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Attendance FAQ

At what point does my student owe hours?

  • Hours are calculated by class, by semester. To stay in compliance with compulsory attendance laws, a student can miss each class four times per semester without owing hours. Once a student misses their 5th class period, they owe 1 hours for every additional missed class. In order to meet the required seat time (90%), students must recover all owed hours in order to receive credit for their courses.

When do hours have to be recovered?

  • Students must recover attendance hours during the school year which they are accrued. For hours accrued during the final grading period, students will have an additional 20 days after the end of the school year to recover those hours. Students will not receive credit if they owe hours after the school year and/or the 20 day period.  

How does my student recover hours?

  • Hours can be recovered by attending Saturday School Detention. Students wishing to participate in Saturday school must sign-up online no later than 3:45 PM on Friday before the date attending. Use this link to sign-up. Once the maximum number of students have signed up, you will not be able to sign up for that day.

How do I petition to appeal?

  • Hours owed due to extenuating circumstances can be petitioned to the LTHS attendance committee. Petition forms can be found here.  All petitions must be submitted within 30 days of the end of the semester being petitioned.

What is the difference between excused and unexcused absences?

  • Excused absences and unexcused absences both count towards attendance hours. However, excused absences do not count against a student’s truancy record, and therefore will not cause a parent and student to be filed on through the court system. Unexcused absences will count against a student’s truancy record, and can result in disciplinary measures and/or truancy court filings. 
  • In order for an absence to be considered excused, doctor notes must be submitted within 72 hours of the absence. Notes received after 72 hours will not change the absence coding. For a list of excused activities/circumstances, see the student handbook.

What is the difference between owing hours and truancy?

  • Owing hours determines whether or not a student receives credit for their courses. Truancy determines whether or not a student is meeting the compulsory attendance laws; failure to do so may result in disciplinary measures and/or court filings.