appointment must be submitted to the principal.

* Death in family.

* Observance of a religious holiday or service when it is mandated for all members of a faith that such a holiday or service be observed.

* School sponsored event or educational enrichment activity that is not a school sponsored event, as determined by the principal or principal designee. The student must obtain advance written permission from the principal or the principal designee. Examples of special events include: public functions, conferences, and regional, state, and national competitions.

* Subpoena by law enforcement agency or mandatory court appearance.

* Other individual student absences beyond the control of the parent or student, as determined and approved by the principal or the principal designee. The principal shall require documentation related to the situation.

2.  Unexcused School Absence

Any absence that does not fall into one of the above excused absence categories is to be considered unexcused. Any student who has been absent from school will be marked unexcused absent until  he/she submits the required documentation as specified above. Failure to provide the required documentation within three school days upon the return to school will result in an unexcused absence.

  Unexcused absences include:

* Absences due to vacations, personal services, local non-school event, program, or sport activity.

* Absence due to older students providing day care services for siblings.

* Absences due to the illness of others.

* Absences due to non-compliance of immunization requirements unless lawfully exempted.

The student is expected to:

1. Attend school/classes one hundred and eighty (180) days each school year.

2. Request the make-up assignments for all excused absences/tardies from his/her teachers upon his/her return to school or class. It should be noted that all classwork, due to the nature of the instruction, is not readily subject to make-up work.

3. Complete the make-up assignments for classes missed within three school days of the return to school. Failure to make up all assignments will result in the lower assessment of the student’s academic and/or effort grade.

4. Be reported as present for the school day in order to participate in athletic and extracurricular activities.

The parent is expected to:

1. Be responsible for his/her child's school attendance as required by law and stress the importance of regular and punctual school attendance with his/her child.

2. Report and explain an absence or tardiness to the school.

3. Ensure that his/her child has requested and completes make-up assignments for all excused absences/tardies from the child’s teachers upon his/her return to school or class.

4. Appear before the Attendance Review Committee at the scheduled time to provide information relating to his/her child’s absences and support prescribed activities.

Attendance Procedures upon a Student's Return to School:

• Absent students will submit the Absence Notification Form (ANF) to the attendance office within 3 days upon their return to school. The ANF will be available online for parents to print. All teachers will be provided with copies to distribute to students. There will also be copies available in the attendance office. The box for students to drop off the ANF can be found on the counter of the attendance office. Notes written on any other paper will not be accepted. If applicable, any doctor's notes, copies of court summons, etc. can be attached to the ANF.
• Attendance office staff will review each ANF and supporting documentation to determine whether or not the absence(s) is(are) excused.
• Attendance office staff will complete the admit indicating whether or not the absence(s) is(are) excused. The office staff will keep a section of the admit as proof that an admit was issued to the student. This section will be filed in the student's attendance record. The other section of the admit is for the student.
• Before 7:30am and after 2:30pm, the office staff will be available to distribute admits in the attendance office. Students are to pick them up only during these times.
• The students will then have teachers sign the admit.
• The teacher will make the necessary changes in the gradebook.
• The student should keep the signed admit as proof that the ANF was processed. A student may need to submit admits to the Attendance Review Committee (ARC) as part of the appeals procedure for No Grade issued.