ATTENDANCE AND SAFETY

PARENT/GUARDIAN RESPONSIBILITY

Enrollment and Attendance

Parents and guardians are responsible for enrolling their children in school and for assuring that their children attend school and obey behavior rules and guidelines as set out by school policy. Parents/Guardians failing to enroll students and assuring their attendance and proper behavior are subject to attending an Early Warning Program (through the Lauderdale County Judicial System), fines, and/or imprisonment under state law.

State law also requires the Superintendent to report all truancy-related suspensions to the District Attorney. (Alabama 16-28-16, 16-28-3, 12-15-13, Act #94-782.)

Driver's License and Attendance

Driver's tests are required for obtaining a license in Alabama. Students must have a student enrollment form to take the driver's test. The form may be picked up at school during the school day.

During the 1994 Legislative session, the Alabama Legislature passed Act #94-820, which attaches school attendance standards with the right to retain, apply, renew, or reinstate a driver's license or learner's permit to operate a motor vehicle.

Attendance Policy Fact Sheet

Click here to download or print a copy of the Attendance Policy Fact Sheet. 

1.  No more than five parent/guardian notes with a maximum of five cumulative days total should be excused per semester.

2.  More than five parent/guardian notes or days exceeding five days per semester will be coded unexcused.

3.  Any absence beyond five days per semester must be doctor/court verified in order for administrators to consider if the absence(s) should be excused. (A letter from a doctor's office stating someone CALLED about his/her child on a specific date or dates DOES NOT meet the definition of a doctor's excuse.)

4.  A student must provide a written excuse within three days upon his/her return from school. Failure to do so will result in the absence being considered unexcused.

5.  Doctor/Court excuses should have original signatures from the appropriate officials in order for the absence(s) to be considered excused.

6.  School administrators have the right to investigate doctor/court excuses to determine their legitimacy.

7.  After an absence, a student must have an admission form, signed by an administrator/designee, to return to class. This form should denote excused or unexcused absence. Students should not be allowed in class without a designated admission form stating excused or unexcused status.

8.  Attendance policy applies to all students enrolled in school regardless of age. However, students ages 17 and over may be dismissed from school if they have 10 consecutive unexcused absences or 15 cumulative unexcused absences in a school year.

9.  Work missed for unexcused absences should not be allowed to be made up for a grade.

10. Students in grades 9-12 with 10 (ten) or more unexcused absences may not receive the credit due to non-attendance.

11. Students in grades 1-8 may be retained if they have 20 or more unexcused absences in a school year.