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RLOACS Attendance Policy

 

ATTENDANCE/ABSENCE POLICY

RLOACS is committed to the philosophy that every student should attend every class, every period, every day. Daily attendance and promptness are expected in all classes and are essential for success in school. Students who do not attend class regularly, put themselves at academic risk. Since attendance represents a critical component in the overall success of each student, when a student’s absenteeism is excessive, the school will send a letter to the student’s parents/guardians which sets out the total number of student absences and the importance of school attendance. If the student’s attendance does not improve, the school will take additional steps to ensure the parent/guardian is aware of the student’s poor attendance. 

 

ATTENDANCE GUIDELINES 

Daily Absence Reporting

  • Parents/guardians should notify the school by telephone each day a student is absent. 

  • Parents/guardians are required to submit supporting documentation in order to excuse the absence within three (3) days of absence. For example, in order for the absence to be excused, parents/guardians may be asked to submit written notification from a licensed physician stating the reasons why a student is unable to attend school.

  • Students who miss 3 consecutive days, will be reported to Ms. Barr and Principal via email to file a truancy report.  

  • Students who miss 10 consecutive days of attendance are automatically dropped from PowerSchool and unenrolled.

 

School Activities 

  • Students may have the opportunity to represent RLOA in a variety of athletic and academic activities. When a student serves as an authorized representative of the school, the student is not considered absent (except in summer school). 

  • Students who choose to participate in extracurricular activities are to make-up all assignments missed. Students are expected to attend school on the day of an extracurricular activity in order to be eligible for participation. 

 

Tardiness

  • A student is tardy if he/she is not present at the start of class. School start time is 7:45 a.m.  

  • Students arriving after 7:45 a.m. are considered tardy and may need to sign in through Raptor at the front desk. Family conferences may be required to address frequent tardiness and/or absences.

  • Once arriving at school, students are expected to remain on school grounds and in the building until dismissal.

 

SC Compulsory Attendance Law

The SC Compulsory Attendance Law requires that children between the ages of 5 and 17 years old attend school regularly.  The law mandates that parents assure the presence of their child at school.  Section 59-65-20 of the Code of Laws of SC 1976 states: “Any parent or guardian who neglects to enroll his child or ward or refused to make such child or ward attend school shall, upon conviction, be fined not more than $50 or be imprisoned not more than 30 days; 

 

Students are expected to attend school each day in accordance with the approved school calendar. Any student who misses school must present a written excuse within 3 days, signed by a parent/guardian, or the medical professional who treated the child.

 

 If the student fails to submit a valid excuse to school, he/she will automatically receive an unexcused absence. The executive director must approve or disapprove individual absences in excess of ten days regardless if those absences are lawful, unlawful, or a combination of the two. 

 

Absences: In accordance with State Board Regulation 43-274:

 

Students are considered lawfully absent when:

1. They are ill and their attendance in school would endanger his or her health or the health of others 

2. There is a death or a serious illness in their immediate family - with proper documentation (i.e. bulletin, death notice, obituary, etc) 

3. There is a recognized religious holiday of their faith 

4. The student is suspended from school 

5. There is an absence due to an activity that is pre-approved by the school building principal 

 

Please keep in mind that parent notes are considered excused within the first 5 absences for a semester and 10 for a yearlong course

 

ONLY if the reason for the absence is lawful Students will be considered unlawfully absent when: 

 

1. There is an absence without the knowledge of the parent/guardian

2. There is an absence with the knowledge of the parent/guardian but is not considered a lawful absence If a student misses 3 full-day consecutive unlawful/unexcused days and/or misses a total of 5 or more full-day unexcused absences, then the student is considered truant (South Carolina State Board Regulation 43-274). 

Once a student is determined to be truant, parents/guardians will receive a letter requesting a conference so that an Attendance Intervention Plan (AIP) can be put into place. It is imperative that the school and family collaborate in order to ensure the student’s attendance improves. In the event of continued unlawful absences after the AIP has been held, the child/family may be referred to family Court.

 

Chronic Absenteeism: In accordance with the Office of Civil Rights (OCR), schools are now required to capture the exact amount of instructional time that a student is missing throughout the day. The OCR deems a student to be defined as “chronically absent” when meeting the following: 

Students are considered chronically absent if/when: 

 

1. Any student in grades K-12 who misses 50 percent or more of the instructional day for any reason for 10% or more of the enrollment period 

2. ANY and ALL absences contribute to chronic absenteeism (lawful, unlawful, or suspensions) 

 

High School Credit and Attendance Recovery

High School Credit: Any student enrolled in a high school credit course must not exceed a total of 5 absences in a semester course or 10 absences in a year long course to be awarded high school credit before recapture may be required.

 

High school students must meet academic and attendance requirements. State law requires a minimum of 120 hours of seat time for a one-credit class and 60 hours of seat time for half-credit classes. Any student who accumulates more than five (5) absences in a class is in jeopardy of not receiving credit and may instead be assigned a “Failure due to Absence - FA.”

 

Students will have an opportunity to "recover" missed class time by participating in our Attendance Recovery. Students are expected to complete school work during this time. Students will be required to attend for an hour of seat time for every hour they miss. 

 

Weekly Hours for Attendance Recovery Seat Time:  

  • Monday - Friday: 6:30 a.m. - 7:45 a.m. 

  • Monday - Thursday: 3:15 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

  • Friday: 12:00p.m. - 1:00 p.m.