In accordance with the Pasco County School District, our Attendance Policy has been updated to reflect current district requirements. Please review the revised policy below.
Attendance Procedures
All elementary, middle, and high school scholars who are absent will be marked “unexcused” (U) until the parent/guardian notifies the school in writing and justifies the absence with one of the acceptable reasons as defined below:
- Failure to do so within three (3) school days will cause the absence to be recorded as “unexcused”.
- In the case of excessive or extended absences, which are claimed to be due to illness, upon request of the dean or designee, a parent must provide documentation (doctor’s statement) of a scholar’s illness.
- Excessive or extended absences are considered three (3) consecutive days, five (5) in one calendar month, or ten (10) in a 90-calendar-day period.
- A history of excessive absences per period as defined in Scholar Consequences for Unexcused Absences. Absences that meet this threshold as defined above will require a doctor’s note. If doctor’s notes are not provided, absences will be marked as unexcused.
For the purposes of attendance, the following definitions apply:
- Major Illness is defined as any life altering accident/diagnosis.
- Immediate family includes but is not limited to, parents, child, siblings, legal guardians, caregiver, or a member of one’s own household.
Reasons for acceptable (excused) absences include but are not limited to:
- Illness of scholar.
- Major illness in the immediate family of the scholar.
- Death in the immediate family of the scholar.
- Religious holiday of the scholar’s faith (including Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah, Epiphany, etc.).
- Religious instruction (including Bar/Bat Mitzvah, Confirmation, etc.).
- Religious institutes, conferences, workshops, provided that the principal or designee approves the absence in advance.
- Absences for trips or other parental requests.
- Requests must be approved in writing by the principal or designee, at least one (1) week in advance.
- Only 5 days per year will be excused.
- In-school or out-of-school suspension.
- Subpoena or forced absence by any law enforcement agency, a copy of the subpoena or court summons must be submitted to the school.
- For purposes of attendance, school-related activities would not be counted as absences from school.
- Issues and occasions specific to military families.
Tardiness and Early Checkout
Scholars need to arrive on time and stay through dismissal for each and every class period to receive important directions, class instruction, upcoming testing information, and to avoid disrupting other scholars’ learning. Parents can set a good example by encouraging scholars to follow the school’s time schedule and to follow the procedures found in the school handbook for late arrivals and early checkout. All parents must report to the front office when picking up their child prior to the regular dismissal time.
A scholar is considered tardy when they are not inside their assigned location at the official start of the scheduled instructional period. Assigned locations can include the classroom, cafeteria, media center, auditorium, testing room, or any location as determined by school personnel. Tardiness typically involves short delays in arrival caused by manageable factors such as socializing, moving slowly between classes, stopping at lockers, or taking longer than expected during designated transitions.
