Attendance Information
In this section:
The OSSD BOT is committed to providing the students of OSSD with a performance-based educational program. The BOT believes that all children can learn and that their daily attendance enhances the educational process. Therefore, in accordance with MS Code § 37-13-91, OSSD shall enforce the Mississippi Compulsory School Attendance Law and shall apply the same standards to all students as described in OSSD BOT Policy JBA - Compulsory School Attendance/School Age.
"Compulsory-school-age children" means a child who has attained or will attain the age of six (6) years on or before September 1, of the calendar year. An "unlawful absence" is an absence during a school day by a compulsory school-age child and is not due to a valid excuse for temporary nonattendance.
Parents or guardians of any child enrolled in a full-day public school kindergarten program cannot withdraw the child from the program on a one-time basis as before. They are considered compulsory upon enrollment in the program and must abide by the law. If the child is withdrawn, the child must be enrolled in home or private school.
Each of the following shall constitute a valid excuse for temporary nonattendance of a compulsory school-age child enrolled in school, provided satisfactory evidence of the excuse is provided to the superintendent of the school district or his/her designee.
- An absence is excused when the absence results from the compulsory school-age child's attendance of an authorized school activity with the prior approval of the superintendent of the school district or his/her designee. Such activities may include field trips, athletic contests, student conventions, musical festivals, and any similar activity.
- An absence is excused when the absence results from illness or injury which prevents the compulsory-school-age child from being physically able to attend school.
- An absence is excused when isolation of a compulsory-school-age child is ordered by the County Health Officer or by the State Board of Health.
- An absence is excused when it results from the death or serious illness of a member of the immediate family of a compulsory-school-age child. The immediate family member(s) of a compulsory-school-age child shall include children, spouse, grandparents, parents, brothers, and sisters, including step-brothers and step-sisters.
- An absence is excused when it results from a medical or dental appointment of a compulsory-school-age child where the approval of the superintendent of OSSD or his/her designee is gained prior to the absence, except in the case of an emergency.
- An absence is excused when it results from the attendance of a compulsory-school-age child at the proceedings of a court or administrative tribunal if such child is a party to the action or under subpoena as a witness.
- An absence may be excused if the religion to which the compulsory-school-age child or such child's parents adheres requires or suggests the observance of a religious event. The approval of such absence is within the discretion of the superintendent or his/her designee, but approval should be granted unless the religion's observance is of such duration as to interfere with the education of the child.
- An absence may be excused when it is demonstrated to the satisfaction of the superintendent of the OSSD or his/her designee that the purpose of the absence is to take advantage of a valid educational opportunity such as travel including vacations or other family travel. Approval of such absence must be gained from the superintendent of OSSD or his/her designee prior to the absence but such approval shall not be unreasonably withheld.
- An absence may be excused when it is demonstrated to the satisfaction of the superintendent or his/her designee that conditions are sufficient to warrant the compulsory-school-age child's non-attendance.
Any parent, guardian, or custodian of a compulsory-school-age child subject to the provisions of this policy who refuses or willfully fails to perform any of the duties imposed upon him or her under the provisions of this policy, or who intentionally falsified any information required to be contained in a certificate enrollment will be guilty of contributing to the neglect of a child and, upon conviction, shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of MS Code §97-5-39.
If a compulsory-school-age child has not been enrolled in a school within fifteen (15) calendar days after the first day of the school year of the school which such child is eligible to attend or such child has accumulated ten (10) unlawful absences during the school year, the principal or school superintendent shall report such absences to the school attendance officer of the youth court or family court. The Compulsory School Attendance Law states that every child who has not reached the age of 17 years prior to September 1 of that school year SHALL be enrolled and regularly attend school.
