Attendance

Absences due to the following reasons must be excused:

Illness, health condition or medical appointment (including, but not limited to, medical, counseling, dental, optometry, pregnancy, and in-patient or out-patient treatment for chemical dependency or mental health) for the student or person for whom the student is legally responsible;

Family emergency including, but not limited to, a death or illness in the family;

Religious or cultural purpose including observance of a religious or cultural holiday or participation in religious or cultural instruction;

Court, judicial proceeding, court-ordered activity, or jury service;

Post-secondary, technical school or apprenticeship program visitation, or scholarship interview;

State-recognized search and rescue activities consistent with RCW 28A.225.055;

Absence directly related to the student's homeless or foster care/dependency status;

Absences related to deployment activities of a parent or legal guardian who is an active duty member consistent with RCW 28A.705.010;

·       Absences due to suspensions, expulsions or emergency expulsions imposed pursuant to chapter 392-400 WAC if the student is not receiving educational services and is not enrolled in qualifying "course of study" activities as defined in WAC 392-121-107;

·       Absences due to student safety concerns, including absences related to threats, assaults, or bullying;

·       Absences due to a student's migrant status; and

·       An approved activity that is consistent with district policy and is mutually agreed upon by the principal or designee and a parent, guardian, or emancipated youth.

Emergency Rules for COVID-19 Related Absences

The emergency rule specifies additional reasons that a students’ absence must be excused:

Absences related to the student’s illness, health condition, or medical appointments due to COVID-19;

 Absences related to caring for a family member who has an illness, health condition, or medical appointment due to COVID-19;

·       Absences related to the student’s employment or other family obligations* during regularly scheduled school hours that are temporarily necessary due to COVID-19 until other arrangements can be made, including placement in a more flexible education program;

·       Absences due to the student’s parent’s work schedule or other obligations during regularly scheduled school hours, until other arrangements can be made;

·       Absences due to the student’s lack of necessary instructional tools, including internet broadband access or connectivity, stability, reliability, outages, etc.

·       Other COVID-19 related circumstances as determined between school and parent or emancipated youth.

Please Note: Other family obligations include when a student must care for younger siblings.

See the emergency rule Chapter 392-401A WAC for the complete list of excused reasons.

A school principal or designee has the authority to determine if an absence meets the above criteria for an excused absence. Districts may define additional categories or criteria for excused absences.

• If a student has missed 7 day of school during a school year, our district requires 3rd party documentation to excuse all future absences and early dismissals. Qualified 3rd party documentation includes note from a doctor, dentist, therapist, etc. which lists the specific dates of absence to be excused. If you cannot take your child to the doctor, you may bring your child to the school health room. If the school nurse determines that your student is too ill to stay at school, the absence will be excused.

After five excused absences in a 30 day period, or ten or more excused absences in the school year, the school is required* to schedule a conference to discuss the barriers to attendance and create a plan to support improved attendance. If your student has an Individualized Education Plan or a 504 Plan the team that created the plan needs to reconvene. 

*A conference is not required if your student has provided a doctor's note, or the absences are due to an approved planned excused absence.

The Community Truancy Board seeks to address the problem of truancy through the collaboration of school, court and community resource providers. The Truancy Board makes recommendations to students, parents and the school district with the goal of improving a student’s attendance record. Students who are on a Becca petition may be referred to a Community Truancy Board.
 

• Starting in kindergarten, too many absences (excused or unexcused) can cause a child to fall behind?
• Missing 10% of the school year is considered chronically absent. That's only 2 days a month!
• Being late to school may lead to both poor attendance and lack of academic progress.
• Setting a regular bedtime and morning routine can reduce tardies and absences.
• By 6th grade, absenteeism is one of the three signs a student may drop out of high school
• Absences can be a sign that a student is losing interest in school, struggling with school work, dealing with a bully or facing some other potentially serious difficulty.

FPS attendance policies are developed based upon Washington State’s Compulsory Attendance Law RCW 28A.225. 

The state law require we take the following steps:

• After 3 unexcused absences in a 30-day period a conference will be scheduled with you and your student to identify the barriers and supports available to ensure regular attendance.
• After 7 unexcused absences in a 30-day period or 10 unexcused absences within the school year, we are required to file a petition with juvenile court, alleging a violation of RCW 28A.225.010.  The petition will automatically be stayed in order to continue to try and improve attendance. 
• If above actions are not successful, the district will file a truancy petition with the juvenile court alleging a violation of RCW 28A.225.010 by the parent, student or parent and student. The parent and student will be required to appear in the Pierce County Juvenile Court.

State law requires children from age 8 to 17 to attend a public school, private school, or a district-approved home school program. Children who are 6 or 7 years old are not required to be enrolled in school. However, if parents enroll their 6 or 7 year old, the student must attend full-time. Youth who are 16 or older may be excused from attending public school if they meet certain requirements.

Click here to view the complete FPS Policy and Procedure