Attendance

Attendance Policy

Parents/Guardians are required to report all absences for their child to the school office the day the child is absent. Please call the office of your student’s school and speak to the secretary or leave a message, stating your child’s first AND last name, your name and the reason for the absence. The school office must be notified of your child’s absence within two hours of the start of the school day. The 2 Hour Rule: According to the law, when a student is absent from school, the school is required to make at least one attempt to contact the parent/guardian within 2 hours after the beginning of each school day. If the parent/guardian contacts the school within 2 hours after the beginning of the school day, the school is no longer obligated to make contact.

Before school begins on the first day of your child’s return, the parents/guardian must:

a. Provide a written note or send an email to the building secretary with the following information: The student’s first and last name, the exact dates of the absence or tardy and the reason for the absence or tardy. The parent/guardian must also provide their first and last name and a daytime phone number where they can be reached.

OR

b. Provide legitimate documentation from a healthcare professional, government official, college, or board approved activity that states: The student’s first and last name, the exact dates and reason for the absence or tardy, the name of the provider or representative, and their contact information.

Questions & Reporting Absences

If you are reporting an absence or have any questions about the RCS attendance policy, please call 614-367-1972 or email us at
attendance.fres@reyn.org.

Excused & Unexcused Absences

Excused Absences

The Board of Education Policy, in agreement with Ohio Revised Code Section 3321.04 and Ohio Administrative Code 3301-69-02, states the reasons for which students may be excused from school, including the following:

Illness of the student.
Illness in the student’s family necessitating the presence of the student.
Quarantine of the home for a contagious disease determined by a medical professional.
Death of a relative.
Medical or healthcare appointment.
Observance of religious holiday consistent with his/her truly held religious beliefs.
Board approved activity/College visitation with proof of attendance.
Mandated court appearance.
Absences due to immigration circumstances.
Absences due to a student’s placement in foster care.
Absences due to a student being homeless.
Emergency or other set of circumstances in which the judgment of the superintendent of schools constitute a good and sufficient cause for absence from school.

Unexcused Absences

The following are examples of unexcused late arrivals or absences: oversleeping, missing the bus or a ride to school, car trouble and any other absence not defined as an excused absence in the Board of Education Policy. Unexcused absences or late arrivals without proper documentation will remain unexcused and count toward truancy hours. Unexcused absences or late arrivals without proper documentation will remain unexcused and count toward truancy hours

Parent/Guardian Excuses

A written or emailed parent note can excuse up to ten (10) absences per school year. The 10 excuse notes can be used for full-day absences, early dismissals and late arrivals. For example, if a parent emails the office saying their child was ill on 4/3, 4/4 and 4/5, this one excuse note would count as three (3) of the 10 parent excused absences. Notes may only excuse absences from the reasons listed in the above Excused Absences section, which directly reflects the Board of Education Policy. Once all 10 parent/guardian excused notes have been used, legitimate documentation, including the exact dates and reason for missing school, must be provided to the school office from a healthcare professional, government official, college, or board approved activity in order for the absence to be excused. A notification will be sent out to let you know when you have used all 10 parent/guardian excuses for the year.

Medical & Non Medical Excuses

The definitions of medical and nonmedical excuses are defined by Reynoldsburg City Schools, in accordance with Ohio Administrative Codes 3301-69-02 and 3301-18-01. Medical Excuses refer to any documentation excusing attendance that is from a healthcare professional, including, but not limited to doctors, dentists, and mental health specialists. All medical excuses must be on the healthcare professional’s letterhead and it must include the student’s first and last name, the dates to excuse and the reason for the absence. All medical excuses can be emailed or faxed directly to the school, or turned in to the school office. All medical excuses are considered excused absences and DO NOT count toward habitual truancy or excessive absence hours. There is no limit to the number of medical excuses allowed each school year.

Non-Medical Excuses refer to parent notes, or documentation from a government official, college/university, or board approved activity that excuses a student from school.

Planned Absences

The Board of Education Policy states that the Board strongly discourages absences from school for vacations or other non-emergency trips out of the district. In agreement with Ohio Administrative Code 3301-69-02, the Board will allow each student ONE planned trip/vacation of up to 30 consecutive hours (5 days) absent from school each year. In order for this time to be excused, a Pre-Authorized Planned Absence Form must be filled out by the parent/guardian PRIOR to the planned absence. All planned absences, such as armed services testing, family trips, non-school sponsored educational activities, or extended college visitations require the completion of this form. Once the form is received, a note of this will be made on the student’s attendance log and reasonable efforts will be made to prepare a list of assignments for the student to do while absent. Up to 30 additional consecutive hours (5 days) may be excused upon written request to the Superintendent/designee through the Pre-Authorized Planned Absence Form. Please note, this additional 30 hours can be added to the first 30, or it can be another separate trip. If this trip is NOT approved, these hours will be marked as UNEXCUSED absences and count toward truancy. No more than 60 consecutive school hours can be excused at any time; however, the Superintendent/designee can make an exception under certain emergency circumstances within the law. If pre-approval is NOT received before the extended absence, parent notes can be used to excuse time missed from school. Keep in mind that each child receives only 10 parent excused absences each school year. Any parent notes used to cover an extended absence will be taken out of the allotted ten. Parent notes CANNOT be used to extend a trip beyond 60 consecutive hours for any reason.

Pre-Authorized Planned Absence Form

Ohio House Bill 410

Ohio law states that attendance is now taken in terms of hours missed, not days absent. Each day of school equals six hours. Each hour of school missed will be calculated and reported as either unexcused or excused time missed from school. According to the law, if your child misses a certain number of hours, they will be considered Excessively Absent or Habitually Truant. The following describes the definitions and steps taken by the school district regarding school attendance.

Warning Notification

A warning notification will be sent out to inform you of when your child is getting close to reaching habitual truancy or excessive absences. This notification may come in different forms, such as by letter, phone call, automated message or email.

If you receive this notification, please turn in excuses as soon as possible to avoid your child becoming habitually truant or excessively absent from school.

ALL time missed from school (excused and unexcused), except any time where a medical excuse is provided, is calculated from late arrivals, early dismissals, and full day absences.

Excessively Absent Status

If excessive absences are reached, a letter will be sent home to notify you and the school will continue to monitor your child’s attendance. No plan is required at this time. A student will become Excessively Absent if they reach one or more of the following:

a. Absent 38 or more hours in one school month, with or without a legitimate excuse; or
b. Absent 65 or more hours in one school year, with or without a legitimate excuse.

Habitually Truant Status

Only unexcused time counts toward habitual truancy hours. This time is calculated from late arrivals, early dismissals, and full day absences. *According to the law, no student shall be suspended, expelled, or removed from school solely on the basis of unexcused absences. A student will become Habitually Truant if they reach one or more of the following:

a. Absent 30 or more consecutive hours without a legitimate excuse;
b. Absent 42 or more hours in one month without a legitimate excuse; or
c. Absent 72 or more hours in one year without a legitimate excuse.

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In This Section

Attendance

Attendance Policy

Questions & Reporting Absences

Excused & Unexcused Absences

Excused Absences

Unexcused Absences

Parent/Guardian Excuses

Medical & Non Medical Excuses

Planned Absences

Planned Absences

Ohio House Bill 410

Warning Notification

Excessively Absent Status

Habitually Truant Status

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