• Karen Lynskey

    540-422-7374

    klynskey@fcps1.org

     

    Attendance Procedure for Absences

    Tardy Policy

     

    For absences of any description, schools will implement the following actions:

     

    For middle and high schools, when students accumulate six (6) absences, the school shall:

    1. Contact the parent/guardian, documenting the file
    2. (Optional) Schedule a conference with parent/guardian to resolve any potential chronic absenteeism issues
    3. Provide the parent/guardian the student’s attendance history and Fauquier County Public Schools attendance policy information

     

    For all schools, when students accumulate ten (10) absences, the school shall:

    1. Send a letter to the parent/guardian and attempt personal contact.
    2. (Optional) Schedule a conference within five (5) school days to develop a plan for attendance improvement. At a minimum, a phone conference should be held and documented.
    3. Inform the parent/guardian of the attendance policy to attend school all day, every day

     

    For all schools, when a student accumulates fifteen (15) absences, the school shall:

    1. Send a letter to parent/guardian stating:

    (1) Absences have been determined chronic due to

    (a) failure of parent to cooperate with the attendance improvement plan, and/or

    (b) parent has been unable to control/supervise the child with regard to school attendance; or

    (2) Absences have been determined not to be a chronic issue because of

    (a) cooperation of the parent/guardian, and/or

    (b) extenuating circumstances show absences to be reasonable and not contrary to compulsory     attendance law.

    1. If absences are considered a failure to comply with compulsory attendance law, a referral will be sent to Student Services, and one or more of the following actions will occur:

    (1) referral to a Student Support Team (SST) or other appropriate intervention;

    (2) initiation of court proceedings against the child (Child in Need of Supervision); and/or

    (3) initiation of court proceedings against the parent/guardian (Code of Virginia, Sections 18.2-371, 22.1-279.3)

    1. When attendance issues are considered to be truancy, in that parents are unaware or not supporting the student’s absences, a plan will be developed on the fifth (5th) absence and on the sixth (6th) absence an SST or interdisciplinary team meeting will be scheduled and held no more than fifteen (15) days after the 6th absence. Additional absences will result in continued interventions which may include the initiation of court proceedings.
    1. Building administrators may make the referral to Student Services at his/her discretion prior to the 15th absence.

     

    Additional Attendance Requirements

    1. Fauquier County Public Schools will treat tardiness, early dismissals, late arrivals to class, and failure to attend all assigned classes (class cuts) with the same seriousness as the school division addresses truancy.
    2. Course credit in high school must be based on a minimum of 140 clock hours of instruction, pursuant to 8 VAC 20, 131-110, Standards for Accrediting Public Schools in Virginia. Therefore, any student who misses more than 10 days in a class may fail due to absences.
    3. Once a student arrives on school property, he/she may not leave without administrative permission prior to the end of the regularly scheduled day.

    Any parent aggrieved by a decision of the superintendent may appeal his or her decision to an independent hearing officer in accordance with §22.1-254.1(E) of the Code of Virginia. (FCPS Policy 7-2.1)