Attendance Policy

Per the Jeffco Public Schools Board of Education, attendance is the responsibility of the student, the parents, and the school. The importance of regular, daily attendance as a basis for academic achievement cannot be overemphasized. Absences have a negative effect upon instructional continuity, regardless of attempts to make up the work. The district believes duplication of the classroom experience can never be accomplished with after-school assignments.
The school cannot teach students who are not present. 

Excused absences are:

  • Illness or injury or prearranged with school administration approval
  • Prearranged absences shall be approved for appointments or circumstances which cannot be taken care of outside of school hours
  • Excused absences include funerals, illness, injury, legal obligations, medical procedures and religious observations, and extenuating circumstances determined by the principal
  • For any absence not specifically covered by another section, such as family vacations, college visits, or other extended absence, parent or guardian must complete a prearranged absence form and call the attendance line in order to be excused. This form must be submitted at least three days prior to the scheduled absence.

The district may require suitable proof regarding the above exceptions, including written statements from medical sources. The maximum number of unexcused absences a student may incur before judicial proceedings are initiated to enforce compulsory attendance is four days in one month or 10 days in one year.

Codes used to mark absences

EXC = Excused                UNX = Unexcused               UNV = Unverified      TDE = Tardy excused

TDU = tardy unexcused    ACT = School activity            EREX = early release excused

Tardies are a disruption to the learning environment and everyone who arrives on time. Please be courteous of your classmates, as well as the teacher. Tardies are dealt with at the teacher level until they become excessive. Students may be assigned detention or referred to an administrator. Please note the LHS Tardy Policy is posted outside of each classroom door.

To excuse an absence:

When a student is absent from school, a parent/guardian needs to call the attendance line (303.982.7100) to notify the school.   When leaving a message, please spell your student’s last name, leave a contact number, a reason and date for the absences or tardies that should be excused.  All verbal requests to excuse an absence must be conveyed within 48 hours or it will remain unexcused. LHS does not take written excuses. Excessive excused absences can result in a parent conference with an administrator and/or a counselor. The administrator will make the final determination if an absence will be excused. If a student’s illness exceeds three days, parents/guardians should also directly contact the counseling center to request assignments and/or look at the teacher’s website. Should an administrator determine that a student’s attendance is excessive, they will initiate the court ordered truancy process.  Any call made to the attendance line after 1:30 pm may not be recorded until the following day.

Early Dismissals:  Please call the Main Office (303)-982-7096 at least 30 minutes in advance.  This is to ensure we can get to your student, and have them ready to go at the desired time.

Illness during class:  If your child becomes ill during class, they MUST speak to their teacher, and go to the clinic.  The clinic aide or counseling staff will call you letting you know if your child needs to be picked up.  Students should not be texting asking for you to release them from class.

MAKEUP WORK

Excused Absences: It is essential that students make up missed work missed. It is the responsibility of the student to initiate requests for and pick up make up work on the day he or she returns to class from an excused absence. Makeup work should reflect class assignments missed during the absence, and a reasonable amount of time should be allowed for work completion. Since our block schedule means classes meet every other day, we consider each block the equivalent of two periods. Therefore, once a student receives make up work on the day he or she returns to class, two days (not classes) should be allowed for each day missed. To clarify, if a student misses an Orange Day, the assignment would be due on the next Orange Day after returning to class and receiving the assignment. An extension of this time limit may be approved by the teacher or administration. Students who complete makeup work within the required timeline will receive full academic credit earned for the makeup work.

Unexcused Absences:
Unexcused absences are defined as absences not covered by the grounds for excused absences, including students leaving class without permission, students missing a class without parental approval, “ditch” days, and circumstances determined by an administrator. Unexcused absences shall be entered on the student’s record and parents/ guardians will be notified orally or in writing by the school. According to Board Policy, unexcused absences will subject the student to appropriate consequences, including school sanctions or and/or the imposition of academic sanctions for classes missed. Persistent unexcused absenteeism may result in a failing grade.

As per Board Policy, students with unexcused absences will be allowed the same time for completion as students with excused absences. Students who complete the required makeup work within the required timelines will receive academic credit earned for the makeup work as described below:

  • With the first two unexcused absences from a class, makeup work will be allowed for credit with one grade reduction for all work completed.
  • After the first two unexcused absences from a class, makeup work will be allowed for credit with two letter grade reductions for all work completed.
  • When an assignment has been given with a specific due date and the student does not turn that assignment in because of an unexcused absence on the due date, the teacher will enforce the original stated expectations regarding grading of the assignment if it is turned in late.
  • When a student has missed classroom discussions or classroom work that cannot be duplicated through a simple assignment, the teacher may elect to request that the student create a method for demonstration of the learning or the teacher may elect to assign specific work to demonstrate the learning.
  • If the student fails to complete the work, no credit will be given.




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