- AEC
- K-3
- OSHS
- OSMS
- OSUE
A school year is composed of two terms. The fall term lasts from the beginning of school until December 16th. The spring term lasts from January 5 until the end of school. Each term is composed of two quarters; 1st and 2nd quarters in the fall and 3rd and 4th quarters in the spring. Each day’s schedule is composed of four (4) blocks (sometimes called periods). Generally, courses which last a full block for a term receive 1.0 Carnegie unit and courses which last a full block for only a quarter receive 0.5 Carnegie unit.
Upon arrival (8:05 a.m. - 8:26 a.m.) all students will enter through SE or SW gates. Students are not to be dropped off at the main entrance before 8:30 a.m. Student drop off is on the west side of the school by the band hall. Students who are dropped off after 8:30 a.m. must enter through the main entrance. After 8:30, gates will be closed and students parking on campus may only enter through double doors by CTE (South Building). Once students have entered campus, they will not be permitted to leave without permission.
Any student caught leaving campus without proof of checking out, will receive disciplinary consequences. Any student, who assists another student in entering or exiting an unauthorized area of OSHS campus, will also be subject to disciplinary consequences.
- OSHS
Regular and punctual attendance on the part of all students is necessary for successful accomplishment at OSHS. Therefore, it is important that parents not only encourage their students to attend school regularly but also that the students be punctual. Also, only in unavoidable cases should a student be taken out of school before the close of the school day. In order for a student to be considered as having attended school for a full day, the OSSD BOT Policy JBD - Attendance, Tardiness, and Excuses specifies that each student must be present for 63% of his or her individual instructional day as fixed by the OSSD BOT. For purposes of reporting absenteeism, a student who has an absence that is more than thirty-seven percent (37%) of the student’s instructional day, as fixed by the BOT for the school at which the student is enrolled, shall be considered absent the entire school day.
NOTE: To reach 63% of the day, a student must arrive at the start of the day and stay until 1:40 p.m. Conversely, a student must check in by 11:30 a.m. and stay for the remainder of the day to reach 63% attendance.
Reporting an Absence
Each day a child is not in school, the parent must notify the OSHS Attendance Office by phone, in writing, or in person that the student will be absent. If notification is not received, the principal or his/her designee will investigate the absence in a timely manner. Parents may report an absence by calling the OSHS Attendance Office at (228) 875-1878.
- OSHS
An absence that is verified by the parent/guardian and for which the cause is listed in the Mississippi Compulsory School Attendance Law is considered excused. However, having the absence excused by the parent/guardian’s call does not automatically protect the absence from counting toward the student’s loss of credit. For clarification purposes, excused absences are divided into four categories:
Parental-Excused Absence
A student is allowed two parental absences per nine-week grading period. Documented dates must coincide with the actual days of absence. Parents must notify the Attendance Office by phone, in writing, or in person no later than the day the student returns. The absence is recorded for school purposes and the student is allowed to make up work and/or tests missed.
Documented-Excused Absence
The absence is verified by the parent/guardian and is excused by written documentation such as a doctor’s excuse, legal order, religious holiday verification, etc. The absence is recorded for school purposes and the student is allowed to make up work and/or tests missed. Documentation must be received within 2 days of the absence. The doctor’s office can fax or scan and email the excuse to the school. The school fax number is (228) 875-7404. The scan and email can be sent to our school attendance clerk.
Medical documentation will only be excused for a full day if the excuse indicates it to be a full day. If the doctor’s excuse indicates beginning and ending times, the excuse may only be accepted for those times, not the entire day. The doctor’s office can fax or scan and email the excuse to the school. The scan and email can be sent to the school attendance clerk.
Administrative-Excused Absence
Administrative absence designation is used to cover special situations which include college visits, funerals, graduations, and certain school-related activities. Parents must request this absence two days in advance through the online administrative absence link and provide related documentation. Administrative absences will only be approved for a maximum of five days and will be utilized after parental absences have been applied except for funerals and college visits. Final approval for an Administrative Absence will not be recorded until all steps have been completed.
