D5 High School Attendance Policies

The Attendance desk is located just inside the main entrance of the school.

Excuses:
A note from a parent/guardian, physician, dentist or other recognized licensed certified medical practitioner or legal officer is required for each absence. The note must be dated and must include the date(s) of absence(s), the reason(s) for the absence(s), the telephone number of the parent/guardian and the required signature. The note must be presented to attendance no later than the students third day back to school. The reason for the absence given on the note determines whether it will be recorded as a lawful or unlawful absence. A note not properly submitted according to the terms of this policy will cause the absence to be recorded as unlawful. False excuses shall be referred to administration for appropriate disciplinary action.

Please see the video below for important updated information on High School attendance.

While state law and district policy regarding Attendance has not changed, our district's procedures for how we handle attendance and Seat Time has been amended. The major takeaways are as follows:

• Seat time deals with the number of absences in an individual course and determines if academic credit can be awarded.
• Truancy refers to full day absences and is dealing with state school attendance law.
• By law, students are allowed 10 absences in a year-long course and 5 absences in a semester course. Upon the 6th absences in a semester course and 11th absences in a year long course, student's attendance will be reviewed by a committee for the possibility of seat time make-up, regardless of the type of absences accrued (i.e. medical, suspension, parent note, etc).
• Parent notes for illness are acceptable for truancy purposes within the first 10 full day absences, but they do not excuse seat time requirements.
• Medical notes MUST be turned in within 5 school days or an absence will be coded as Unexcused.

Chapin High School Dismissal Procedures:

***Once a student has been dismissed, he/she must have a medical note or signed in by their parent/guardian to be re-admitted. Parent calls or notes are not accepted.

Walk-In Dismissal - A parent/guardian with ID may come in the school to sign out their student at any time of the day.

Email Dismissal - A parent/guardian may email the attendance at chsattendance@lexrich5.org, by 12:00 PM to have a student dismissed.

• The sender’s email must match the parent’s email in PowerSchool.
• Email should include the full name of student, date of dismissal and time of dismissal.
• The student is responsible for picking up their dismissal pass in the attendance office prior to walking into the class of dismissal time.
• Student can pick up their pass in the attendance office before school, between classes and during lunch.
• Students will not be allowed to leave class to pick up their pass.
• Students will not be called out of class by attendance for an emailed dismissal or phone call.

Parent Note Dismissal - Students may bring a note from their parent/guardian for a dismissal pass.

• Parent notes should be received by the attendance office no later than the end of lunch/power hour.
• The note should include the students full name, date of dismissal, time of dismissal, parent signature and parent phone number.
• The student may bring their note to attendance before school, between classes or during lunch/power hour for a dismissal pass.
• Student may not leave class to bring their note to the attendance office.
• A few notes will be picked by attendance randomly for verification phone calls.

If there is an emergency situation, please call the attendance clerk at 803-575-5404 to request administrative approval.