Exempt & Non-Exempt Absences
EXEMPT & NON-EXEMPT ABSENCES
According to Senate Enrolled Act (SEA) 482, the following are considered excused absences:
Exempt Absences: A student shall NOT be recorded as absent to the state from school for these exceptions. These absences do NOT count towards a student's allowable NINE. Exemptions all start with “E” in attendance codes.
State Statute Exemptions:
Exceptions to compulsory attendance that shall be recognized by the school corporation as provided by state statute are:
A. service as a page or honoree of the general assembly (I.C. 20-33-2-14)
B. service on a precinct election board or helper to a political candidate on the date of an election (I.C. 20-33-2-15)
C. subpoena to appear in court as a witness in a judicial proceeding (I.C. 20-33-2-16)
D. service in active duty with the National Guard for not more than ten (10) days (I.C. 20-33-2-17)
E. participating as a member of the Indiana wing of the Civil Air Patrol for not more than five (5) days (I.C. 20-33-2-17.2)
F. participating in an educationally related non-classroom activity that is consistent with and promotes the educational philosophy and goals of the school corporation, facilitates the attainment of specific educational objectives, is part of the goals and objectives of an approved course or curriculum, represents a unique educational opportunity, cannot reasonably occur without interrupting the school day, and is approved in advance by the school principal (I.C. 20-33-2-17.5)
college visits can be exempt if students submit documentation from the admissions office verifying their visit. Students should submit the note to the main office within 48 hours following their return to school (excluding holidays and weekends).
Please contact the school at least three weeks in advance to obtain the required form for an educational trip related to your studies. This is not needed for college visits.
School-Related: A student who is present in the building but not in class will be classified as an “S” school-related absence.
Non-Exempt Absences:
Local Excused: A student SHALL be recorded as absent to the state from school for these absences. These absences do NOT count towards a student's allowable (9) per semester. Local Excused all start with “L” in attendance codes.
Please submit written documentation to the school within 48 hours of return.
The two student absences that fall into this category are parent-approved - P-PA (parent/guardian called in and verified absence) and unexcused - U-UN (no contact from parent/guardian). Students are allowed up to nine (9) non-exempt/non-locally excused absences in each class per semester. Questions about these absences or the attendance policy should be directed to Shelby Johnson, the administrator in charge of attendance, atThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
Notices:
The safety of our students is of utmost importance. When we have not received notification from a parent or guardian that a student will be absent, the student is considered unexcused.
To help remind parents/guardians, the following will occur for all unexcused absences of three periods or more:
Truancy is the absence from school for all or any single period of the day when the absence is initiated by the student without parental consent, under circumstances not covered by law (I.R. 20-33-2) or recognized by the school. The following circumstances are considered an act of truancy:
* In dealing with truancy, the term “instance of truancy” shall be used with the understanding that this expression defines a period of truancy that may vary in length from one instance to the next.
Consequences:
Skyward Attendance Codes:
The following codes are how absences will be recorded in Skyward, indicating the specific situations:
According to Senate Enrolled Act (SEA) 482, the following are considered excused absences:
Exempt Absences: A student shall NOT be recorded as absent to the state from school for these exceptions. These absences do NOT count towards a student's allowable NINE. Exemptions all start with “E” in attendance codes.
State Statute Exemptions:
Exceptions to compulsory attendance that shall be recognized by the school corporation as provided by state statute are:
A. service as a page or honoree of the general assembly (I.C. 20-33-2-14)
B. service on a precinct election board or helper to a political candidate on the date of an election (I.C. 20-33-2-15)
C. subpoena to appear in court as a witness in a judicial proceeding (I.C. 20-33-2-16)
D. service in active duty with the National Guard for not more than ten (10) days (I.C. 20-33-2-17)
E. participating as a member of the Indiana wing of the Civil Air Patrol for not more than five (5) days (I.C. 20-33-2-17.2)
F. participating in an educationally related non-classroom activity that is consistent with and promotes the educational philosophy and goals of the school corporation, facilitates the attainment of specific educational objectives, is part of the goals and objectives of an approved course or curriculum, represents a unique educational opportunity, cannot reasonably occur without interrupting the school day, and is approved in advance by the school principal (I.C. 20-33-2-17.5)
college visits can be exempt if students submit documentation from the admissions office verifying their visit. Students should submit the note to the main office within 48 hours following their return to school (excluding holidays and weekends).
Please contact the school at least three weeks in advance to obtain the required form for an educational trip related to your studies. This is not needed for college visits.
School-Related: A student who is present in the building but not in class will be classified as an “S” school-related absence.
Non-Exempt Absences:
Local Excused: A student SHALL be recorded as absent to the state from school for these absences. These absences do NOT count towards a student's allowable (9) per semester. Local Excused all start with “L” in attendance codes.
Please submit written documentation to the school within 48 hours of return.
- illness verified by a note from a physician
- recovery from an accident (verified by a physician’s statement)
- professional appointments – Parents are encouraged to schedule medical, dental, legal, and other necessary appointments other than during school hours. When appointments are necessary during the school day, the student shall report back to school immediately after the appointment with a signed statement from the doctor, dentist, lawyer, counselor, etc.
