Class attendance and participation are critical elements of the educational process and may be taken into account in assessing academic achievement.  The principal shall notify parents and take all other steps required by G.S. 115C-378 for excessive absences.

K-8

•  A K-8 student is expected to attend school 180 days unless absent for lawful reasons. Any student who accumulates and exceeds fifteen (15)absences is in jeopardy of receiving no credit for work done during a given school year.

•  After seven (7) accumulative absences, the teacher responsible for recording suchabsences shall send a "warning" notice to the parent/guardian that the student is in jeopardy of losing credit for work or courses taken due to excessive absences. A copy of this notice must be filed in the principal's or his designee's office.

•  After more than fifteen (15) accumulative absences for the year, the teacher shall notify the principal or his designee, and the principal or his designee shall notify the parent/guardian that the student will not receive credit for the year unless a waiver is obtained.

•  If a student is absent more than fifteen (15)days in a given year, his/her parent/guardian may apply for a waiver of the attendance requirements in order to prove extenuating circumstances or legitimate illness. The parent/guardian must present written verification acceptable to the principal or his designee within five (5) days of receipt of the no-credit notification. It shall be the responsibility of the parent/guardian to apply for the waiver. The principal may name an attendance committee to investigate and make a recommendation as to the granting of a waiver. The principal shall have the final decision whether or not to grant such a waiver. In the absence of a request by the parent/guardian to apply for a waiver, the principal shall make a decision on this matter and notify the parent/guardian by letter.

•  Upon denial of a waiver by the principal, a student will have the option of make-up as available and as prescribed at individual schools.

9-12

•  A 9-12 student is expected to attend school for 180 days unless absent for lawful reasons.High school students should be in attendance a minimum of 83 days per semester or 166 days per school year to receive credit for a course.

•  Any student who accumulates and exceeds 7 absences for any course during a semester is in immediate jeopardy of receiving a failing grade and receiving no credit for the course.

•  Unexcused tardies shall be made up as specified by individual school policy.

•  After three (3) accumulative unexcused absences in any course, the teacher responsible for recording such absences shall send a "warning" notice to the parent/guardian that the student is in immediate jeopardy of losing credit for that course due to excessive absences. A copy of this notice must be filed in the principal's or his designee's office.

Upon request of the student or parent, the Attendance Committee will consider whether this policy should be waived or whether the student's grades should be reduced because of the absences.  The student must submit a waiver request form to the committee and other documentation that supports the student's request.  The committee will review other measures of academic achievement, the circumstances of the absences, the number of absences, and the extent to which the student completed missed work.  The committee may recommend to the principal and the principal may make any of the following determinations:

•  the student will not receive a passing grade for the semester;

•  the student's grade will be reduced;

•   the student will receive the grade otherwise earned; or the student will be given additional time to complete the missed work before making a determination of the appropriate grade.

Students having excused absences due to documented chronic health problems will be exempted from this policy.