Attendance Policy

Attendance/Tardy Policies

Regular school attendance is of the utmost importance. The child’s success in the instructional program is built one day at a time. It is extremely important children arrive at school on time and ready to begin their day. We appreciate the cooperation of parents and guardians in getting their children to school on time and helping to develop positive work habits by emphasizing the importance of being punctual and present each day.

  • The first bell rings at 8:40 a.m. 
  • The tardy bell rings at 8:45 a.m. 
  • Students must be in their seats ready to learn at 8:45 a.m. to be considered on time.

Absences

By Florida law, written excuses are required when a child is absent. On the first day of your child’s absence, please notify the office or teacher.  When your child returns to school, you must send in a signed note that includes the child’s name, the date(s) of the absence, and the reason for the absence. If we do not receive a written excuse, your child’s attendance records will reflect an unexcused absence. We cannot accept faxed or emailed absence notes. The note must be handwritten and received within 24 to 48 hours by the teacher or the office.

The school principal makes the determination whether an absence is excused or unexcused using one of the following categories:

  1. Illness, injury, or other insurmountable condition.  If the student is continually or repeatedly absent from school, the student must be under the supervision of a physician to receive an excuse for the absences.
  2. All medical and dental appointments must have documentation from the doctor’s/dentist’s office.
  3. Death of a member of the student’s immediate family.  Acceptable documentation is a copy of the obituary or funeral program.
  4. Recognized (or established) religious holidays, which is verifiable.
  5. Participation in an approved activity or class of instruction held at another school site.
  6. Up to four (4) days during the school year due to the presence and treatment of head lice (total of four days for the entire school year).

Whether the absence is “beyond the control of the parent” is for the principal to decide. For example, if you choose to take a vacation during the school year, these absences will be considered unexcused.

Please note:  excessive absences must be reported to our Student Services Office and the State Attorney’s Early Truancy Intervention office.

Tardies

The following procedures are in place regarding student tardiness:

  • Students arriving between 8:15 a.m. and 8:40 a.m. are to go directly to the cafeteria for breakfast or their waiting area. Any student arriving after 8:45 a.m. to the classroom is considered tardy.
  • Students arriving after 8:45 a.m. must report to the front office with a parent to sign them in.  They will be given a tardy pass to be admitted to the classroom.
  • Five (5) unexcused absences are the equivalent of one (1) unexcused absence for the purpose of a truancy investigation.

To view the official OCPS Attendance Policy, click on the link below:
22-23 OCPS Attendance Policy