Attendance

Attendance enforcement is a shared responsibility between the Clark County School District and the student’s parent or legal guardian. The parent, legal guardian, or another person in the state of Nevada having control or charge of any student is required to send the student to school during all times that the public school is in session (NRS 392.040). The Clark County School District requires that students enrolled for school in the Clark County School District attend school regularly in accordance with the Nevada Revised Statutes. Each student is expected to attend school for the entire school day.

1. A student shall be marked absent for the entire day if the student is absent every class period.

2. A student who is absent less than a full day shall be marked absent only in those classes from which the student was absent.

3. A student who is more than thirty minutes late to class shall be marked absent for that class period only.

 

Student tardiness is a serious disruption to the educational process. Tardiness interferes with time to teach and infringes on the educational rights of other students. A student enrolled in a secondary school who is not physically present in the classroom at the start of the instructional period but reports to the classroom after that time is to be marked tardy. If the student misses more than thirty (30) minutes of the instructional period, the student has missed an essential part of the learning experience; therefore, for purposes of attendance enforcement, a secondary student who is more than thirty (30) minutes late to any class period shall be counted absent from that class, and the teacher shall record the absence accordingly. Students who are late are marked tardy and will be held accountable according to the East Tech Tardy Policy:

Explanations by the parent, legal guardian, or physician stating the reason the student was absent must be presented to the Attendance Office not later than THREE days after the student returns to school. Parent/Guardian explanations should include the following information:

● The first and last name of the student;

● The date(s) the student was absent; and

● The reason the student was physically or mentally unable to attend, how the absence was related to the student’s disability or the nature of the emergency.

 

Absences shall be approved for the purposes of attendance enforcement within the meaning of the Nevada Revised Statutes when:

1. The student is physically or mentally unable to attend school, or the absence is related to the student’s disability, and the course work has been completed. Lack of transportation is not considered an approved absence.

2. The student is absent due to an unavoidable absence due to an emergency, with the approval of the teacher or principal or his designee.

3. The student is absent due to a required court appearance or a religious holiday.

4. The absence has been arranged pursuant to the request of a parent or legal guardian three (3) days prior to the absence and does not exceed the allowable seven (7) arranged days per school year.

5. Partial day absences will only be excused with official documentation – doctor’s note, court appointment notice, etc.

 

Tardies are NOT excused. To evaluate the proper classification of the absence, the school may reasonably inquire, investigate, and/or request further documentation from the parent/guardian. Absences from class or school due to a student’s participation in a school-sanctioned activity or from a student’s suspension or required parent conference shall not be counted as absences for the purpose of attendance enforcement. An absence is unapproved when it does NOT satisfy one of the conditions listed above and/or the school was not notified of the reason the student was unable to attend within three days after the student returned to school.

 

Teachers shall provide an opportunity for a student to make up missed work due to any absence, and students shall be held accountable for the work. When a student is absent, however, the educational experiences lost during that absence might be irretrievable because the instruction and interaction in the instructional setting cannot be duplicated through makeup work. After any absence, a secondary student is required to initiate contact with the teacher(s) to obtain appropriate makeup work within three school days immediately following the absence. Once contact has been made with the teacher(s), specific makeup work must be completed and returned to the teacher(s) within a reasonable length of time, to be determined by the teacher and communicated to the student/parent or legal guardian. The makeup work must be returned to the teacher(s) by the specified due date if it is to be acknowledged. Students shall be allowed a minimum of three (3) days to complete makeup work.

 

Automated voice or electronic notifications of student absences will be made to the parent/guardian upon each unverified absence. In the event of unapproved absences, the school shall deliver written notice(s) of truancy to the parent/guardian.

 

The limitation of absences for secondary students is seven (7) total absences per semester for schools with a block schedule. A student’s medical condition may prevent a student from meeting the above goal, and absences that are due to the student’s physical or mental ability to attend school, if properly documented and submitted to the school within the required timelines, will not be included in the determination of a student’s denial of credit or retention. Arranged absences in excess of seven (7) during the school year and any arranged absences for which the makeup work was not completed and submitted, as required by the teacher, count toward the limitation of absences. A required parent conference is to be scheduled when the following occurs due to excessive absenteeism: a student has been identified for possible retention, a student may be denied course credit, a student is recommended for enrollment at an alternative school, and/or a student is deemed a habitual truant. Prior to the referral to an alternative program, denial of credit or retention in the current grade, a written notice of the attendance record shall be sent to the parent, legal guardian, and/or the student. The written notice will include the procedure for requesting a review of absences under due process. After receipt of notification of the impending denial of credit or retention in the current grade, the parent/guardian or student may request a hearing with the administrator in charge of attendance if there is reason to believe an error in the attendance record or an extenuating circumstance exists.

 

An unapproved absence for one or more class periods during the school day shall be deemed truancy. An absence is unapproved when a student is absent from school without a valid excuse, did not secure permission for the absence from the school, did not provide a valid excuse within three (3) days after returning to school, or the arranged absence was not requested in writing in advance of the absence or exceeded the allowable seven (7) days per school year. An unexcused absence is deemed truancy.

When a student has been declared truant three times for unapproved absences, the student is declared a habitual truant, and the school must report the student to the local law enforcement agency or school police for investigation of habitual truancy and the issuance of a citation if warranted.

As of January 1, 2015, Nevada law requires that students attend school regularly in order to apply for and keep their driver's license /learner's permit. Under the new law, students under the age of 18 who wish to apply for a learner's permit or driver's license must submit to the DMV office at the time of application a completed DMV-301 form signed and stamped by a school official. This form will verify that the applicant has attended at least 90 percent of the school days in the current semester -- or they did not miss more than seven days of a block schedule and ten days of a non-block schedule. If the student does not meet the minimum attendance requirement, he/she will be unable to apply until the next semester, provided they meet the 90 percent attendance requirement.

 

HABITUAL TRUANTS: Students who are deemed habitual truants (three or more unapproved absences) could either lose their license or be ineligible to get a license for a minimum of 30 days for the first offense and 60 days for the second offense, regardless of their attendance status in the current semester. Students who turn 18 during the suspension will be required to complete the terms of the suspension. Students whose licenses or permits are suspended due to poor attendance must surrender their license or permit to school officials under Nevada law. For more information, please see the Department of Motor Vehicles Website http://www.dmvnv.com/nvdlteens.htm.