ATTENDANCE LAWS

In accordance with the South Carolina School Attendance Law, The School District of Greenville County has adopted uniform rules to assure students attend school regularly.  Each day that students are not in school, they miss hours of valuable instruction and opportunities for learning they will not have again.  Students are responsible for tracking their attendance in order to ensure they receive credit for all of their courses.  There is no guarantee of Seat Time Recovery so students should strive to be in each class on time.

Students are counted present only when they are actually in classes at least one-half of the class period, are on homebound instruction, or are present at an activity authorized by the school principal. The official record of attendance in class will be recorded by the teacher.

Credit for Course: The school year consists of two 90-day semesters. To receive credit in 90-day semester courses, students must attend at least 85 days of each 90-day semester course as well as meet all of the minimum requirements for each course. To receive credit in 45-day courses, students must attend at least 42 days of each 45-day course as well as meet all of the minimum requirements for each course. Any Unexcused Absence in excess of five (5) days for 90-day courses and three (3) days for 45-day courses may cause the student to lose credit for the course.

TRUANCY

SC Code of Regulations-Chapter 43-274 stipulates that a child ages 6 to 17 years is considered truant when the child has three consecutive unlawful absences or a total of five unlawful absences. For purposes of this section (truancy), a parent may provide up to 10 parent notes per school year excusing a student’s illness or other lawful absence (5 parent notes per semester). However, in order for any subsequent absence to be excused, it must be supported by a physician statement/medical note or other documentation for lawful absence. 

LAWFUL (Excused) ABSENCES: 

• absences caused by a student's own illness and whose attendance in school would endanger his or her health or the health of others
• absences due to an illness or death in the student's immediate family
• absences due to a recognized religious holiday of the student's faith
• absences for students whose parents/guardians are experiencing a military deployment
• absences due to activities that are approved in advance by the principal

UNLAWFUL (Unexcused) ABSENCES:

• absences of a student without the knowledge of their parents,
• absences of a student without acceptable cause with the knowledge of their parents,
• suspensions ARE NOT counted as an unlawful absences for truancy purposes.

MINIMUM ATTENDANCE TO BE COUNTED PRESENT

• Students are counted present only when they are actually in school, on homebound instruction, or are present at an activity authorized by the school principal.
• A student is considered in attendance for the whole day when present for at least three (3) hours (180 mins) of a school day.
• A student must attend at least 50% (45 minutes) of a class session during a school day to be counted present/receive credit for that class.

TARDY POLICY

Greenville Early College expects students to be in class on time.  Doors open daily at 7:45AM with 1st Period starting at 8:00AM.  Any student arriving after 8:00AM without a valid excuse will be marked as an Unexcused Tardy. During the school day, students have five (5) minutes between classes to help them manage the hallways, visit restrooms, and move from one end of the school to the other. Uninterrupted time on task is vital to the educational process and is one of the major goals at Greenville Early College. Students coming into class late disrupt that process

In order to have an Excused Tardy to class, a student must present:

• a Tardy Pass marked Excused from the Attendance Clerk,
• a Hall Pass/Note from a Teacher who may have detained the student,
• a Hall Pass/Note from Administrators or Guidance personnel who may have detained the student,
• a Hall Pass/Note from the Nurse indicating that the student is being seen for a medical issue,
• OR a Hall Pass/Note from other staff (CIS, Mental Health, etc.) who may have detained the student.

When a student does not have such a note, it will be marked as an Unexcused Tardy.  Teachers and Administrators will follow a sequence of consequences for tardies.  

• Tardy 1st - 3rd: Warning
• Tardy 4th - 7th: Detention
• Tardy 8+: Discipline Referral: Student placed on Probationary Status, Warning letter for parking privileges (for 1st Period tardies), if applicable. OSS 2 days.

Failure to attend assigned detention may result in OSS for 2 days per offense.

Tardies are reported by period and reset after each semester.

Students who miss more than 45 minutes of class will be counted as absent for that class period.

PARENT NOTES POLICY

Parents may provide up to 10 parent notes per school year (5 per semester) excusing a student illness, an absence related to an immediate family member’s illness or death or other lawful absence.  Once the allowed number of Parent Notes has been exceeded, any subsequent Parent Note submitted will be marked as an Unexcused Parent Note, which is an unexcused absence.

SUBMITTING A NOTE FOR STUDENT ABSENCE

Notes for students absences can be submitted by one of three methods: EMAIL, HANDWRITTEN NOTE or ONLINE.

EMAILED/HANDWRITTEN STUDENT ABSENCE NOTES

• Email notes for Student Absences to madell@greenville.k12.sc.us
• According to GCSD policy, a student has two (2) days upon their return from any absence to submit an absence note.  If a valid excuse is not turned in, the absence will be regarded as an Unexcused Absence.

Information to include in your email or handwritten notes:

Student Name

Student Grade

Date of absence(s)

Reason for absence(s)

Parent/Guardian Name and Contact Number

ONLINE

• Submit notes for student absences HERE.

 IMPORTANT NOTES

• Notes for student absences should be submitted as soon as possible upon the student's return to school.
• If you have a medical/dental/legal document or other documentation, you can take a picture on your phone and attach it to an email, submit it separately to the Main Office or fax it to 864-355-9815.
• Medical excuses must provide specific, finite dates for excusal.  If early dismissals are for doctor/dentist/etc. appointments, an official note from the facility/doctor must be returned in order for an absence to be classified as Medical (which is an Excused Absence).

SUBMITTING A STUDENT EARLY DISMISSAL REQUEST

Early Dismissal requests can be submitted by one of three methods: EMAIL, HANDWRITTEN NOTE or ONLINE.

EMAILED/HANDWRITTEN STUDENT EARLY DISMISSAL REQUESTS

• Email Early Dismissal Requests to madell@greenville.k12.sc.us
• Handwritten Early Dismissal Requests should be brought in as early as possible on the day of the early dismissal to the Main Office.

Information to include in your email or handwritten note:

Student Name

Student Grade

Time of dismissal

Parent/Guardian Name and Contact Number

ONLINE

• Submit student early dismissal requests HERE.

 IMPORTANT NOTES

• Make every effort to have the dismissal time between classes to minimize classroom disruption.  No In-Person Early Dismissals after 3:15PM.  A valid ID must be shown at the time of pickup.
• PARENTS/GUARDIANS: Please add all eligible persons who can pick up your student in BackPack for Parents.

COLLEGE VISITS

SEAT TIME

Students who don't qualify for credit for a class because they have exceeded the allowed number of unexcused absences may participate in Seat Time Recovery.

A student must attend the majority (50%) of a class during a school day to receive credit for that class and be counted present for that class.

In order to receive credit for a class after the 5th Unexcused Absence (90-day course) and after the 3rd Unexcused Absence (45-day course), Seat Time Recovery is required for every subsequent Unexcused Absence.

*****Students can begin serving Seat Time for 2nd Semester classes on Monday, February 12.  Seat Time notices will be sent weekly to student emails beginning the week of February 5.****

• The last day for Seniors to serve Seat Time for 2nd Semester classes is Thursday, May 2.
• The last day for all other students to serve Seat Time for 2nd Semester classes is Friday, May 10.
• Students attending DCC or CTE can serve Seat Time with Ms. Chambers Dixon on the 2nd and 4th Fridays, unless otherwise noted.