Getting To School

Attendance and Timeliness

Attendance is critical to students’ success in school. School board policy and state law require that students attend school more than 90% of the days it’s in session. Absences include days and parts of days (anything more than one hour). Students who miss school more than 10% of the time may be retained on that basis. Their learning is likely to have gaps due to their lack of class participation.  The maximum number of absences for activities, whether sponsored by the school or by an outside agency/organization, that remove any student from the classroom shall be 10 per class period in each school year. Excluded from this number are state- and national-level school-sponsored contests.

All absences must have a written or verbal explanation provided by the parent/guardian within 48 hours of the student’s return to school. An absence for which no acceptable explanation is received shall be deemed unexcused.

Principals shall review all students’ attendance records reflecting absenteeism exceeding 10% of the scheduled instructional time and shall, after such review, determine a retention recommendation.

Parents/guardians shall be notified, in writing, of any recommendation for retention (non- promotion) or revocation of transfer due to excessive absenteeism (absences exceeding 10% of the scheduled instructional time). Retention/revocation of transfer actions due to excessive absenteeism may be appealed by the parent/guardian.

Late Arrivals/Early Dismissals

*Important Update: You will not change dismissal transportation after 1:30. We are committed to getting our students out of school safely and quickly, and to ensure we meet the needs of our community, our front office staff needs the time to update the list and communicate with our teachers.*

Late arrivals and early dismissals are considered as an absence from school for promotion/retention purposes, revocation of transfer purposes, and referrals to the District Attorney for violation of (70 O.S. § 10-106). Parents/guardians are requested to schedule appointments after the school day to avoid late arrivals or early dismissals. If it becomes necessary for students to be excused from school for an elective medical appointment or other unavoidable emergency, parents/guardians must send a signed note to the school stating the reason and the planned arrival/departure time. All students must be signed out by a parent/guardian (or someone legally listed as the parent/guardian on the emergency card) in the office before leaving the school.

For state aid purposes, a student must be in attendance for two of the first three hours of the school day to be recorded present for one-half day. Likewise, a student must be in attendance for two of the final three hours to be recorded present for one-half day. (Reference: Oklahoma State Accreditation Standards)