Attendance
In School, On Time, Everyday!
24 Hour Absence Hotline (612) 668-1908
Regular attendance is important to school success. It is expected that a studentʼs attendance will be regular and on time daily unless prevented by illness, religious observance, family emergency, or severe weather. Please call the attendance line by 9:00 am when your child will be absent (612) 668-1908. Please state your childʼs name, grade and the reason for the absence. If unable to call, please send a note explaining the absence and that you are aware of the absence or tardiness. Our attendance clerk records student absences and tardiness on a daily basis. We ask your help in scheduling dental and doctor appointments after school whenever possible. Excessive late tardies can hinder learning. Once a student has 10 unexcused tardies arriving after 9:30, those tardies will then be marked as an unexcused absence.
State Law dictates our attendance policy. By law, all children in Minnesota, between the ages of 5 and 18 must go to school. Our goal in the Minneapolis Public Schools is to have 95% attendance. To achieve this, students should have no more than 8 unexcused absences during the school year.
95% attendance means 8 or fewer days of absence
Attendance Procedures
● A student is marked absent/excused when the school receives a phone call or note verifying an absence for an excusable reason.
● A student is marked absent/unexcused if parents cannot be contacted or the reason given is not excused.
Reasons for Excused Absences
● Illness – If a student has three (3) or more days in a row due to illness, either a health professional note, or a conference with the school nurse is required for excuse. If a student has eight (8) or more absences accumulated during a school year due to illness, the same documentation is required to excuse the absences.
● Funeral Attendance – up to four days, but you may request a longer period from the principal if needed for travel or cultural observances.
● Family Emergency – up to three days accumulative in a school year. If the emergency is due to relocation or moving, it should be limited to one day.
● Transportation problems – when a scheduled bus stop was not made, or was made late, or the bus experienced mechanical failure.
● Transportation interruption – when the student’s relocation requires a new bus stop where none exists, and the parent is unable to transport the student to school, and the student lives within the attendance area for the school; or when the student is relocated and qualifies as homeless or highly mobile and a new stop is not immediately available.
● Extreme weather conditions – the parent may determine if the weather is too extreme for the student to attend school.
● Student appointments with health care providers or other professionals when the appointment cannot be made outside of school hours – the appointment must be verified in writing by the professional.
● Religious observance.
● Family activity – up to five (5) days in one school year. Notice must be ten (10)school days in advance of the first absence, missed school work must be made up, the student must have shown adequate progress and attendance prior to the request; no family activity absences will be approved during state-wide testing days.
● Appearances in a court, or quasi-judicial meeting ordered by a court - when the meeting cannot be scheduled outside of school hours.
● College visits – up to two days per school year
● Non-District competitions or events – documentation from the sponsor must accompany the request; missed school work must be made up by the student.
There are many support services available to help you and your child with issues that may be affecting their attendance.
Please feel free to call our 24 Hour Absence Hotline at (612) 668-1908.