Attendance Office Hours:
Monday - Friday 7:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

A 24-hour voicemail system is also available. Please leave your student's name, ID number, date and reason for the absence.

Philosophy
(ref. Board Policy Section 7:70)
The Board of Education authorizes the administration to develop and enforce procedures, which ensure regular student attendance and accurate accounting for student absences. Attendance at school is required by state law. Being in the classroom, doing the assigned work, and contributing to the class, all on a regular basis are important to success in school. Only in the classroom can the student take full advantage of fellow classmates’ ideas, the teacher’s explanations, and other material that enriches the class.

Tardies
The following procedures will be followed to address tardiness to class:

1. The first 3 tardies will be a consequence issued through the teacher. 
2. If the tardiness continues, a referral will be written by the teacher detailing the previous action to the Division Head. The Division Head will assign a detention and reiterate with the student the expectations for the future.
3. If the tardiness still continues, a referral will be written by the teacher detailing the two previous actions and given to the Dean. The Dean will meet with the student and assign further consequences.
4. If the tardiness continues, the consequences will be more serious in nature and dealt with through the dean’s office.

Attendance Codes
Excused Absences

• PEX = Excused parental absence for illness, medical & dental appointment
• LTE = Tardy, arrives to class within the first fifteen minutes without a pass
• MED = Excused absence for illness, written documentation from doctor/dentist
• EXE = Excused absence by parent request, non-medical reasons
• ADM = Absence excused by Administration/school personnel
• FT = Absence due to participation in an approved field trip
• VAC = Vacation
• HOM = Homebound

Unexcused Absences

• CUT = Class cut
• UNV = Absence is not accounted for, unauthorized within 48 hours
• OSS = Absence due to out-of-school suspension
• ISS = Absence due to in-school suspension
• Unauthorized Absences
• UNA = Did not follow procedures

After two unauthorized "UNA" absences in any class, subsequent unauthorized absences will be designated as unexcused, and the student will move to the appropriate step on the attendance policy.

Excused Absences
If student is absent from school, his or her parents need to call the attendance office by 10:00 am on the day of the absence, if at all possible. Authorized calls will be accepted by the attendance office up to 10:00 am the following day after the absence. After 10:00am the next day, the absence will be considered as an unauthorized absence. Failure of a parent to call will result in the absence being considered unexcused. Appeals may be made to the student’s Dean.

Examples of excused absences include, but are not limited to:

• Personal illness or other physical disablement (Note * section below)
• Illness or death in the student’s family
• Family emergency
• Religious observances
• Court appearances
• Medical/Dental appointments (Follow prescribed procedures below)
• Permission from Nurse to go home
• Field Trip (Follow prescribed procedures below)
• Student Services division approved activity
• Administrator conference
• Other specific excuses dependent on the judgment of the Deans or designees.

Excused absences allow for full make-up privileges, including a reasonable amount of help from teachers. The student must take the initiative for securing any work missed during an excused absence.

Students must attend a minimum of four consecutive class periods in order to participate in any practices, competitions or school sponsored activities after school or during the evening the day of the absence. Only exceptions, is if the absence is a result of court, funeral, field trip or a college visit. Written verification may be required.

Pre-Arranged Absences
When it is necessary for a student to be absent from school, and this is known in advance, the Attendance office must receive prior notification according to the following procedures in order for the absence to be excused:

• A parent/guardian should notify the Attendance office prior to the date of the absence, indicating the reason for the absence and its duration.
• If the absence is for more than ten school days or more, the student/parents must follow the steps below:
  • Obtain a pre-arranged absence form from the Attendance Office for all of their teachers to sign.
  • They must also speak with their Dean to initiate the extended absence procedure. The extended absence procedure includes a letter to the student’s parents, which indicates the conditions placed on the student academically due to the absences, which will include the number of days the student has to complete the missed work. A parent signature is needed in order for the absences to be excused.

*Only under extenuating circumstances will a student be allowed to take rescheduled semester exams. Authorization must be obtained through the Associate Principal’s office (Mr. Hartwig only. Parents must submit written request at least four weeks prior to semester exams.) 

Late Arrival
When arriving late, it is necessary for the student’s parent to call the Attendance Office and state the reason for the student being late. The student then must sign in at the attendance office. If the student does not sign in, the absence may not be excused.

Period Absences
Period absences must be accounted for by the supervising teacher or staff member. It is the student’s responsibility to see that this occurs at the time of the absence by obtaining a pass from the teacher or staff member with whom they spend the class period. If there is a discrepancy in the student’s attendance, the student must see the classroom teacher.

Leaving School During the School Day
When it is necessary for a student to leave during the school day, a parent call is required in the Attendance Office PRIOR to the time of the student’s departure. We are unable to allow the student to leave the campus without verbal parental authorization. (A note will not be accepted.) It is the student’s responsibility to then follow through with the following procedures in order to avoid attendance consequences:

• Obtain a pass from the attendance office to present to the classroom teacher when it is time to leave unless during passing or the student’s lunch period. If you are leaving or coming back during your lunch hour, you MUST STILL sign out in the Attendance office
• Go to the attendance office and sign out. 
• If returning before the end of the school day, sign back in the Attendance Office.

