Authority
Attendance shall be required of all students enrolled in the schools during the days and hours that the school is in session, except that a principal or designee may excuse a student for temporary absences when he or she receives satisfactory evidence of such mental, physical, or other urgent conditions which may reasonably cause the student's absence.
The Board considers the following conditions to constitute reasonable cause of absence from school:

• illness
• quarantine
• recovery from accident
• required court attendance
• death in family
• family educational trips with prior approval of the building principal
• educational tours and trips
• safety hazards or family emergencies

All absences occasioned by the observance of the student's religion on a day approved by the Board as a religious holiday shall be excused, and no student so excused shall be deprived of an award or eligibility to compete for an award or the opportunity to make up a test given on the religious holiday.
Attendance need not always be within the school facilities, but a student will be considered to be in attendance if present at any place where the school is in session by authority of the Board, or at the place where the student is receiving approved tutorial instruction or health care, or at the place where the student is engaged in an approved and properly supervised work-study or career education program, or at home when the student is receiving approved homebound instruction.
The Board shall consider each student assigned to a program of independent study to be in regular attendance for the program, provided that he or she is under the guidance of a staff member so assigned and reports daily to such staff member the place in which he or she is conducting study, and regularly demonstrates progress toward the objectives of the course of study.
Repeated infractions of Board Policy requiring the attendance of enrolled students may constitute such misconduct and disobedience as to warrant the suspension or expulsion of the student from the regular school program.

• It shall be the policy of the Board to consider the effectiveness and appropriateness to the pupil's needs of the educational program that is offered each child who habitually and repeatedly absents himself or herself from such program.
• The Board authorizes the Superintendent to suspend a student from a particular class or from a school in accordance with the policies of the Board, if sincere efforts by the staff and parents cannot rectify the pattern of absence. The Superintendent is authorized to establish the criteria to implement this policy.
  
  The Board shall excuse the following students from the requirements of attendance at the schools of this district:
• on certification by a licensed physician or submission of other satisfactory evidence and on approval of the Department of Education, children who are unable to attend school or apply themselves to study for mental, physical or other reasons so urgent as to preclude regular attendance
• students enrolled in non-public or private schools in which the subjects and activities prescribed by law are taught, except that such students and students attending college who are also enrolled part-time in the school of this district shall be counted as being in attendance in this district
• students 16 or 17 years of age whose enrollments in a private trade or business school have been approved
• children 15 years of age, and 14 years of age who have completed 8th grade, who are engaged in farm work or private domestic service under duly issued permits
• children 16 years of age who, with parental permission, are regularly employed during the school session and hold a lawfully issued employment certificate

The Board shall excuse the following students from the requirement of attendance at the schools of this district when:

• parents request homebound instruction for their children with the recommendation of the school physician or family physician, or
• the school psychologist or psychiatrist so recommend, or
• students are enrolled in state approved special schools

The Board may report to appropriate authorities infractions of the law regarding the attendance of students below the age of 17. The Board shall issue notice to those parents and guardians who fail to comply with the statutory requirements of compulsory attendance that such infractions of the statute will be prosecuted.

Delegation of Responsibility
The Superintendent or designee shall develop procedures for the attendance of students that:

• insure a school session which is in conformity with requirements of the rules of the State Board
• govern the keeping of attendance records in accordance with rules of the State Board
• impose on truant students such incremental disciplinary measures as may be appropriate for infractions of school regulations, but not such penalty as may have an irredeemably negative effect on the student's record beyond that which naturally follows absence from school activities
• identify the habitual truant, investigate the cause(s) of his or her behavior, and consider modification of his or her educational program to meet particular needs and interests
• insure that students absent for any legal reason have an opportunity to make up work they missed
• issue written notice to any parent or guardian who fails to comply with the compulsory attendance statute within three days of any proceeding brought under the statute. Such notice shall inform the parent or guardian of the date(s) on which the absence occurred, that the absence was unexcused and in violation of law, that the parent must be so notified and informed of his or her liability under law for the absence of the student, and that further violation during the school term will be prosecuted without notice
• The Board shall, upon written request of the parents or guardians, release from attendance a student participating in a religious instruction program. Such instruction shall not require the child's absence from school for more than thirty-six (36) hours per school year. The request shall identify and describe the instruction and the dates and hours for which the absence is requested. After each such absence, the parent or guardian shall furnish to the Superintendent or designee a written statement that the child in fact attended the instruction and the dates and hours on which the attendance took place. The Board shall not provide transportation to religious instruction.

The Board will recognize other justifiable absences for part of the school day. These will include:

• verified medical or dental appointments
• verified court appearances
• verified family emergencies
• job interviews and college interviews with prior approval