Attendance Policy
For attendance questions or to report an absence, contact the attendance office at 208-423-4170. Voicemail is available 24 hours a day.
Kimberly high school recognizes the importance of attendance and punctuality to obtain maximum educational opportunities. Frequent absences disrupt the continuity of the instructional process. Students who miss school frequently have difficulty achieving success in the classroom. Students who are absent interrupt the educational process of other students by disrupting the teacher who must provide special attention to those who have been absent.
Students should challenge themselves to have a good or excellent attendance rating. Missing more than 10% of school is considered chronic absenteeism and can have a negative impact on a student’s academic performance. Attendance and punctuality are important to obtain maximum educational opportunities. Students who miss school frequently have difficulty achieving success in the classroom.
Attendance rating | Attendance rate | # of days |
Satisfactory | 90% | 154 |
Good | 95% | 162 |
Excellent | 100% | 171 |
Attendance Policy:
Students who are 40 or more minutes late to class will be considered absent for that class. All absences must be verified by a parent/guardian phone call or email within 48 hours of the absence. Absences need to be verified by 10:00 a.m. on the day of the absence.
When a student accumulates five (5) absences in a class during a semester, a letter will be mailed or emailed to the parent/guardian, and administration will meet with the student to review the attendance policy, discuss potential consequences of continued absences, and provide information regarding prolonged absences due to serious illness or injury.
A student may receive a Failure Due to Attendance (FA) grade when absences exceed ten (10) per class during a semester. Absences for reasons other than school-sponsored activities, approved medical appointments, court appearances, or documented funeral leave will count toward the ten-absence limit. Seniors and Juniors may petition for up to two college visits to be considered activity-excused by providing documentation to the principal. All excused absences remain subject to the school's make-up work policy.
When a student reaches eight (8) absences and is at risk of receiving an FA grade, the student and parent/guardian will be required to sign an attendance contract. Students who exceed ten (10) absences must also appear before an attendance appeals committee near the end of the semester to provide documentation and explain their absences. The committee will determine whether credit will be awarded. Students may not appeal future attendance violations unless they maintain at least 90% attendance during the following semester.
Medical absences must be verified by a doctor's note submitted to the attendance office within 48 hours of the student's return to school. Students with ongoing medical conditions must provide annual documentation from their treating physician, including dates of treatment and expected absences. Properly documented medical, funeral, and court-related absences may be waived and will not count toward an FA grade. For doctor-excused absences, assignment due dates should be extended by the number of school days missed.
If a family has a unique situation that caused their child to miss more than 5 days of school not covered by a school activity or doctor excused absence, they may appeal to the KHS Attendance Committee made up of the principal or vice-principal, school counselor, and two teachers appointed by the principal. The parent(s)/guardian(s) and child must meet in person with the Attendance Committee to request an exemption from an FA grade. The committee will convene on the last month of each semester on a "as needed" basis.
Students may appeal once per semester and will remain on an attendance contract for the entire school year. The appeals procedure is not intended to be an ongoing class by class, semester by semester process.
A student who has missed 10 consecutive days without parent validation may be withdrawn from the school for non-attendance.
MAKE-UP POLICY
It is the belief of the staff of Kimberly High School that assigned work is given to enhance learning and instill responsibility. Homework requests can be made when a student is absent (2) or more consecutive days in a row.
One (1) day will be given for make-up for each day absent (for any reason) with the following exceptions:
- Students who are absent (for any reason) on the day the pre-assigned work is due will hand it in the day they return. Pre-assigned exams will be taken the day the student returns.
- Due dates on long term assignments: i.e., term papers, class projects, long reading assignment, etc. Must be met despite absences.
- Assignments due on the day of a school activity must be turned in prior to leaving.
- Variations in the above make up policy may be made at the discretion of the teacher.
Tardy Policy:
Given the importance of establishing good work habits in students and the disruptive nature of the irregular arrival of students in a classroom, the following concepts have been adopted:
- Tardiness is defined as any appearance of the student beyond the scheduled time that the school day or class begins. A student is marked tardy if he/she is not in the classroom and/or assigned seat when the tardy bell rings. Tardies can ONLY be excused if a student is arriving from a verified appointment or if the student is being delayed by a school official.
- Students who are tardy by forty (40) minutes or more to school or any class are absent. The student must have his/her parent(s)/guardian(s) verify this absence. If this absence is not verified, it will become a truancy.
- All tardies reset to zero (0) at the start of a new semester.
Consequences of excessive tardies:
When a student reaches their 6th cumulative tardy in their classes, they will be assigned detention. As students accrue more tardies, they will have a tiered system of consequences. The process will repeat from the 12th tardy.
# of cumulative tardies | # of minutes of detention |
6 | 30 |
8 | 45 |
10 | 60 |
12 | 1 day of ISS or Saturday School |
Upon the 24th tardy the student may be suspended outside of school or attend WISE.
Signing Out When Leaving Campus:
All students must sign out in the office and have parent permission before leaving campus if their school day is not over. Even if a parent has called in, ALL STUDENTS still must sign out at the office. Please notify the office at least 1 hour prior to checking out, either written or verbal by a parent or guardian.
Failure to follow this rule will result in truancy. The consequences will be detention or suspension.
