Attendance

Attendance

Updated Attendance Make-Up

Attendance Policy
South Carolina state law requires that all children attend school regularly beginning with the school year in which the child is five years of age before September 1st until the child attains his/her 17th birthday or graduates from high school. The school year consists of 180 days, and high school students cannot accumulate more than 5 absences per class and still receive credit for the course, regardless of the grade earned in the course. Family vacations, organizational trips, or retreats during the school year are included in the 5 absences per term. Please refer to the SJHS attendance brochure for specific details regarding attendance laws, policies, and “seat time” sessions.

Students Arriving Late
Students arriving at school after 8:20 must report to the attendance office to sign in and get a tardy pass. Students who miss more than 45 minutes of a class will be considered absent. Hall sweeps will be conducted as a deterrent for tardiness. Pace and late arrival students are to enter the building through the cafeteria doors between 9:30-10:00 am.

Early Dismissal By Parent Request
Students requiring early dismissal should bring a note from their parents to the front desk in order to obtain an early dismissal pass. All requests are to be submitted prior to 8:15 a.m. so that they may be verified by phone. The note must have a phone number at which the parent may be contacted. If the note cannot be verified by phone the student will not be allowed to leave. We cannot accept phone calls for early dismissal. Students will not be issued a tardy pass if they fail to bring their note to the front desk before 8:15 a.m. SJHS will not call classrooms unless it is an emergency; therefore, the student must have a pass to get out of class. When it is time for students to leave, they are to go by the front desk to sign out. Students who do not bring a note for a pre-arranged medical or legal appointment must remain in class until the period ends before they will be permitted to sign out of school with their parent/guardian. Failure to sign out at the front desk will result in a disciplinary infraction. Students will not be signed out after 3:00 p.m.

Procedures To Follow After An Absence
After an absence students are to report to the front desk before 8:15 a.m. with a note from their parent/guardian or from their doctor. Notes from the parent/guardian or doctor must be submitted to the front desk within three days of an absence. Failure to do so will result in an unverified unexcused absence. Students will not be written a tardy pass to first block because they failed to bring their note to the front desk before 8:15 a.m. Failure to do so will result in an unverified unexcused absence.

Unlawful Absences
Students who miss school without parental knowledge, and students who are absent from school without acceptable cause with the knowledge of the parent, are considered unlawfully absent. According to the SC Attendance/Truancy Law when students have three consecutive unlawful or unexcused absences or a total of five unlawful or unexcused absences, the school will contact parents and develop an Attendance Intervention Plan (AIP) for improved attendance. Students exceeding five days of unlawful or unexcused absences will be reported to Family Court. Students who have excessive unlawful or unexcused absences in a single class may also be referred to Family Court for truancy.

Excused Absences
The following absences are considered excused: medical, judicial, and bereavement. Students will need to provide documentation for medical, judicial, and bereavement absences upon returning to school. Prearranged absences for other reasons and/or extreme hardships are at the discretion of the principal.

Reporting Student Absences
Parents are asked to contact DeAnna Zirkelbach in the event of students’ absences from school. Parents may call the attendance office at (843) 650-2448 or e-mail DZirkelbach@horrycountyschools.net.

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Please note:
--Absences can only be excused with medical, bereavement or legal documentation. Parent notes are considered unexcused.

--Parents can access attendance records through Powerschool.

--Truancy is state law and states any student under the age of 17 with 3 consecutive unexcused absences or 5 total unexcused all day absences for the school year will be considered truant and an attendance plan will need to be completed.

NEW for 23-24: PRINCIPAL APPROVAL FORMS ARE NO LONGER ACCEPTED AT THE HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL.

High School Procedures

Successful completion of high school courses results in the issuance of Carnegie units needed for a high school diploma.  Since our high schools and secondary programs operate on a 4 x 4 block schedule, it is crucial that students miss as few days as possible.  Based on this information, it is not feasible for our secondary schools and programs to grant principal-approved days. 

However, HCS does realize there are times that are absolutely beyond the parent/student’s control that a student cannot be in school.  If the parent believes there is an extreme hardship that will require a high school student to miss classes, the student’s parent/guardian should contact the school’s principal to determine how time missed from school may be recovered.