Attendance

Absences can be considered excused for a variety of reasons. The most common are:

• personal illness 
• an appointment with a health care provider 
• illness in the family necessitating the presence of the child  
• death in the family 
• observation or celebration of a bona fide religious holiday 
• college visitation with properly completed documentation

For a full list of excused absence reasons, review our full Attendance Policy. When submitting medical documentation, it should be turned in to the office within five (5) days of the appointment.

Oakwood Schools policy states that in order for a student to be excused for a day of religious expression, the building principal must receive written notice, which includes email, from the student’s caregiver within 14 days of the beginning of the school year or within 14 days of the student’s enrollment date.

If you are requesting your child's absence be excused for religious expression outside of the first two weeks of school, contact your child's building principal. The building principal has the discretion to approve the absence as excused beyond receiving a request at the beginning of the school year.

LANGE, HARMAN, AND SMITH STUDENTS

All students must be signed out through the front office; contact the building administrative assistant for early dismissal situations. The building administrative assistant will notify your child's teacher when it is time for their dismissal. The attendance line is monitored throughout the school day, so feel free to leave a message; your request will be acted on within a few minutes.

OAKWOOD JUNIOR HIGH AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

If your child/student has a dental, medical, or other professional appointment, they should report to the attendance office with a parental note before the morning or afternoon session of the absence. The student will be given an excuse slip, which will excuse them from classes at the appropriate time. Please make prior arrangements for a pick-up location. Alternatively, feel free to call the attendance line or leave a message throughout the day if your student needs an early dismissal for an appointment.

A student's absence may be excused by a parent, guardian, or other person having care of the student for up to 65 hours during the school year. After the 65-hour threshold has been exceeded, all absences will be considered unexcused unless appropriate medical documentation is provided.

While the new attendance policy counts all absences, we encourage families to submit medical documentation to help us better understand and support your child's attendance.  As part of the Absence Intervention Plan process, our administrators and attendance officer will review all documentation, as needed.

A student may make up all missed classwork, tests, and assignments. The school policy is that the student has the same number of days to make up the work equivalent to the length of the absence. For example, if a student is absent for three (3) days, they have three (3) days to make up their work after they return to school.

Whenever a proposed vacation absence is requested, parents must discuss it with the building administrator in advance. The duration of the absence should be made clear, and those involved should have an opportunity to express their views on its potential effects. It may be possible for the student to receive certain assignments before leaving, to be completed during the trip. The student will be allowed to make up missed work (see previous FAQ).

When the principal has been informed in advance of a student's absence for vacation, in the company of their own parent or other family members, or for extenuating circumstances deemed appropriate by the principal, the absence will be excused. If there is no advance notice, the principal may not excuse the absence; the student's absence may be considered unexcused and subject to truancy regulations. 

The term “chronically absent” means that a student of compulsory school age has missed at least ten percent (10%) of their minimum number of instructional hours required in the school year for any reason (typically, 90–110 hours).  

Before a student is absent from school for five percent (5%) or more of their minimum number of instructional hours required in the school year, the District or school shall provide written notice to the child’s parent or guardian of the child’s absences.  At the same time written notice is given, any appropriate intervention strategy listed in this policy may be implemented.

No. Chronic absence includes the number of hours a student is absent from school-sponsored instructional opportunities. Co-curricular activities are included in the school or district’s graded course of study and are school-sponsored instructional opportunities. A student participating in co-curricular activities should be marked “present” for attendance purposes.

Sometimes a student must miss instructional time to participate in a school-sponsored extracurricular event, such as a basketball tournament, cheerleading competition, or special-interest group or club. School or district policy may allow these types of events to count as the student being “present,” and would therefore not count toward the chronic absence calculation. The policy should only apply to in-state events sponsored by the school or district and not included in a graded course of study. Ohio law has a special provision regarding out-of-state extracurricular activities.

The term “habitually truant” means a student of compulsory age has been absent 30 or more consecutive hours for non-medical and/or unexcused reasons; absent 42 hours or more in a month for non-medical and/or unexcused reasons; absent 72 hours or more in one school year for non-medical and/or unexcused reasons.

No. Though out-of-school suspensions are often recorded as unexcused absences, they do not count toward habitual truancy triggers because suspensions constitute a legitimate excuse for being out of school. Those hours do contribute to chronic absence calculations.

When a student attends part or all of their day at an approved location outside their assigned school building through the College Credit Plus Program, both the school and the college/university must collaborate and communicate regarding the student's daily attendance. This is necessary for accurate attendance and student safety. For example, if a student attends three hours in the morning at their local school and three hours in the afternoon at the college/university, the school will log three hours for their morning in the building, and a designated person at the college/university confirms the student's attendance for the afternoon with the school.  

Specific policy and practice should be developed at the local level. It is helpful for school and district staff to form good relationships with the college staff who coordinate the College Credit Plus program.

Whenever a family is taking their child on a college visit, communicate that reason to the attendance office. Students are allowed up to five (5) days of absence for college visits. 

Seniors may elect to be excused from school if they have a study hall during period 1, 4, 5, or 7. This privilege requires permission from the parent and principal. Permission forms are available in the guidance office and must be completed for the first and second semesters. This privilege can be revoked if a student is not in good academic standing.

Seniors are obligated to complete three (3) six-hour days of community service before graduation. These are considered school days and follow the last official class day for seniors.