Attendance Policy

• A parent or guardian must report the student absence via the Infinite Campus Parent Portal, phone 715-262-5389, or EMAIL,  BY 9:00 A.M.  You may leave a message on the attendance line at any time. 
• Failure to report an absence will result in a student receiving unexcused absence marks in each of their class periods which will count towards truancy.
• Absence notices will be sent out via email and telephone by 9:30 am each day.

• A parent or guardian must report the student absence via the Infinite Campus Parent Portal, phone 715-262-5389, or EMAIL,  BY 9:00 A.M.  You may leave a message on the attendance line at any time. 
• For appointments, parents are asked to submit via the Infinite Campus Parent Portal or call the High School office at 715.262.5389 prior to their departure time. For last minute appointments please call as there is a slight delay in the Infinite Campus processing. 
• A student cannot leave school without a parent/guardian's notification providing permission for dismissal. 
• The student must stop in the office to pick up a "Leave School Pass" and must check out through the main office prior to departing the building.
• Upon return, the student must check back in through the main office.

Students and families have five days to excuse an absence. In the event the procedure outlined above is not followed, a student's absence will be marked unexcused. If a student misses one or more periods and a notification is not received from the parent/guardian an automated message will be sent to all phone numbers and email addresses of the primary and secondary guardians on file. 

Legal excuses are as follows:

1. Evidence that the student is not in proper physical or mental condition to attend school.
2. An illness in the immediate family, which requires the absence of the student.
3. Medical, dental, chiropractic, optometric, or other valid professional appointments.
4. A death in the immediate family.
5. Religious holidays.
6. Family trips that can be taken only during the normal school term.
7. Farm work at planting and harvesting time (part of or all of 5 days).
8. A court appearance or other legal procedure upon submission of proof.
9. Attendance at special events of educational value as approved by the school attendance officer.
10. Approved school activities during class time.
11. Special circumstances that show good cause, which are approved in advance by the school attendance officer/principal.
12. Suspension will be treated as an excused absence.

Prescott High School defines an unexcused absence as missing 10 or more minutes of any single class period without an acceptable reason (see ‘Excused Absence’ for list of acceptable absences).  Unexcused absenteeism leads to truancy, and multiple truancies leads to habitual truancy.

Unacceptable excuses that will always be deemed unexcused include, but are not limited to:

• Oversleeping
• “Running late”
• Car Trouble
• Being pulled over by law enforcement 
• Weather, unless due to school closures decided by Prescott School District
• Leaving school to grab lunch as detailed by our “Closed Campus” policy (pg. 13 of student handbook)
• Leaving school to retrieve forgotten items, either in a car or at home.
• Working a job during school hours not in-line with the high school’s Work-Based Learning & Youth Apprenticeship Program expectations and requirements
• Failure to provide a reason or context.

Parents are permitted to excuse their child from school for up to 10 days.  This would include minor illnesses, regularly scheduled doctors or dental visits, vacations or other reasons.

Absences considered EXEMPT from the 10 day total would include a medical illness/appointment accompanied by a doctor's note indicating the dates  a child should remain out of school and a return date, emergency medical visits or hospitalizations. Provider notes are accepted up to 5 school days after the appointment.

School staff will work with families regarding attendance  to create an action plan for special situations related to health and other issues.

A student must attend school the entire day to participate that day unless special circumstances warrant administrative approval in advance. Students who are absent for any part of the school day will be declared ineligible unless the student meets one of the excused absence reasons per the student handbook. Students absent for illness are ineligible to participate in any after school activities.

Excused Absences: All students with excused absences will be given the opportunity to make up missed course work or examinations.  It is first and foremost the student’s responsibility to contact their teacher(s) for making up missed work or examinations.  If a family knows their child will be absent from school in advance, it is the expectation that the student and family reach out to that student’s individual teachers to receive any and all coursework in advance.  Coursework received this way will need to be completed prior to the student’s pre-planned absence unless decided differently by that student’s teacher.  Teachers shall have the discretion to assign substitute coursework or examinations in the event of excused absenteeism.  As a guideline, students will have two (2) days to complete make-up work for every one (1) day counted as an excused absence.

Unexcused Absence: Students who receive unexcused absence marks may be permitted to make up coursework at the teacher’s discretion; however, credit is not required to be given.  If it is determined that credit will be given, it will only be given after the student has satisfied all consequences imposed for the unexcused absence.  Missed examinations due to unexcused absenteeism can, and must be made up at a time and date as chosen by the teacher (this can include time outside of the regularly scheduled school day).

Any absence, after missing part or all of 10 days, will be unexcused unless we receive:

• A note from the medical office stating the student was seen by a doctor on the day the student was absent.
• A note from a doctor stating the student was not in proper physical or mental condition to attend school on the day(s) of the absence. An absence not verified by a note or phone call within two (2) days following the absence will be unexcused or truant.