The attendance office is staffed and open daily from 7:30
a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
 
The direct phone number is 482-3121. Before or after school hours, you will have an option to leave a message.
 
 
Parents may leave a message about student absences at any
time.

         Elma High School ATTENDANCE POLICY

Daily attendance and participation in classroom learning

activities is important for student success and progress.

When a student is absent from school, the instruction that

they miss cannot be replaced by make-up work. We encourage

students and parents to make every effort to minimize

absences from school.

Students have five minutes passing time between classes,

and are expected to arrive to class on time. Teachers may

expect students to be in their seat at the bell. Students who

are repeatedly tardy will incur consequences including detention,

Saturday School, and possibly suspension.

         Absences

Teachers take roll at the beginning of each class. Students

who are not present or more than 10 minutes late are

marked absent. Students who are out of class without permission

may be marked as truant (see truancy section).

Elma High School’s automated calling system will telephone

the student’s primary phone number if they are marked

absent during the day. This is intended to help parents

monitor their student’s attendance and notify them when

contact with the school is necessary.

When a student is absent, they must report to the attendance

office and obtain a green admit slip before returning

to class. A written note from their parent stating the reason

for the absence or a phone call to the attendance office

is required for the absence to be excused. District policy

requires absences to be excused within 48 hours or they

become an unexcused absence.

Elma High School’s attendance policy limits the type of absences

which may be considered excused and considers 11

or more absences in a semester to be excessive. Students

with eleven or more absences in a semester will be referred

to the Student Concern Team for evaluation and possible

intervention.

       Truancy

Students are considered truant if they are absent from

school or class without permission. Truancy include may

the following situations:

Truancy results in immediate school consequences as detailed

in the discipline matrix at the back of this handbook.

State law requires schools to refer students to the juvenile

court when a student has 7 or more unexcused absences in

a month or more than 10 unexcused absences in a year.

Schools may refer students to the court when the have five

or more unexcused absences in a month. Elma High School

considers truancy a serious problem, and cooperates fully

with the Grays Harbor Juvenile Court on truancy cases.

      Absences and Credit

Daily attendance and active participation in each class are a

critical part of your education. Missing classes can impact

your grade, but more importantly, it impacts your learning.

You are responsible for all materials, assignments, and

tests covered in class, whether you are present or not.

Also, unless specified differently by published classroom

policy, students are expected to adhere to test and assignment

dates that they were established prior to the

student’s absence. If a previously announced test is

taken or an assignment is due during the student’s absence,

the student is expected to take the test or turn in

the assignment on their first day of return.

If you are marked absent in any class, parents or

guardians will be contacted by the automated calling

system.

If you have been absent more than 20% of school days,

a letter will be sent home indicating concern over

excessive absences and requesting a conference

with the Assistant Principal. Continued absences

may be referred to Juvenile Court.

If you have eleven or more absences, you will be

referred to the Student Concern Team for possible

intervention and, if needed, referral to Juvenile

Court under the Becca law.

School-related absences for school-sanctioned activities

or discipline do not count toward the accumulated

total.

Daily attendance and active participation in each class is a critical

part of the learning process. Grades can be impacted by poor attendance

only to the extent that such a reduction is in conformity with

law. WAC 392-400-235 provides that:

the student’s attendance and/or participation is related to

the instructional objectives or goals of the particular

subject or course, and

the student’s attendance and /or participation has been

identified by the teacher pursuant to policy of the

school district as a basis for grading, in whole or in

part, in the particular subject or course.

As a means of instilling the values of responsibility and personal

accountability, district policy stipulates that a student whose absence

is not excused shall experience the consequences of his/her absence.

A student’s grade shall be affected if a graded activity or assignment

occurs during the period of time when the student is absent.

Students are responsible for all materials/assignments/tests

covered in class whether present or not. The following procedures

and policies are designed to help students learn responsibility,

accept personal accountability, and increase their potential for success.

A. Attendance will be taken each period in each class. The

Automated Phone Messaging System will attempt to call daily

to advise parents of same day absences. An absence is defined

as ANY TIME a student misses class or when a student

misses more than 10 minutes of any class.

B. When a student accumulates:

1. Five (5) absences in a class, the appropriate teachers will

conference with the student and contact the parents/

guardian by telephone. (Please document phone attempts

or contact.)

2. *Eleven (11) absences, the student will be referred to the

Student Concern Team (SCT) for intervention. Possible

action may include monitoring, parent contact, a formal

intervention meeting, or referral to juvenile court for intervention

under RCW 28A.225.015 (the Becca law).

*NOTE: Students who are absent often and

miss required assignments or activities may

ultimately earn a failing grade. Students failing

three (3) or more classes during the semester

may be dropped from EHS. Parents or

administrators may request a conference at

any time during this process. The purpose of

the conference will be to eliminate or reduce

the student's absences.

Student and parents must accept full responsibility for regular school

attendance. Failure to do so may result in loss of credit and grades,

removal from class or referral to Juvenile Court. Teachers are required

by law to have accurate attendance records. The teachers'

grade book is the document that will be audited. Teachers are

not to have teacher assistants take roll. It is part of the

teacher’s duty to maintain accurate attendance records by law.

Students are expected to attend all classes. Parents or guardians

should call the school when their student will be absent for

all or part of a school day to report the reason for the ab-

sence. Students returning to school after an absence must

report directly to the Attendance Office to pick up an ad-

mit slip back to class. If a parent/guardian has not phoned

the Attendance Office, the student must bring a note from

parent/guardian explaining the nature of the absence, date

of absence, student’s name, and signature of parent. Fail-

ure to phone in or bring a note within 48 hours of the ab-

sence may result in the absence being considered truancy.