- death in the immediate family
- observation or celebration of a bona fide religious holiday
- military-connected families’ absences related to deployment and return
- school nurse visits
- school or mental health counselor visits
The two student absences that fall into this category are parent-approved - P-PA (parent/guardian called in and verified absence) and unexcused - U-UN (no contact from parent/guardian). Students are allowed up to nine (9) non-exempt/non-locally excused absences in each class per semester. Questions about these absences or the attendance policy should be directed to Shelby Johnson, the administrator in charge of attendance, at
Notices:
- When a student accumulates four (4) non-exempt/non-locally excused absences in any class per semester, Skyward will email parents/guardians and the student.
- When a student accumulates seven (7) non-exempt/non-locally excused absences in any class per semester, Skyward will email parents/guardians and the student.
- When a student accumulates nine (9) non-exempt/non-locally excused absences in any class per semester, an administrator will meet with the student to sign a contract that reviews the attendance policy and consequences for exceeding the number of non-exempt/non-locally excused absences allowed by policy. Skyward will email parents/guardians and the student. A copy of the attendance contract will be emailed to parents/guardians and the student.
- When a student accumulates ten (10) non-exempt/non-locally excused absences in any class per semester, they are considered chronically absent. Students will be required to remain at school from 8:10 a.m. to 3:02 p.m. during final exams. An additional meeting with the student will take place to review the attendance contract, and contact will be made with the parents/guardians.
- Any student with eleven (11) or more non-exempt/non-locally excused absences in a credit class may receive no credit for the course. The student may be removed from class and placed in a study hall.
The safety of our students is of utmost importance. When we have not received notification from a parent or guardian that a student will be absent, the student is considered unexcused.
To help remind parents/guardians, the following will occur for all unexcused absences of three periods or more:
- A mid-morning automated phone call and email will be sent to the primary contact in Skyward, notifying you that your student is absent and we have not received verification.
- If verification still hasn’t occurred, an automated phone call and email will be sent to the primary contact in Skyward after school, notifying you that your student was absent and we have not received verification.
- Three (3) Unexecused Absences: Skyward will email parents/guardians and the student.
- Five (5) Unexecused Absences: The School is required to have an attendance conference with parents/guardians. An Attendance Success Plan will be completed and filed.
- Seven (7) Unexcused Absences: The student may be referred to truancy mediation services through the Tippecanoe County Prosecutor’s Office. An administrator will contact parents/guardians regarding supports discussed in the Attendance Success Plan.
- Ten (10) Unexcused Absences: IC 20-18-2-6.5 defines habitual truancy to include students absent from school for 10 or more days within a school year without being absent under a parental request filed with the school. Habitual Absence (Truancy): IC 20-33-2-25 requires the superintendent or attendance officer to report a student who is habitually absent from school to an intake officer of the juvenile court and/or the Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS).
- Eleven (11+) Unexecused Absences: Any additional unexecused absence will result in additional contacts to an intake officer of the juvenile court and/or the Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS).
Truancy is the absence from school for all or any single period of the day when the absence is initiated by the student without parental consent, under circumstances not covered by law (I.R. 20-33-2) or recognized by the school. The following circumstances are considered an act of truancy:
- The willful non-attendance by a student not to attend school. This act of non-compliance is not authorized and/or known by the parent/guardian.
- A student does not report for an assigned class during the course of a school day.
- A student misrepresents a pass and does not report to a designated location during the school day. An example would be reporting 20-plus minutes late for a class or wandering in the school without reporting promptly to a designated location.
* In dealing with truancy, the term “instance of truancy” shall be used with the understanding that this expression defines a period of truancy that may vary in length from one instance to the next.
Consequences:
- First truancy: The student’s parent(s) or legal guardian(s) will be notified by phone, email, and letter of the student’s truancy. Upon verification of the first truancy, the student will receive two (2) lunch detentions.
- Second truancy: The student’s parent(s) or legal guardian(s) will be notified by phone, email, and letter of the student’s truancy. Upon verification of the second truancy, the student will receive one (1) day of In-School Detention (ISD).
- Third truancy: The student’s parent(s) or legal guardian(s) will be notified by phone, email, and letter of the student’s truancy. Upon verification of the third truancy, the student will receive a 2% grade reduction in the present grading period for each hour declared truant. A conference with the student, the parent(s) or legal guardian(s), and a school administrator.
- Fourth truancy: Upon the fourth truancy, the student will be considered a habitual truant, will receive an Out-of-School suspension, and may be recommended for expulsion to the Superintendent. In addition, for students under the age of 18, the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles will be notified of the expulsion, at which point an Indiana driver’s license may be revoked for the length of the expulsion. (I.C. 9-24-2-4).
Skyward Attendance Codes:
The following codes are how absences will be recorded in Skyward, indicating the specific situations:
- E - Exempt - Does not count as an absence to the state or school.
- S - School Related - Does not count as absence to the state or school.
- L - Locally Excused - Counts as absence with the state, not with the school.
- P - Parent Approved - Counts as an absence with the state and school.
- U - Unexcused - Counts as an absence with the state and school. Also counts as a truancy.
- T - Tardy