- Situation 1: College Visit/funeral - Student will receive Administrative Absence, Exemption status will not be impacted.
- Situation 2: For family trip/sporting event/church event and/or other absences as deemed appropriate by the Principal, Parental absence will be applied prior to administrative absences being granted. These absences will count towards the overall exemption status. (Please refer to the Exemption Procedures section for more information).
School-Sponsored Activity-Excused Absence
The student is excused for a school-sponsored activity when her/his teacher approves the absence in advance. The student is allowed to make up work and/or tests missed. The teacher/sponsor will provide a complete list of names to the attendance office and to each teacher of those students whose absence is school-sponsored.
When a student is absent from school, the number of days allowed to complete any required make-up work is equivalent to the number of days missed to a maximum of five (5) days. For example, for excused absences, if a student is absent for one (1) day, the student has one (1) day to complete the required make-up assignments. If the student is absent for five (5) days, he/she will have five (5) days to complete this/her make-up work. If a student is absent for seven (7) days, the student has five (5) days to complete the missed work. The teacher may require an alternate assignment for missed work.
These absences are limited in number, however, so the student must choose judiciously concerning school-sponsored absences. The teacher/sponsor will provide a complete list of names to the attendance office and to each teacher of those students whose absence is school-sponsored.
Parents may report an absence by calling the OSHS Attendance Office at (228) 875-1878.
- OSHS
- Regular and punctual attendance is necessary for academic growth.
- A student is allowed only two parental absences per nine-week period. The office must be notified by the parent prior to or on the day of absence for the absence to be considered an excused absence.
- All other absences require medical or legal documentation for the absence to be considered excused. Documentation must be submitted to the school office or to the student’s teacher prior to the absence or within 2 days of the student’s return to school.
- AEC
- K-3
- OSHS
- OSMS
- OSUE
If parental, medical, or legal documentation is not presented as required, the absence shall be considered unexcused. The result of an unexcused absence is that the student will receive an Incomplete and grade of a 0 for any work on the day of the unexcused absence/s. Ocean Springs School District follows the Compulsory School Attendance Law in reporting unexcused absences to the County Attendance Officer and the Department of Human Services.
An accumulation of unexcused absences may be one factor in determining promotion/retention of a student. Students with excessive unexcused absences may be referred to MTSS. At the discretion of the Principal, flexibility to allow students to make up missed assignments may be authorized.
- OSHS
If unexcused absences total ten (10) days or more during the school year (not semester), the student may be referred to the MTSS committee and will proceed with the following:
- Investigate the reasons for the excessive absences.
- Meet with parent(s) and student to resolve the attendance problem.
Once truancy has been filed, all further actions reside with the Judge of Juvenile Court. School commences at the official time posted on the school bell schedule elsewhere in this handbook.
- OSHS
When a student is absent from school for an approved/administrative/excused absence, the number of days allowed to complete any required make-up work is equivalent to the number of days missed to a maximum of five (5) days. For example, if a student is absent for one (1) day, the student has one (1) day to complete the required make-up assignments. If the student is absent for five (5) days, he/she will have five (5) days to complete this/her make-up work. If a student is absent for seven (7) days, the student has five (5) days to complete the missed work. The teacher may require an alternate assignment for missed work. The principal has the discretion to allow additional time or limit the number of required assignments in extreme situations.
Extended Make-Up Work Guidelines
During the course of the school year, students may become sick and unable to attend class. Regular class attendance is extremely important for the academic well-being of students. If your child cannot attend school, learning should continue (to the degree possible under the circumstances) during his or her absence. If your child is absent from school for one or two days, he/she should contact the teacher upon return for missed assignments.
Assignments must be made up as previously stated in order for students to receive credit during the excused absence. If a student misses one or more days of an exam schedule (due to an excused absence), the student must make arrangements to make up the exams. An exam grade of “zero” will temporarily be recorded until the exams are made up. Exams must be made up within two days after the student returns to campus, but teachers may extend this make-up period due to unusual or extreme circumstances. Any exam not made up within the timeframe will be permanently recorded as a “zero.” Exams may not be taken early.
