School Attendance

Regular and punctual attendance in school is essential for learning. Regular school attendance benefits a student’s academic progress and social development, and establishes regular habits of dependability important to a student’s future. Students and parents are strongly encouraged to keep student absenteeism to an absolute minimum and should only remain out of school when absolutely necessary. Click below to read about OSSD's Attendance Policies.

Graphic outlining some of the attendance updates for SY27.

OSSD ATTENDANCE POLICIES

Absence Summary

ABSENCE SUMMARY

Regular and punctual attendance is necessary for academic growth.
Students are permitted to have up to five (5) excused absences per semester unless approved by the superintendent or designee. Any absence beyond five (5) is considered an unlawful (unexcused) absence.
1. This includes all excused absences, including parental, admin, and medical.
Of the five (5) excused absences, three of them may be parental-excused.
Students must attend 66% of the school day to be considered present and eligible for extracurricular activities.
After three (3) consecutive absences, students must have a medical excuse or each additional day will be considered an unlawful or unexcused absence.

Mississippi Compulsory School Attendance Law

MISSISSIPPI COMPULSORY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE LAW

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.

Effective July 1, 2026, the Mississippi Compulsory School Attendance Law states:

Students are permitted to have up to five (5) excused absences per semester (three of which can be approved by parent verification) unless approved by the superintendent or designee. Any absence beyond five is considered an unlawful (unexcused) absence.
- This includes all excused absences, including parental, admin, and medical.
Students must attend 66% of the school day to be considered present.
- Students must attend 66% of the school day to be considered eligible for extracurricular activities.
After three (3) consecutive absences, students must have a medical excuse.
Parents not enrolling their student in public school must submit a Certificate of Enrollment to the Mississippi Department of Education by August 15th.
A court petition may be filed at eight unlawful absences.
OSSD must report absences to the State by the close of the next business day of the unlawful absence.

Absence from School

ABSENCE FROM SCHOOL

Regular and punctual attendance in school is essential for learning. Regular school attendance benefits a student’s academic progress and social development, and establishes regular habits of dependability important to a student’s future. Students and parents are strongly encouraged to keep student absenteeism to an absolute minimum. Students should remain out of school only when absolutely necessary.

Reporting an Absence

For each day a child is absent, the parent or guardian must notify the school office by phone, in writing, or in person within two (2) school days of the absence. If notification is not received, the principal or his/her designee will investigate the absence in a timely manner.

Excused Absences

EXCUSED ABSENCES

Excused absences include Parental-Excused, Documented-Excused, Administrative-Excused, and Medical-Excused. Mississippi Law limits students to a total five (5) excused absences per semester, three (3) of which can be Parental-Excused. Any additional absences beyond five must be approved by the superintendent or they are considered unlawful absences.

Parental-Excused Absence

A student is allowed three (3) parental absences per semester. Documented dates must coincide with the actual days of absence. Parents must notify the Attendance Office by phone, in writing, or in person within two (2) school days of the absence. The absence is recorded for school purposes and the student is allowed to make up work and/or tests missed. Absences may be excused according to the Mississippi Compulsory Attendance Law for the following reasons:

The absence results from the attendance of an authorized school activity with the prior approval. Such activities may include field trips, athletic contests, student conventions, musical festivals, and any similar activity.
The absence results from illness or injury which prevents the student from being physically able to attend school.
When isolation of a student is ordered by the County Health Officer or by the State Board of Health.
The death or serious illness of a member of the immediate family of a student. The immediate family member(s) of a student shall include children, spouse, grandparents, parents, brothers, and sisters, including step-brothers and step-sisters.
The absence results from a medical or dental appointment of a student 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.
The absence results from the attendance of a student at the proceedings of a court or administrative tribunal if such child is a party to the action or under subpoena as a witness.
The religion to which the student or the student'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 student.

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 five (5) 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.

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 two (2) days of the absence.

Medical documentation will only be excused 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 (2) days in advance through the online administrative absence link and provide related documentation. Administrative absences will only be approved when all parental absences have been applied for the given semester.

School Business Absence

At the principal's discretion, students may be counted present or excused when they are absent from class due to official school business. These absences will not count against the exemption policy and will be marked as present. This includes, but is not limited to:

Participation in school-sponsored activities.
Field Trips
Athletic Events
Meetings with school staff, counselors, administrators, or nurses.
Testing or academic programs approved by the school
Other activities authorized by the school administration

Students are responsible for making up any missed assignments in accordance with school policy.

Unexcused / Unlawful Absences

UNEXCUSED / UNLAWFUL ABSENCES

If proper documentation is not submitted upon return to school, the absence will be reflected as an unexcused absence. OSSD follows the Mississippi Compulsory School Attendance Law in reported unexcused absences to the County Attendance Offer and the Department of Human Services. A court petition may be filed at eight (8) unexcused absences. An accumulation of eight (8) unexcused absences may be one factor in determining the promotion/retention of a student.

EXCESSIVE ABSENCES

If unexcused absences total three (3) days or more during the 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 students 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.

Make-Up Work

Late Check-In / Early Check-Out

LATE CHECK-IN / EARLY CHECK-OUT

It is in the best interest of the student and the school’s instructional program that all students are in class and ready to begin when the tardy bell rings. Any student who checks in late or checks out early will be responsible for making up all work that was missed. The teacher will provide make-up work to ensure that the student does not fall behind academically.

A student is expected to remain at school throughout the school day except in case of emergency. When early check-out is necessary, the student’s parent/guardian or an adult designated by the parent/guardian on the student’s emergency card must personally sign the student out in the school office.

The time when schools are preparing for dismissal and loading students on buses and into parents’ vehicles is extremely sensitive. Every possible step must be taken to ensure the safe dismissal of all students. Therefore, no student will be called from class for early check-out after the designated cutoff time.

Tardies

TARDIES

A student is considered tardy if he/she is not in his or her classroom when the tardy bell rings. 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.

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.