As noted in Sevier County Board of Education Policy 602, attendance is a key factor in student achievement and therefore, students are expected to be present and on time each day that school is in session.

The attendance supervisor will oversee the entire attendance program, which will include:

Absences and tardies will be classified as either excused or unexcused as determined by the principal or his/her designee using the following criteria as set forth by the Board.

Excused absences and tardies result from the following:

Other absences and tardies will be unexcused.

Students participating in school-sponsored activities whether on or off campus will not be counted absent. In order to be school-sponsored, the activity must be school planned, school oriented, and/or teacher supervised. All missed class work and tests must be made up when a student has an excused absence or is out of class on a school-sponsored activity.

When a student's tardy or absence is unexcused, the student will be allowed to make up tests missed. However, regular class work will not be made up and the student will receive a zero for that work. If there is no graded assignment given on the date of the unexcused absence, the student will receive a negative three points from his/her daily grade. If there is no graded assignment given on the date of the unexcused tardy, the student will receive a negative one point.

For grades K-12, parent/guardian notes will be accepted by the principal for each event of student illness in a semester or term for up to five days. Such events will be considered excused. If the illness becomes extended, the principal may request a medical statement to verify the illness. After four occasions in a semester or term, medical or other professional statements provided by a doctor, dentist, etc., may be required by the principal for each occasion. If requested by the principal, failure to provide the statements will cause the absence to become unexcused.

K-12 students with excessive (more than 5) unexcused absences have the opportunity to appeal. Elementary school students/parents may appeal directly to the school principal or his/her designee. Each high school will create an Attendance Appeals Committee, to evaluate any requests for appeals, waivers, or hardship cases related to the attendance policy. This committee will be chaired by the principal or his/her designee. The decision of this committee is final. The burden of proof for any appeal rests on the student or their parent/guardian.

For additional guidance relative to Attendance in grades 9-12 please refer to Board Policy 619. Any student having five or more unexcused absences will be considered for possible truancy actions. Sevier County Schools seeks to encourage and reinforce regular school attendance starting in the home. Beginning with the 2018-2019 school year, Sevier County Schools will implement the following Progressive Truancy Intervention Plan which will be distributed to students and parents on an annual basis.

• All accounting and reporting procedures and their dissemination;
• Alternative program options for students who severely fail to meet minimum attendance requirements;
• Ensuring that all school age children attend school;
• Providing documentation of enrollment status upon request for students applying for new or reinstatement of driver's permit or license; and
• Notifying the Department of Safety whenever a student with a driver's permit or license drops out of school.
• Personal illness;
• Illness of immediate family member;
• Death in the family;
• Extreme weather conditions;
• Religious observances;
• School bus failures;
• Circumstances which in the judgment of the principal create emergencies over which the student had no control.

Students who receive an excused absence are required to make up work missed in each class. In grades 7-12, it is the student's responsibility to obtain all make-up work from teachers immediately upon returning to school. Students in grades K-6 may receive prompts from teachers to ensure that work is completed on time. Students have at least the same number of days absent to complete the make-up work. Teachers and principals may extend this make-up time if situations warrant an extension.

Students who receive an unexcused absence will not be permitted to make up missed daily work. Instead the student will receive a zero for this daily work. Major tests may be made up.

All students must follow the new state law, which requires school personnel to intervene with services for students who accrue five (5) or more unexcused absences during the school year. A student's first five (5) absences in each semester may be excused with a note from a parent.

Tier One (3+ Unexcused Absences)
Schools will check attendance and connect students and families with a school Attendance Team to create an attendance contract and monitor progress.

Tier Two (Continued Accumulation of Unexcused Absences 4+)
A school based Attendance Team member will check student needs through an individualized assessment, will schedule follow up meetings with the student and parent as needed, and will connect families with appropriate and available services agencies if necessary.

Tier Three (Continued Accumulation of Unexcused Absences 5+; Non Compliance with Tiers 1 & 2 Mandates)
The school-based Attendance Team will check student progress, review effectiveness of current interventions, and determine appropriate next steps, which could include filing a petition with juvenile court if previous connections with the student and parent have failed.

High school students will adhere to the following policy as it relates to high school attendance. (For general guidelines, refer to Board Policy 602.)

In the event of illness that would require an absence from school, the principal will accept a parent note on five days per semester. These five days will be excused absences. If the illness becomes extended the principal may request a medical or other statement to verify the illness. After these five days, medical or other professional statements provided by a doctor, dentist, etc. may be required for each occasion. Lack of this statement will cause the absence to become unexcused.

Excessive tardies result in lost learning time for students. A student with a total of four cumulative unexcused tardies during a semester grading period will be subject to disciplinary action and parent notification. Each subsequent tardy during a semester will result in disciplinary action determined at the discretion of the principal.

A record of class absences will be kept by each teacher. A student missing more than twenty (20) minutes of a class period is considered absent for that class.

Principals may require a conference with a student's parents if there is a question on the authenticity of a parent note. A parent is expected to provide a written excuse for a student's absence(s). This excuse should be on file within two days of the student's return to school. Failure to present a note will result in the absence being unexcused.

All students in grades 9-12 are required to take comprehensive six weeks tests in each course for first, second, fourth, and fifth six weeks grading periods.

Students who have no more than 1 excused absence during the semester are eligible to exempt semester tests in up to 2 of their courses. Students cannot exempt state End-of-Course examinations. State End-of-Course examinations are required in English I, English II, Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, Biology, and US History. Further, the results of these examinations will be factored into the student’s grade at a percentage determined by the State Board of Education in accordance with T.C.A. §49-1-302 (2). The weight of the end-of-course examination on the student’s course average shall be 15%. Students may also not exempt Dual Enrollment, Dual Credit, or Advanced Placement Course exams.

Grade averages for each course are determined as follows:

Semester Average

• Students taking semester exam: Average of three six weeks - 85%; the remaining 15% being the semester test score.
• Students exempt from semester exam: Three six weeks averaged equally.

Six Weeks Grade Computation

• Daily average (quizzes, homework, etc.) - 66 2/3%
• Test average (at least two major tests; one must be cumulative) - 33 1/3%