Absences from classes that happen as part of official, school-sponsored events (such as field trips) are not counted as absences. In these cases, students should coordinate with their teachers in advance to ensure that assignments are obtained, work is completed, and learning continues.
- OSHS
Students who check-in to school later than 35 minutes after the tardy bell will be considered to be absent from that class. This will be listed as an unexcused absence unless the absence that is verified by the parent in person or by phone, or by written documentation from a doctor, lawyer, etc., and for which the cause is listed in the Mississippi Compulsory School Attendance Law is considered excused. The late check-in absence will be unexcused if the absence is not verified by the parent/guardian, if the student has exceeded two allowed parental absences, or if the student does not have written documentation at the time of check-in.
Students must report to the front office if they arrive on campus after any tardy bell.
- OSHS
Under normal circumstances, once a student arrives on school grounds, the student, regardless of age, is to remain throughout the entire day. Sometimes, however, it is necessary for parents to check students out of school prior to the end of the school day. Excessive checkouts interrupt instruction. Please note that two (2) checkouts per quarter are considered excessive interruption of instruction. Checkouts are not permitted after 3:30.
The following procedure will be followed when it becomes necessary to check a student out of school prior to the end of the school day. OSHS utilizes an online checkout form which can be accessed on our website.
- The parent/guardian must complete the online student checkout form before any student will be allowed to check out. The online checkout form may be completed off-campus on any computer (connected to internet)/mobile device or on a kiosk located in the foyer of the high school’s main entrance. The parent/guardian may also designate another adult to check out their student. The designee must be an adult at least 21 years of age, or be an immediate family member who is at least 18 and not enrolled at OSHS. The designee must be on the emergency contact list and be verified by school personnel. If a parent/guardian is coming to campus to checkout the student, a picture identification is required. If a parent/guardian is not coming to campus to checkout the student, a picture identification must be uploaded into the online checkout form.
- The attendance clerk will lookup the parent/guardian number in PowerSchool and call to verify that the student’s parent/guardian were the ones that submitted the checkout request. The parent/guardian must be available to answer this call from the attendance clerk. If verification cannot be obtained from the parent/guardian, the student may not check out.If the online checkout form is completed on campus at the kiosk, the attendance clerk will ask parent/guardian to verify themselves through the window with a picture identification. Once verified, the attendance clerk will proceed to step three.
- If the student is being checked out immediately, the student will be summoned to the attendance office by an attendance clerk. If the student is to be checked out at a predetermined time, the student must come by the attendance office prior to the designated time and obtain a pass to leave class at the designated check out time.
- The online checkout form will only be available daily from 8:00am - 11:00am. No online checkouts will be processed after 11:00am. For example, if a parent wants their child to checkout at 2:00 p.m. on Monday he/she must complete the online checkout form before 11:00 a.m. on that same day. If the parents completes a checkout at 12:30 p.m. that day, the online checkout will not be processed and the parent or guardian in PowerSchool must come to school and checkout the student.
Students who leave campus during the school day without properly checking out are considered truant. Failure by the student to adhere to the check out procedures as listed above will result in the student being placed on Step 2 of the Discipline Ladder and may result in the loss of parking privileges. School-wide activities are considered part of the overall OSHS curriculum. Any student that checks out during these activities will be counted absent during their respective release period. This absence will count against attendance and test exemptions.