If the above procedures are not followed, the student’s absence may be coded as an UNA or CUT. Continued disregard for the procedure will result in disciplinary action.

Medical or Dental Absences
When a student must miss school and has seen a doctor, the parent may choose to obtain medical documentation verifying the appointment. The documentation should include the name of the student, the doctor, the date and time of the treatment or the dates the student was under the doctor’s care. This information can then be provided to the school upon the student’s return and be coded as an M for medical. This may become important later if the student exceeds their ten days per semester of excused absences. After ten excused days in any one semester, medical documentation will be required and a letter will be sent home explaining the details of this policy.

Going Home Sick
Students who become ill or injured during the school day must request a pass from the classroom teacher in order to access the School Nurse in the Health office. The nurse will then determine whether the student must go home due to illness. If the nurse decides the student should go home, she (or her designee) will contact the parent/guardian. It will be established at that time how the student will be transported home. The nurse will instruct the student to go to their locker to obtain their belongings and then Attendance Office to sign out. Failure to follow this procedure will result in the issuance of an unexcused absence and possible disciplinary action.

If a student wants to come to school during the day in which they have previously been called out, a call from the parent/guardian must be received in the Attendance Office PRIOR to the student’s arrival back in school. It may be necessary upon their arrival, for the school nurse to evaluate the health of the student to ensure they are well enough to be in school.

Physical Education
If a student is feeling sick and does not feel they are able to participate in PE, they must follow the guidelines below:

1. The student must attend PE and notify their assigned teacher of how they feel.
2. The student may ask their assigned teacher for a pass to the nurse.
3. If the student decides to not access the nurse, they will remain in the supervised PE area determined by their assigned teacher.

If a parent feels that due to an illness or injury their student is not able to participate in PE, they must follow the guidelines below:

1. 1-3 school days: Parent notification. The parent must send a note with their student to give to their PE teacher upon entering the class the day they are wishing to not participate.
2. 1-10 school days: Doctor's note. A doctor's note, which excuses a student from PE for 1-10 days, should be given to the student’s PE teacher. A copy of the note is kept in the student’s health file.
3. Longer than 10 school days: Doctor's note. A doctor’s note excusing a student for more than 10 days must be given to the school nurse in the Health Office.

All notes should include a return date to regular PE. Students missing PE for more than 10 days are transferred to Adaptive PE to work with the certified athletic trainer.

*Please Note* Any single absence from PE must be accompanied by a doctor note in order to be excused.

Obtaining Homework
Parents and students are often concerned about students keeping current with class work when students are absent due to illness. The following guidelines should assist students in keeping up to date with homework in the event of short-term absences.

1. If a student will be absent one or two days, he or she may contact classmates to obtain homework assignments. Often a course syllabus will indicate which assignments are due. Teachers may also be contacted directly by phone or email.
2. For prearranged absences, a student may ask the teacher which assignments will be missed.
3. If a student will be absent from three days to two weeks, the student or parent may contact the attendance office and ask that assignments be collected. The attendance office contacts teachers and asks for work within 24 hours. Please call to confirm that work has been delivered before coming to the attendance office to pick up homework.
4. Individual teachers may have additional homework guidelines or policies, which are explained on the academic information sheet for each class.
5. If a student will be out for more than two weeks due to illness, he or she is entitled to homebound instruction services if a medical condition is certified by a doctor. Please contact Dr. Jill Maraldo at 718-4014 to obtain a medical certification form and arrange for a homebound tutor.

*Excessive excused absences that accumulate to 10 or more full days of school will result in parental contact by the student’s Dean (or designee).

*It may be necessary for these absences to be reviewed by an administrative team including, but not limited to: Dean of Students, Counselor, Associate Principal, and Principal.

Messages/Deliveries to Students
Please note that during the school day the Attendance office cannot accept nor deliver personal messages to students. Only in the case of IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEDICAL EMERGENCY can a message be delivered.

Unexcused/Unauthorized Absences 
Some absences that occur at the discretion of the student and/or parent may not be considered excused. The belief of the school is that students benefit most from uninterrupted contact with their teachers in the learning environment. Therefore, absences that occur for the following reasons will be considered unexcused or unauthorized, respecting the parents’/guardians’ wishes to have their student out of school:

Examples of unauthorized absences may include but are not limited to:

• Class cutting
• All day truancy
• Birthdays
• Failure to sign in or sign out
• Job interview
• Oversleeping
• Shopping trips
• Missed school bus
• Beauty appointments (before dances)
• Car trouble
• Baby-sitting
• Late call
• Excessive parent calls
• Runaways
• Extended lunch or breakfast
• Undocumented health-related absences
• Senior Ditch Day
• Pre-Approved Family Related Activity days exceeding the pre-approved limit

When an absence is unexcused, a student will be permitted to make up the work missed. Credit given for such work will be at the discretion of the teacher who will establish reasonable time limits for its completion. The student may request a review of these decisions by the Division Head.

Ditch Day
Buffalo Grove High School does not support a "senior ditch day." We ask parents to support us in taking a stance against "ditch day." When an excessive number of students are out of class, their absence negatively impacts the educational process in the building. Should a student make the decision to participate in "ditch day," the absence will be treated as unexcused. Medical documentation may be requested to excuse any absence on such a day.