Missouri Compulsory Attendance Law requires all students of ages 7-17 to be in regular attendance. Excessive absences will be referred to the respective county juvenile office after the parent/guardian has been notified of the student’s activities and given a chance to improve the situation. The responsibility for school attendance and promptness to class is that of the student. The parent/guardian and the school shall share the cultivation of these attributes.

The following procedures have been established for students attending school at Lakeland R-III:

• To earn credit for a course or become eligible for promotion to the next grade-level, a student must have an attendance rate of 95% or better in each course. Any student missing more than five (5) school days in a particular course during a semester must make-up the time missed. A full school day of being absent would equate to 6.5 hours to be recovered. Students failing to recover attendance time will not receive credit for the course(s).

• Students in attendance 97%-100% of the time are exempt from all final exams each semester. Students in attendance 95-96% of the time each semester are exempt from 3 finals of their choosing. Students in attendance 93-94% of the time each semester are exempt from one final of their choosing.

• Seniors must recover all missed attendance time by 3:30 pm the day before graduation in order to walk at graduation.

• Classifications of absences:

  • The following do not count towards the five (5) days a semester include: school-sponsored activities, school approved college days, funerals, school nurse holds the student from attending school, home-bound services, OSS (up to 10 days), long-term doctor’s care (with documentation), and hospitalizations of two (2) or more days.

  • The following do count towards the five (5) days a semester and must be made up: doctor and dentist appointments, driver’s permit and/or license testing, truancies, prearranged absences such as family trips, and any other call-in reasons parents would excuse their student from school.

  • School administration makes the final decision for classification of absences.

• Any time that has been missed can be recovered through the following methods:

  • Super Saturdays from 9am-Noon

  • After School Credit Recovery (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 3;30pm-5:30pm)

  • Summer School attendance

  • Tutoring before or after school

  • Community service: students may also recover up to 3 days (19.5 hours)

    • Community service must be unpaid, unrelated to any legal or school discipline, and completed and submitted to the principal within the same deadlines as all other recovery methods. Signed documentation must be submitted from the community service supervisor including the number of hours served, what the student did during the time, and contact information of the supervisor.

• Students may serve their time early by attending any of the recovery methods, especially when they know they will miss school for prearranged absences at a later time such as doctor’s appointments, family vacations, etc.

• Truancy: Any student who is absent from school without parent or administration approval will be considered truant. Students will not be allowed to make up their work when truant. In addition, truant students will be referred for discipline. See Page 21 for consequences of truancy.

• When a student is absent except for a school activity, the following procedures will be followed:

  • If a student is absent from school, one of the student’s parents should call the school before 9:00 AM or soon thereafter. Parents are to inform the school of the reason for the student’s absence.

  • A student not in attendance for at least 4 consecutive full class periods will not be allowed to attend or participate in extra-curricular activities unless excused by the principal.

MAKE-UP WORK AFTER AN ABSENCE

1. Students will have the same number of school days they were absent to complete make-up work unless they are counted truant. It is the responsibility of the student to obtain information from the teacher regarding missed work and to turn make-up work in on time. Make-up work not completed during the allotted time will be recorded as a zero.

2. Assignments or tests which were announced prior to the student’s absence will be due the day the student returns to school, even if the class does not meet that day. Students who know in advance that they will be absent (family vacation, school activity) will be required to complete assignments before the absence.

3. Students who are suspended out of school (OSS) may make up all assignments from home provided the student also completes 3 hours of community service for each day the student is suspended out of school. Documentation of community service including the number of hours served, contact information for the supervisor, and a description of services completed is due within 5 school days of returning to school from suspension. Students may recover up to 10 days of OSS through community service a year. Any days after the 10th day of OSS cannot be made up and all credit for school work will be lost.

   1. Students who are OSS also face the following consequences:

      1. If a senior student, they cannot participate in Senior Trip

      2. Cannot receive an Academy Card for the rest of the school year

      3. The student is no longer eligible for the A+ program

      4. Cannot participate or attend school activities during suspension

      5. Is not allowed on school grounds during the suspension

4. Make-up for final exams requires administrative approval.

PRE-ARRANGED ABSENCE MAKE UP WORK: Students going on school sponsored activities or with a pre-arranged absence, which will require them to miss some part of a school day, must obtain the work for the missed classes BEFORE going on the trip or missing school. Student are to get a form from the high school office for teachers to initial that the student has the homework assignment they will need to complete due to missing the class. Student may NOT use time during class to get the form signed by any other teachers except for the teacher of the class they are currently in.

SIGNING OUT OF SCHOOL: All students must have the permission of the principal or superintendent before signing out of school. When permission is granted, the student will sign-out on the check-out sheet in the office. Any unauthorized absence will be regarded as an unexcused absence and may lead to disciplinary action. A note or phone call from a parent must accompany the student’s request to leave school.

PERFECT ATTENDANCE: Perfect attendance is defined as having no time absent from the regular school day. All minutes missed except for a school sponsored activity will count against perfect attendance. The Lakeland R-III School District values education and realizes that students need to be in attendance as much as possible. To help encourage attendance the district may provide incentives on perfect attendance.

LONG-TERM PREARRANGED ABSENCE POLICY: Parents must make a request for a prearranged absence. This request can be made in writing or by a phone call. The purpose of this request is so that a student may keep up with their work. When a student will be gone for an extended amount of time, this is to be approved by the principal. Students must obtain all work prior to the prearranged absence and have all work completed upon return. Prearranged absences will count toward the total number of days missed in a semester. Any prearranged absence days that contribute to a student missing more than 5 days in a semester must make up the required time.

CAREER & COLLEGE EXPLORATORY DAYS: Seniors may be excused from school for two days to meet with officials or conduct site visits for college, vocational school, or the military. Seniors may request to the principal a third day to visit the school they are planning on attending to complete enrollment, financial aid, housing, or any other college/university related issues or meet with recruiters, take the ASVAB test, or complete any other military requirement. All visits should be pre-arranged with the office. When the student returns, they must present a note to the high school office from the college, indicating the student visited their site. If properly verified, these absences do not count against a student. Juniors may use one (1) career & college exploratory day during the spring semester of their junior year instead of during their senior year, but it counts towards the total amount of days allowed of three (3).

APPROVED COMMUNITY SERVICE AGENCIES: Students wishing to complete community service to make up for absences or to earn credit for work while suspended out of school (OSS) must complete the community service through an approved agency. Approved agencies include: churches, community centers, city/town government agencies, animal shelters, senior centers, and other nonprofit organizations such as the Samaritan Center or Salvation Army. Students may volunteer for Lakeland Youth Athletic Association events to make up regular absences, but not to make up for OSS as students are not allowed on school ground while suspended out of school. It is recommended students should always get approval from school administration before beginning community service to ensure it is through an approved agency.