Every Day at School Counts!
A missed school day is a lost opportunity for students to learn. For students to learn and achieve their fullest potential, it is important for them to report to school daily. Students who attend school regularly have been shown to achieve at higher levels than students who do not.
Did you know:
- Regular school attendance in elementary school improves the chances that your child will read on grade level.
- Chronic absenteeism (missing 18 or more school days per year) is a primary cause of lower academic achievement even when the absences are "excused" or understandable.
- Students who attend 90% or more of the school year are more likely to graduate from high school on time.
- Absences can be a sign that a student is losing interest in school, struggling with schoolwork, dealing with peer conflicts, or facing some other potentially serious difficulty, and help is available
TMSA’s Excused Absences Policy:
In accordance with State Board of Education Rule 160-5-1-10, a student’s absence from school or class will be considered excused when it is due to any of the following circumstances:
1. Personal illness of the student.
2. Attendance at the school would be detrimental to the health of the student or others.
3. A serious illness or death in the student’s immediate family necessitating absence from school.
4. Compliance with a court order or an order issued by a governmental agency,
including an order for a pre-induction physical examination for service in the armed
forces, mandating absence from school.
5. Observance of religious holidays, necessitating absence from school.
6. Conditions rendering attendance impossible or hazardous to the student’s health or safety.
7. An absence not to exceed one-half day for registering to vote. Students may register
to vote at their high school.
8. Up to six (6) school days per year to visit with a parent or guardian who is on leave
from, or is being deployed to military service.
Additionally, the District allows excused absences for the following:
1. Absences not exceeding a cumulative total of six (6) days per school year for the
following reasons, but only if the absence has been pre-approved by the principal or
designee:
a. Scholarship interviews/college visitations,
b. Travel opportunity with educational benefits,
c. Graduation or wedding of an immediate family member,
d. Specialized, supplemental or extracurricular experience,
e. Other circumstances that are mutually agreeable to the parent and principal,
2. Individual or groups of students may be absent from a segment or period of the
instructional day for school-sponsored, non-instructional activities as defined in
Policy IED- Uninterrupted Instructional Time. The principal shall ensure that an
accurate record of all such absences is maintained.
3. School days missed as a result of an assigned out-of-school suspension/expulsion of 20 days or
less.
4. Additional absences due to medical appointments may be excused by the principal or
designee. These absences must be approved by the principal or designee in advance of
the absence occurring. The parent/guardian must provide appropriate documentation
as outlined in the policy. The final decision to excuse such an absence rests with the
principal.
5. Students participating in dual enrollment should not be counted as absent.
It is the responsibility of the student and/or parent/guardian to present a satisfactory written excuse to the principal or designee(s) within five (5) days of returning to school from an absence in order the absence(s) to be recorded as excused. The excuse must state the reason for the absence and be signed by the student’s parent or guardian. Excuses will be kept on file at the school at least until the beginning of the next school year. Students who have missed ten (10) days of school or more in a school year will be required to provide additional written verification such as doctors’ statements.
C. Absences Recorded as Present
1. Students serving as pages in the Georgia General Assembly shall be recorded as present.
2. Foster care students are students who are in a foster home or otherwise in the foster care system. A foster care student who attends court proceedings relating to the student’s foster care should be recorded as present by the school and should not be counted as absent for any day or portion of the day.
D. Unexcused absences
A student’s absence from school or class for any reason other than those listed above will be considered an unexcused absence. [Unexcused absences may result in disciplinary action. Please see Operating Guideline JD- Student Code of Conduct, Attendance Section and Rule 12: Unexcused Absences for additional information.
E. Make-up Work
1. Principals should ensure procedures are in place for the timely provision of make-up work.
2. Make-up work may be requested before, during or after the student’s absence. However, the availability of make-up work prior to an absence will be provided at the discretion of the teacher.
3. Textbooks and other instructional materials may be requested for the student’s use during the period of absence and must be returned promptly when the student returns to school.
4. Upon returning to school following an absence, it is a student’s or parent/guardian’s responsibility to contact the teacher or teachers to request make-up work. The contact should be made on the day the student returns to school unless the teacher allows a longer time.
5. School days missed as a result of an assigned out-of-school suspension/expulsion of 20 days or less are considered excused absences (see circumstance 3 under “Excused Absences” above). Therefore, students who are assigned a suspension/expulsion for twenty (20) school days or less who are not participating in the alternative education program are permitted to make up their work pursuant to the provisions of this policy.
6. Make-up work must be completed by the student within the specified by time by the teacher. Work missed during the last week of the semester must be made up by the tenth school day of the next semester.
7. Grades for make-up will be earned per the following:
a) Elementary Students will receive the actual grade earned on any make-up work submitted on time, regardless of whether the absence is excused or unexcused.
b) Final course grades of middle and high school students shall not be penalized because of absences if the following conditions are met (1) the absence is for one of the reasons listed as excused previously;
(2) a written excuse has been submitted in accordance with this Board policy; and
(3) the make-up work has been completed satisfactorily within the time specified by the teacher.
F. Parent Notification/Involvement
It is the responsibility of the classroom teacher to take attendance and notify the school administration of absences. Local school administrators shall establish effective means of communicating with parent (s)/guardians (s) about students regarding individual student attendance.
Each school is required to notify the parent, guardian, or other person who has control or charge of the student when such student has five (5) unexcused absences. The notice shall outline the penalty and consequences of such absences and that each subsequent absence shall constitute a separate offense. After two (2) reasonable attempts to notify the parent, guardian, or other person who has charge of the student the school shall send a written notice via first class mail.
If a student has ten (10) or more school days of unexcused absences in the current academic year or ten (10) or more unexcused absences in the previous academic year, his or her opportunity to receive or retain a driver’s license will be impacted pursuant to O.C.G.A. 40-5-22.
The school principal or the principal’s designee shall use his or her best efforts including first class mail to notify a student age 14 or older when the student has only three (3) absences remaining before violating the state’s attendance requirements pursuant to O.C.G.A. 40-5-22 regarding the denial of a driver’s permit and licenses.
G. Recognition and Incentive Programs/Attendance Awards
Each school may develop programs to encourage regular school attendance.
Georgia has adopted the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children (Senate Bill 227; OCGA. 20-17-1, et. Seq) which impacts provisions of this policy. See Policy JG, Opportunities for Military Children, for detailed information