Failure to complete missed assignments will result in loss of credit

for those assignments. Students will be given a minimum of one day

for every day of absence to make up work assigned DURING the

absence. Teachers may choose to extend the time at their discretion.

A student is considered truant anytime an absence has not been

cleared by a parent or teacher.

Authorized Reasons for Being Absent

Per Elma School District policy 3122, the following are valid excuses

for absences or tardiness:

• Participation in school-approved activities

• Disciplinary suspensions

• Illness

• Doctor’s appointment (please schedule after school if

possible)

• Chronic or extended illness or health condition (medical

documentation required)

• Family emergency or bereavement

• Religious observance

Please note that it is NOT okay to be absent from school for special

events such as skiing, hunting, shopping, tanning, family vacations,

etc. Such activities are not considered excused under district policy

or compulsory attendance law and should be scheduled outside of

school hours. Numerous non-conforming (NC) absences may result

in referral to juvenile court under RCW 28A.225.015 (the Becca

law).

In the event a student must be absent from school for reasons other

than those identified above, approval must be requested from the

principal or assistant principal at least one week in advance. Approval

of non-conforming absences is at the reasonable discretion of

the administrator EXCEPT that no approval shall be granted in any

case where a student is earning a D or F in one or more classes at

the time of the request.

Students who must leave the school during the day MUST checkout

through the Attendance Office prior to leaving school. A telephone

call or note from the parent is required to leave during the day. If

students leave without signing out, disciplinary action will follow.

Pre-arranged, approved absences are included in the total accumulation

of student absences. Disciplinary suspensions and competitive

school related activities in which the student participates directly

and is required to miss class do not count as one of the 11 absences.

These absences will be identified with an “SB” or “SP” in the attendance

record.

Pre-Arranged absences for religious observance will also not count

as one of the 11 absences. Prearranged absences will be noted with

“PT”, “SB”, or “OT” in the student’s attendance record. A class that

lasts for more than one period will count as one absence for each

period missed. In other words, missing a two period block class for

one day will count as two (2) absences in that particular class.

Dialogue between teachers/advisors/coaches is encouraged for students

in danger of failing. Teachers/advisors/coaches are expected to

use the process detailed below for pre-arranged student absences

under their direct supervision in order to facilitate communication

and ensure students’ academic success.

The supervising teacher/advisor/coach must generate a tentative list

of all students who will be participating in an activity/sporting event/

field trip and make this list available to staff members five (5) school

days in advance of the event.

Staff members who have concerns regarding the academic performance/

failing grades of any student participant must notify the advisor/

coach within 48 hours of the event/activity. A final list of all participants

must be made available to staff 24 hours in advance of the

event.

Following the activity/event, the supervising teacher/advisor/coach

will submit to the Attendance Office the next school business day by

8:00 a.m. a list of all students who participated. The Attendance

secretary will make any needed changes in a student’s attendance

profile.

NOTE: Students leaving the school district for

any activity must have prior parent approval. A

signed parent permission form for each activity

must be submitted to the supervising teacher/

advisor 48 hours in advance of the event. Sporting

events that occur after school hours require a seasonal

parent permission slip.

 

For all other pre-arranged absences (medical appointments, family

trips, out of state travel), the following procedure must be complied

with. The student must:

A. Bring a written note from home explaining the reason for the

pre-arranged absence, the date(s) the student will absent, the

student’s name and the signature of the parent, or

B. Obtain a pre-arranged absence form from the Attendance

Office Circulate it among his/her teachers who will sign it and

indicate to what extent the student's grade will be affected.

Return it to the attendance office no later than 24 hours

before the absence is to occur.

Teacher to Teacher Absences

Immediate prior approval in writing from both teachers will be adequate

for this absence. It is the student's responsibility to obtain

such verification. Missing a class to study for a test or completing an

assignment for another class is not appropriate. For in-building

events involving a few students, such as lunchtime sales, activity setups,

the requesting teacher will confer with the sending teacher

prior to having students circulate pre-arranged absence forms.

Students’ absences will be recorded daily in each class by the

teacher. The computer scan sheets used for daily recording

will be kept on file for documentation.

The attendance secretary will input attendance information by the

end of each school day.

Parents will be notified of daily absences.

Emancipated Students

Emancipated students are students 18 years of age or older who are

self supporting and self-reliant and have taken responsibility for their

own education. A parent/student conference with an administrator

must be held before a student will be considered emancipated. Once

the student is emancipated, no parent contact will be required.

If a student is to be confined to home or hospital for an extended

period, the school will arrange for the availability of assignments.

The district will cooperate with private tutors parents may employ.

In some instances of long-term illness homebound teachers can be

provided. At the high school level, if the student is unable to do his

or her schoolwork, or if there are major requirements of a particular

course, which cannot be accomplished outside of class, the student

may be required to take an incomplete or withdraw from the

class without penalty.

Students with a chronic health condition, which interrupts regular

attendance, may qualify for placement in a limited attendance and

participation program. The student and his/her parents or guardian

shall apply to the principal or designee and limited program shall be

written following advice and recommendation of the student's medical

advisor. The school principal or designee shall approve the recommended

limited program. The staff shall be informed of the student's

needs, though the confidentiality of medical information shall

be respected at the parent's request.

Tardiness will be considered a behavior problem and will be addressed

by individual teachers, based on current policy. However,

when a student misses more than 10 minutes of any class, it is considered

an absence and will be recorded as such.

Students who have early dismissal or late arrival are only to be on

campus 10 minutes preceding or following their classes. Exceptions

are to be cleared in writing by an administrator and will permit the

student only to be in the library or commons, not in the halls. Students

violating these exceptions will have their early dismissal or late

arrival privilege revoked. 

 

(EHS Student Handbook, 2011-12, pgs 19-21)