Truancy
If a student is truant for the entire day, they will receive a day of ISS (in-school suspension). Students who are truant during part of the school day will be assigned detention or work detail.
Attendance Policy
The entire process of education requires a regular continuity of instruction, classroom participation, learning experiences, and study in order to reach the goal of maximum educational benefits for each individual child. The regular contact of the students with one another in the classroom and their participation in instructional activities under the tutelage of a competent teacher are vital to this purpose. This is an established principle of education that underlies and gives purpose to the requirement of compulsory schooling in this and every other state in the nation. The good things that schools have to offer can only be presented to students who are in attendance. With continued emphasis regarding Excellence in Education, all parties involved in attendance can better strive for quality in the classroom.
Attendance reflects a student’s dependability and is a significant factor on the student’s permanent record. Future employers are as much concerned about punctuality and dependability as they are about academic record. School success, scholarship, and job opportunity are greatly affected by good attendance.
Kimberly Public School District expects all students to attend school regularly and be on time for all classes in order to benefit from the instructional program and to develop habits of punctuality, self discipline, and responsibility.
STATEMENT OF POLICY
- A student will not be given credit for any class, if the student has exceeded the number of absences (excused and unexcused) set by each school level. Building principals, at their discretion, may grant a waiver of the attendance violation granting the student credit if the violation is a result of extenuating circumstances.
- A parent/student may, in writing, request an Attendance Review Committee hearing to appeal the “FA” (failure due to attendance violation) grade and lack of credit for the class due to an attendance violation. Membership and the role of the Attendance Review Committee will be established by the building level principal. It is the parent and student’s responsibility to contact the principal of the school to schedule this hearing. Appeals of the Attendance Review Committee’s decision will be taken to the superintendent. Appeals of the superintendent’s decision will be taken to the Kimberly Board of Trustees whose decision is final.
TRUANCY
- Prohibited Acts: Any person between the ages of seven (7) and sixteen (16) years of age, living in the city/county of Twin Falls who is deemed truant from school or class, under the attendance regulations of the school, without the consent of the student’s parent/guardian or school officials is guilty of a status offense.
- Attendance Required: The parent or guardian of any child resident in this State who has attained the age of (7) years at the time of the commencement of school in his district, but not the age of sixteen (16) years, shall cause the child to be instructed in subjects commonly and usually taught in the public schools for the State of Idaho. Unless the child is otherwise comparably instructed, the parent or guardian shall cause the child to attend a public, private or parochial school during a period in each year equal to that in which the public schools are in session; there to conform to the attendance policies and regulations established by the Board of Trustees, or other governing body, operating the school attended.
- Exceptions: Any exceptions to this requirement are as codified by any school district in which the student attended or, as contained in Idaho Code, title 33, Chapter 2 are hereby recognized and given full force and effect.
CLEARING AN ABSENCE
Policies and procedures to clear an absence are set by each individual school and noted in the student handbook. Parents/guardians of students that will be considered un-excused will be contacted by the school.
EXCUSED ABSENCES
An excused absence is given via verification and permission of the parent/guardian. Excessive days of illness resulting in an attendance violation could require a physician’s written statement. Students and families are expected to work with teachers to secure assignments, and students are responsible to complete any necessary makeup assignments. Failure to return the completed work to the teacher in a reasonable time may result in a late grade for that assignment (Refer to policy 2420 regarding late assignments.) A reasonable length of time is generally considered to be within the same number of days the student was absent. The principal of the school is granted the authority to make exceptions based on individual/family needs.
TRUANCY - Defined
A student is considered to be truant whenever he/she is absent from school or class without the consent of the student’s parent/guardian or school officials. Absences from school or class after arrival at school and departures from school during the school day without permission of school officials shall be considered a truancy. A truancy is a major disciplinary violation and parents/guardians will be notified. After the fourth truancy, in any school year, the Board authorizes the building principal to declare a student habitually truant. Valid reasons for absences include illness, purposes concerning family operations, and other reasons deemed significant by parents and school officials.
UN-EXCUSED ABSENCES
An un-excused absence given when permission to be absent has not been given/verified by a parent/guardian or a school official and may be considered a truancy. Allowing credit for assignments missed due to an un-excused absence will be at the discretion of the building administration.
TARDIES
Tardy policies and procedures will be set by each individual school and noted in the student handbook.
SCHOOL ACTIVITY ABSENCES
On occasion, a student may miss classes because of athletic or academic field trips. These are not considered absences, but rather an extension of the regular school program. Assignments missed will be given the same consideration as an excused absence.
Ten (10) Consecutive Absences
In the event a student is absent ten (10) consecutive days the student will be dropped from enrollment. The principal will ensure that there has been communication with the parent/guardian regarding the absences. Building level principals may choose to keep a student enrolled, that has missed ten (10) consecutive days, if the absences are due to medical reasons or other extenuating circumstances. Principals should refer to policy 2155 Homebound, Hospital, and Home Instruction, to determine if the student qualifies for the services identified in the policy.
Policy History:
Revised: 9/15/94; January 1998; June 1999; May 2002; April 8, 2003; October 20, 2010; September 21, 2016; February 20, 2019.