Report Absence
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Reporting Absences
Consistent attendance is a critical factor in academic success. All absences must be verified with a parental note, phone call, fax, e-mail or other form of official documentation such as a physician’s note or a court summons. Any absence deemed unlawful as established by the Maryland State Department of Education, will be subject to disciplinary action ranging from after school detention to Saturday School and/or in-school intervention. Students must be present in school to participate in classroom instructional activities that are vital to the educational program for all students. Local employers also place emphasis on attendance records of their employees. Preparing students for the world of work, which Carroll County Public Schools view as one of their roles, includes an expectation of regular attendance. Absences from school that are considered lawful by the State of Maryland and therefore excused include death in the immediate family, illness of the student, observance of a religious holiday, court summons, and suspension of the student. An absence for any portion of the day, for any reason other than those determined to be lawful by CCPS is presumed to be unlawful and may constitute truancy. Any absence deemed to be unlawful will be subject to disciplinary action ranging from after school detention to Saturday School and/or in-school intervention. State law requires an official verification of a student’s absence by a parent/guardian. Whenever a student is absent, a parent/guardian should call the attendance line at 410-751-3323, email fskattendance@carrollk12.org, or fax 410-751-3325 by 8:45am to report the reason for the absence. A parent/guardian may also verify a student’s absence by sending in a written note with their student when they return to school. Verification notifications should include the student’s full name, date(s) of absence(s), reason for absence along with the parent/guardian’s signature. If no communication verifying a student’s absence is received after five (5) days, an unlawful code will be assigned to the absence. Excessive unlawful absences may result in the loss of driving privileges for those students who currently drive to school, and could jeopardize any future requests for a parking permit.
Tardy to School
Students who arrive after 7:30am will be recorded tardy to school. Those students who are late to school should report to the Attendance window for a tardy note. Tardiness resulting from a morning medical or dental appointment must be substantiated by a note from the physician or dentist office. Tardiness resulting from a court summons must be substantiated by presenting a copy of the summons. Tardiness resulting from a recognized school activity must be verified by the appropriate school official. Students tardy to school on the day they are to participate in extracurricular activities must submit a note from a doctor or the court, or they will be ineligible to participate in the activity (Refer to “Eligibility Policy” in the CCPS Student/Parent Handbook). Tardiness for any other reason must be documented. Only excuses recognized as lawful by the State of Maryland will be excused. Failure to bring appropriate documentation when a student is late to school will result in the tardiness being designated as unexcused. Missing the bus, oversleeping and car problems are not lawful reasons for tardiness to school. Consequences for unexcused tardies to school are: 1st Tardy – Warning, 2nd tardy – Warning with parent notification, 3rd Tardy and subsequent tardies during a 9 week marking period – Lunch Detention. Disciplinary action will be taken by the Main Office staff and administrators to address the issue of late arrivals to school. This discipline may include loss of driving privileges for those students who currently drive to school, and could jeopardize any future requests for a parking permit.
Leaving School Early
The school day for students will begin when they arrive on school property. Students are not allowed to leave school or the school grounds during the school day without official authorization. Permission to leave the school grounds during the school day will be granted only if a note, email, phone call or fax is received from the student’s parent/guardian and includes student’s name, reason for the excuse, date of excuse, time to leave school premises, telephone number to reach parent/guardian and signature of parent/guardian. Parents are encouraged to keep medical and dental appointments during school hours to a minimum. Students should bring requests for early dismissal before school to the cafeteria on the day of the dismissal between 7:15am and 7:25am. Excuses to leave school, which do not meet “Lawful Causes of Absence,” will be identified as unlawful in the attendance recording system. Students who have an early release from school but are present for over 3.5 hours will be marked as being present for a full day. Students that are present under 3.5 hours will be charged with a ½ day absence. Students must report to the Attendance Secretary and follow the sign-in/sign-out procedures before leaving and/or returning to school. Students are not permitted to leave school property during the school day without following the above procedure. Students leaving school for reasons other than medical or approved appointment reasons are considered attendance ineligible for that day.
Absences for Family Travel
It is strongly recommended that parents plan vacation times when school is not regularly in session. It is recognized that occasionally students are absent for necessary or important family activities. Absences for family travel/activities will be coded lawful and students will be permitted to make up missed work provided they provide a note from their parent/guardian explaining the circumstances along with dates of the absence(s), and fill out and return the Vacation Approval form (with teachers’ and administrator signatures) to the Attendance Secretary before the absence. Both students and parents need to understand that some loss of learning opportunity is likely when students miss school for family travel. For example, some school work such as class participation/discussion or laboratory experiments is difficult, if not impossible, to make up and, therefore, may have a negative impact on a student’s grade. Parents of students already having excessive absences and poor grades need to understand the implications of any extended absences. The last day of school for the 2021-2022 school year is Friday, June 10th. However, with only 3 snow days, it is expected that we will be in school the week of June 13th. Students are expected to be in school if the year is extended and families are asked to not plan vacations the week of June 13th. Parents are encouraged to consult the school calendar when planning vacations as no exams will be given early. The Board of Education recognizes that participation in outside organizations such as 4-H, Boy Scouts, etc., provide valuable learning experiences. Absences for these activities may qualify as lawful. Parents should discuss specific situations with an administrator at least one week prior to the absence. Students absent due to family travel activities are still subject to the “Carroll County High School Attendance Statement” and denial of credit guidelines.
College Visits
Students will be allowed three (3) days for college visits with no absence charged. Prior completion of a College Visitation Form in advance of the visit is required for “no absence” eligibility. The form must be signed by the student, parent, counselor and teachers. Once completed, please turn the form into the Attendance Secretary.
Tardy to Class
Student have five (5) minutes passing time between classes. If delay is unavoidable, the student is to have, from the preceding teacher, a written pass that states the reason for being tardy. The following are the consequences for students who are tardy to class: 1st Tardy - Warning, 2nd Tardy - Warning with parent notification, 3rd Tardy - Teacher assigns one (1) hour after school detention and contacts parent, and 4th and all subsequent tardies during a 9 week marking period - Referral to an administrator. *Note: Teachers are asked to arrange a time with the student for the detention to be served within a 2-week period. If a student fails to serve a teacher assigned detention, the teacher shall double the detention time to 2 hours. If the student fails to serve the two hours, the teacher should refer the student to an administrator for consequences. All students who leave classrooms while classes are in session must have a pass​.
Learner’s Permit Attendance Form
Maryland State Law requires all applicants for a learner's permit, under the age of 16, to demonstrate acceptable school attendance in the prior school semester. For more information, refer to the MVA Website www.MVA.Maryland.gov. To download the Maryland MVA Learner’s Permit School Attendance Certification form (DL-300), please click here. Students may also pick up a form from the main office.
Prior to obtaining a permit, the school must verify the student’s attendance. Please complete the form before submitting it to the school for verification. Due to the complexity of the expectations on the school’s part, the attendance cannot be verified on a drop-in basis. We ask parents to allow the school 24 hours to compile the attendance information and complete the form. We thank you in advance for your cooperation!