Attendance Policy Summary

View Policy 3122

Sammamish High School – Attendance

Absences * Early Dismissal * Late Arrival * Attendance Corrections * Sickness * Travel

 

Report an absence, late arrival or early dismissal:

  • Parent emails [email protected]
  • Include student name, student ID#, date(s) of absence, period(s) missed and reason for absence.
  • If excusing a late arrival or early dismissal, include the arrival or departure time.
  • Send from an email address that school has on file for the parent/guardian. Other email addresses will not be accepted.
  • Excusals must be received no later than 2 school days after the date of absence.

 

For absences to be excused:

  • A doctor’s note is required for:
  • All medical appointments
  • Absences that are longer than 5 consecutive days for illness/procedures/recovery
  • Excusals must be received no later than 2 school days after the date of absence.

 

Reason for missing class must meet the guidelines in procedure 3122p. See the table below for some of the examples:

Excused: Unexcused:
Illness Over sleeping, alarm didn’t go off
Medical or Dental Appt. Driver’s Education, Private Tutoring/Lessons
Family Emergency (death in the family) Spending class time in school areas such as the library, commons, gym or hallways without teacher or administrator approval.
College Visits Eating breakfast/lunch, buying food off campus
Religious observances Errands, shopping, personal grooming
Participation in SHS athletics/activity/event Job interviews/Work Meetings/Work
SHS Field Trips Traffic, late/missed bus
Approved school meeting w/other staff Staying home to study for another class/test

 

Pre-Arranged Absences:

For parent-approved activities that are known in advance (i.e., vacation, non-SHS sports, college visits, etc.), a student:

  • Picks up a pre-arranged absence form from the Attendance Office.
  • Completes the form, including signatures from all teachers, parent/guardian.
  • Returns the form to the Attendance Office with a minimum of two full days prior to the intended absence(s) to allow sufficient time for administrator approval.
  • Up to 5 days of pre-arranged absences will be excused per student in a single school year. Any additional pre-arranged absence requests will result in unexcused absences.

 

Early Dismissal:

  • Parent/guardian must notify the Attendance Office prior to the day of early release so that an early dismissal pass can be prepared for a student. This can be done no more than one week in advance of the date needed.
  • The student will pick up their early dismissal pass before school on the day they are to leave early.
  • Students must be signed out at the attendance office by parent/guardian before leaving school, including during passing periods in order to be excused. If the student drives and has a vehicle registered with a parking pass at SHS, the parent/guardian will include in their email that they give permission for the student to sign out on each occasion necessary.
  • Parents are discouraged from walking into the school for an immediate pick-up unless it is an emergency. Students will not be released for an immediate pick up during the last 15 minutes of the school day.

 

Late Arrival:

  • All students will sign in at the Attendance Office before going to class, including during passing periods.

Absence Correction:

To correct an attendance error, a student should pick up an attendance correction form in the main office, take it directly to the teacher who made the incorrect entry and have them sign for the correct entry to be made. This must be made no later than 5 days from the marked absence.

 

Too Sick For School?

Bellevue School District follows the Washington State Department of Health COVID-19 Symptom Decision Tree for Schools to determine when students and employees are able to attend school. These guidelines override our typical guidelines for keeping students’ home from school due to illness.

You can visit the BSD website for more information:

https://bsd405.org/services/health/too-sick-for-school/