As many of you may have heard, the Lead-Deadwood School District is adopting a new attendance policy starting second semester this school year. The new policy has been discussed at several school board meetings, including a first and second reading of the policy, and was the subject of a story in the Black Hills Pioneer in November. The district is implementing this policy to clarify expectations and to set a reasonable standard for attendance because we know that regular school attendance is one of the most crucial factors in student learning. If kids are going to learn from us, they need to be here.
The full policy is included with this letter for your review. There are two main changes in the policy, reclassifying types of absences and clarifying expectations on excessive absences. Data has shown that excessive absences, whether excused by parents or not, are associated with higher rates of failure. Most students in our middle school and high school who have more than 10 absences are failing multiple classes, and at the elementary level students with more than 10 absences per semester typically perform below grade level. The district realizes too that families have busy lives and sometimes kids need to be gone from school. For that reason the new attendance policy classifies absences into unlimited or limited, rather than excused or unexcused. The policy is not designed to be punitive, but rather it is designed to help students succeed. Unlimited absences recognize special circumstances that most students would not encounter on a regular basis, so things like family emergencies, illness or injury in which a medical provider states that the student should not be in school, or school sponsored activities would not count against a student’s number of limited absences. Please see the policy itself for more clarification. The district allows for parents or guardians to excuse their children from school for any reason up to 10 times per semester. Those absences are the limited absences and would include scheduled appointments, occasional illness without a doctor’s note, or other reasons that the family feels are important. While the district recommends students miss as few days as possible, ten is the number we have set to allow families to manage their children’s attendance without question, and ten per semester is the number at which children will be considered truant.
No policy can account for every possible “what if” scenario, so if you feel that there are special circumstances for your family in which absences not specifically outlined in the policy need to be classified as unlimited, please contact your building principal to have that conversation. Some examples might include recurring appointments that are not able to be scheduled outside the school day. It is important to note that occasional, routine illnesses, like cold or flu, are in the limited category. In order to categorize an illness into the unlimited category, the doctor’s excuse will need to communicate to the school that the provider recommends the student not be in school and when they should return to.
Please read the policy carefully and contact the school with any questions. The attendance policy will reset every semester in terms of number of absences. The policy does allow for some flexibility, and most families will never be close to 10 absences per semester. We believe that several other families who currently have excessive absences will respond to a set number that is allowed and make efforts to get their kids to school. This whole thing is about us working together to give our kids the best chance for success.
Thank you,
Dr. Erik Person, Superintendent
Enclosure: Policy JE, District Attendance Policy
JE
ATTENDANCE
For the purpose of this policy, the Lead-Deadwood School District places all student absences into one of three categories, limited, unlimited, and student unaccounted for. It is the parents' responsibility to contact the school when a student is absent, whether the absence falls in the limited or unlimited category.
Unlimited Absences
The Lead Deadwood School District recognizes and grants unlimited absences for the following reasons:
1. Illness or injury with a doctor’s excuse, in which a doctor or mid-level provider recommends that the student does not attend school
2. Family emergencies, such as a death, serious injury, etc.
3. Participation in school-sponsored activities
4. Other reasons at administrator’s discretion – examples include special circumstances with prior approval
Limited Absences
Students will be allowed 10 limited absences (from any given class or cumulative whole days) per semester that can be excused by a parent or guardian for reasons such as illness, appointments, or other reasons at parent or guardian discretion. The district will follow the procedure below in tracking and communicating with families regarding limited absences.
• After 5 limited absences in a semester, a letter will be sent home reminding parents of our attendance policy, their statutory obligation, and the school’s obligation to report truancy.
• After 8 limited absences in a semester, a follow-up phone call will be made to
the parents.
• Any absences beyond 10 limited absences will be treated as truant, and a truancy ticket will be issued.
Students Unaccounted For
These procedures apply to situations in which a student’s whereabouts are unknown, or if a student is skipping. When a student’s whereabouts are unknown, safety is the first concern, so the school will aggressively seek the student out.
• Immediately upon finding that a student is unaccounted for, the school secretary, principal, school resource office, or superintendent will attempt to contact the parents by phone.
• When the student is located or returns to school, he or she will face grade-level
appropriate consequences consistent with district disciple policies.
Tardiness
Tardy policies for each school building will be outlined in the building handbook and will vary from elementary to middle school and high school. Handbook policies carry the same authority as district policy.
Adopted: December 12, 2006
Revised: July 12, 2011
Revised: October 8, 2019
Revised: December 15, 2022