- OSHS
With the realization that many seniors will graduate with numerous credits exceeding the state and the local district’s required number, an early release / late arrival program is in place for seniors. Parental consent is required and the obligation rests with the student to complete the entire process before the student will be considered for this privilege. Final approval will be determined by the principal. Every senior must be enrolled in a minimum of 2 consecutive classes per term while at OSHS. Additional requirements above the 24 Carnegie units and the assessment requirements include: For early release / late arrival, students must meet one of the following two options:
Option 1
- English ACT 17 and Math ACT 19 OR earn a Silver level on the ACT WorkKeys
Option 2
For seniors that have not met the benchmarks, to qualify for early release / late arrival students must meet the following:
- Have a GPA of 2.5
- Have passed US History, Biology, Eng 2, and Alg 1 state tests
- On track to meet graduation requirements
- Students that have not met ACT Benchmarks have to request to be enrolled in Essentials to College Literacy (must have 15-18 on ACT English to enroll) OR Essentials to College Algebra (must have 15-18 on ACT math to enroll) OR another higher-level mathematics course and/or another higher-level English Language Arts course OR enrolled/earned credit for Comp. 1 and/or College Algebra.
- Students concurrently enrolled in the appropriate SREB Math Ready or Essentials for College Math and/or SREB Literacy Ready or Essentials for College Literacy Students who are granted Early Release / late arrival need to remain on campus until the beginning of the fourth block.
- Students who leave campus without permission may be subject to disciplinary action and may lose the Early Release / late arrival privilege.
- Unless properly checked out, students who have early release / late arrival must stay through the end of their scheduled school day. This means that students who have early release / late arrival of the fourth block must stay until the end of the third block, even if they have a third lunch.
- OSHS
Punctual daily attendance is necessary for student success. Being on time ensures that the student is properly accounted for in the morning attendance report and allows the student to hear important morning announcements. Punctuality by all students prevents disruptions for the teacher and other students in the class. Parents who provide transportation for their child to school are encouraged to consider possible traffic congestion as well as inclement weather conditions in developing a schedule to make sure the student arrives no later than 8:15 a.m. Tardies to school caused by any of the following reasons shall be excused. All other tardies shall be considered unexcused. Reasons to be accepted for an excused tardy include:
- school transportation or other school-related actions,
- medical or dental appointments if accompanied by a written excuse from the physician, dentist, or other medical personnel, and
- special circumstances in accordance with the Mississippi Compulsory School Attendance Law and deemed acceptable by the principal or her designee.
School commences at the official time posted on the school bell schedule elsewhere in this handbook. If the student has a written medical or legal excuse, the tardy will be considered excused. When tardy, a student who reports to class within five minutes of the tardy bell will be considered tardy. Students who report to class more than five minutes after the tardy bell until 35 minutes after the tardy bell will receive a tardy and will also be considered as out of bounds. Students who report to class later than 35 minutes after the tardy bell will be considered to be cutting class and unexcused absent for the class.
The principal or designee will investigate excessive tardiness. Excessive tardiness is considered more than five tardies in a nine-week period. Administrative action, including referral to the County Attendance Officer and/or Child Protective Services, may be taken.
Tardy to Class Consequences
| 1st Tardy |
1st Warning
|
|---|---|
| 2nd Tardy |
2nd Warning
|
| 3rd Tardy |
1 day of After-school Detention
|
| 4th Tardy |
1 day of ISI & parking privileges may be revoked for the remainder of the 9 weeks
|
| 5th Tardy |
3 days of ISI, revocation of driving privileges (if applicable), and implementation of a TSP
|
| 6th Tardy |
1 day of OCS
|
| 7th Tardy & Up |
3 days of OCS
|
- OSHS
Any absence is considered truancy if:
- The parent/guardian was not aware that the student was absent;
- The parent/guardian was aware but chose not to excuse, or
- The reason for the absence is not a valid excuse for temporary nonattendance according to the state’s Compulsory Attendance Law.
The absence is recorded as an unexcused absence. The student is not allowed to make up work or tests missed. Cutting school or class is truancy. A student will be placed on Step 2 of the Discipline Ladder (3 to 9 days ISI) for the first act of truancy. Subsequent acts of truancy will result in a more severe penalty.
- OSHS