REPORT AN ABSENCE
Reporting Absences
Yearly cumulative attendance is reflected on student transcripts.
It is important that we hear from a parent/guardian if a student will be:
- arriving more than 15 minutes late to school (LATE ARRIVAL- sign in at the main office)
- absent an entire day (FULL DAY ABSENCE)
- leaving early from school (EARLY DISMISSAL- sign out at the main office)
Failure to report such attendance related information within 72 hours of the absence date, will result in the student being Truant (unexcused/unexplained and absent).
Choose one of the following methods to report an absence:
- Full Day Absence Reporting Form (2023-2024)
- *NEW* Late Arrival/Early Dismissal Permission Form (2023-2024)-
**Early Dismissals**: Please direct your student to go to the main office during passing time (before the time they have to leave) to get a pre-filled pass excusing them to leave class at that time. This will allow instruction in the class to continue without being interrupted by a phone call to dismiss a student. - Absence Voicemail Box: 734.401.4387- Leave a clear and detailed message that includes: Student First & Last Name, Date of Absence, Reason for Absence, Name of the Person Reporting the Absence
Due the high volume of absences each day, please allow 24-48 hours for attendance to be updated in PowerSchool before contacting the office. If there is specific information that our administrative, teaching, special education, counseling or nursing staff need to be aware of, please communicate important information directly to them.
Medically Excused Absences (M)
Absences due to medical appointments or reasons, when accompanied by a doctor's note, will be adjusted in PowerSchool to (M) for medically excused once a doctor’s note has been submitted. Students may submit a hard copy of medical notes/dental notes to the High School Attendance desk or upload a copy using the Medical Note Submission Form. If there is specific information that our administrative, teaching, special education, counseling or nursing staff need to be aware of, please communicate important information directly to them.
Make Up Classwork: Students are awarded the same number of days they were absent to make up missed assignments, providing the absence(s) are excused.
Family Trips/Activities/Vacations (3 or more days absent)
It should be noted that absences of this nature should be judiciously used. Students experiencing difficulty in school will be in danger of compounding their problem by taking non-essential absences.
When a student’s personal or family activities (this includes college visitations, military visitations, weddings, etc.) are not planned to coincide with regularly scheduled school vacation dates, the following guidelines will be followed:
If a family trip or student trip is going to be three (3) days or more of school time, the parent will need to notify the school. Approval of administration or designee is required prior to the absence. Please contact Jen Barnard, Dean of Students.
- Work missed because of an excused absence may be allowed, but without direct assistance of the teacher(s). Students should attempt to meet with the teacher before or after school.
- Assignments or activities, such as projects, labs, pop quizzes, etc. (that cannot be duplicated) may not be allowed for make-up; however, a substitute assignment must be offered.
Additional Attendance & Absence Information
Michigan law requires that whoever has custody or charge of any child between ages 6 and 18 (unless the child has already completed high school graduation requirements) shall assure that the child attends public school during the entire school year. Michigan law requires that the student's attendance be continuous and consecutive for the school year fixed by the school district. (MCL 380.1561)
Students are allowed up to 7 absences per class, per trimester. Excused "A" and Unexcused "U" Absences count toward this total. When a student is absent for 10% of the total school year for any reason, including excused absences. Students are considered chronically absent when any one or more of the following occur:
- missing 3 days of school in first month of the year
- missing 7-8 days of school in the first half of the year
- missing 21 or more days in the entire school year
Truant: When a student has 10 or more unexcused absences (U) at any point in the year.
Continuing and excessive absenteeism from school, except for reasons of medical impairment (accompanied by a medical note) or any similarly excusable condition, shall be considered truancy and/or educational neglect. Such instances shall be referred to Probation/Case Worker Diversion, Consent & Chronic Absenteeism Prevention, Education & Permanency Team through Washtenaw County.
Here to help- please don’t hesitate to contact me with questions!
For more information, please contact: Jen Barnard, Dean of Students at barnardj@salineschools.org, 734-401-4260.
