Attendance Policy Summary

View Policy 3122

Bellevue High School – How to Report Absences

Report an absence, late arrival or early dismissal:

• Parent emails bhsattendance@bsd405.org
  • Include student name, ID#, date(s) of absence, period(s) missed, and reason for absence.
  • If late arrival or early dismissal, include arrival or departure time.
  • Send from an email address the school has on file. Other email addresses will not be accepted.

For absences to be excused:

• Excusals must be received no later than 2 days after the date of absence.
• A doctor’s note is required for:
  • Absences that are longer than 3 consecutive days
  • All medical appointments
• Reason for missing class must meet the guidelines in procedure 3122P. See the table below for some examples:

Pre-arranged absences:

• For parent-approved activities that are known in advance (i.e., vacation, non-BHS sports, college visits, etc.), a student:
  • Picks up a pre-arranged absence form from the attendance office.
  • Completes the form, including asking for signatures from parent/guardian, administrator, and teachers.
  • Returns the form to the attendance office a minimum of 2 days prior to the intended absence(s).
• Up to 5 days of pre-arranged absences will be excused for each student in the school year. Any additional pre-arranged absence requests will result in unexcused absences.

Early dismissal:

• Student signs out at the attendance office before leaving school, including during passing times.
• If a student needs to leave during class, the student picks up a yellow release slip from the attendance office before the departure period and gives the slip to the teacher.
• If a student becomes ill while at school, the student reports to the clinic and waits for staff to receive parent approval for early dismissal.
• Parents are discouraged from walking into school for an immediate pick-up unless it is an emergency. Students will not be released for an immediate pick-up during the last 15 minutes of the school day.

Late arrival:

• Student signs in at the attendance office before going to class, including during passing times.

Absence corrections

• To correct an attendance records error, student asks their teacher to sign an attendance correction form (available in the attendance office). Corrections must be made within 10 days of the error.

Tardy

• 5 or more tardies in one week or 3 or more tardies to the first period of the day will be assigned a Wednesday Attendance Tutorial from 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm
• If a student does not attend their assigned Attendance Tutorial, they will check-in with an administrative team member and have one more opportunity to serve it the following Wednesday.
• If a student fails to attend a second time, they will be assigned a Saturday School. Failure to attend Saturday School will result in an in-school suspension.

If a student is assigned a third Attendance Tutorial in a semester, they will be assigned a Saturday School.