Attendance Policy & Guidelines

JCSS is striving to improve students' academic success through improved school attendance.

As educators and parents, we all recognize the relationships between daily school attendance, student performance, graduation, and habits in the workplace.  We also know that the amount of time actually spent in class is a good measure of student access to education and ultimate success. Each tardy or absence means a student has lost an opportunity to learn.  Regular attendance is essential if students are to receive the maximum benefits of the instructional program. Excessive absences, tardies, and early checkouts result in the loss of valuable learning time and a decrease in student interest.

Students will be excused from school under the following circumstances:

1. Personal illness or attendance in school endangering a student’s health or the health of others
2. A serious illness or death in a student’s family necessitates an absence.
3. A court order or an order by a government agency, including pre-induction physical examinations for service in the armed forces, mandating absence from school.
4. The observance of religious holidays necessitates absence from school.
5. Conditions rendering attendance impossible or hazardous to students’ health or safety.
6. A scheduled medical, dental, or eye examination of the student.
7. Registering to vote or voting, for a period not to exceed one day.
8. Visiting a parent or legal guardian who is in the military service in the armed forces and has been called to duty or is on leave from overseas deployment to a combat zone or combat support post. The student may be excused for a maximum of 5 days per school year.
9. A death in the student’s family necessitating absence from school. Students are excused for up to 4 days due to a death in immediate family. Students are excused for up to 2 days due to a death in non-immediate family.

Absences are UNEXCUSED for all other reasons, including but not limited to: missing the bus, oversleeping, power outage, vacations, trips, family visits, car trouble, babysitting, running errands, and/or skipping school, etc.

Parents may write notes to the school excusing up to five days of absences per school year without medical documentation. Phone calls will not be accepted.

Parents are permitted to write notes excusing up to 5 days of absences for the school year. Parent notes must be for an excused reason or it will not be accepted. Notes to excuse absences should be turned in no later than 5 days after the absence occurred.