Attendance Policy

2026 – 2027 SCHOOL ATTENDANCE POLICY

(Last Revised: August 31st, 2026)

Purpose

Miles Ahead Charter School values the importance of regular attendance in ensuring scholar success. Consistent attendance fosters a positive learning environment and equips students with the skills and habits necessary for lifelong learning and success in the world of work. This policy outlines the school’s expectations regarding attendance, procedures for reporting absences, and interventions to support students and families in maintaining regular attendance.

Definitions

• Absence: A scholar is considered absent if they miss more than half a day (4 hours or more) of instructional time.
• Excused Absence: Includes the following:
  • Medical reasons with a proper excuse (doctor’s note).
  • Bereavement with a note from a family member (death in the immediate family).
  • Religious holidays observed by the student’s faith.
  • Court orders or mandates by governmental agencies.
  • Conditions rendering school attendance hazardous to health or safety.
  • Voting in a public election (up to one day).
  • Visits with a parent/guardian in military service, up to 5 days per year, with proper documentation.
• Unexcused Absence: Any absence that does not meet the criteria for an excused absence, including:
  • Absences without a valid explanation or reason.
  • Transportation issues or non-medical appointments.
  • Any other absence not covered under the definition of excused absence.
• Tardy: A scholar is tardy when arriving at school or class after the designated start time.
• Chronic Absenteeism: Is a defined statutory status: total absences (excused or unexcused) ≥ 10% of enrolled school days. Chronic absenteeism whether excused or unexcused automatically triggers Tier 3 intensive intervention.
• Truant: Truancy is categorized under two different legal definitions & thus warrant different consequences.
  • (SBOE Rule 160-5-1) governs school level truancy & states that a scholar is deemed truant once they reach 5 unexcused absences or more within a school year.
  • (Child in Need of Service Truancy Intervention/CHINS) requires the 10 days of unexcused absences & triggers DEFACS/Court referral.

Reporting Absences

• Notification: Parents/guardians must notify the school of their child’s absence as soon as possible. Notifications should be uploaded to our attendance portal: https://app.cariina.com/public/workflows/forms-live/6a340c947ced13 4593218728.
• Parent/Guardian Notes: Absences of up to 3 days may be supported by a parent/guardian note & categorized as excused if:
  • The reasoning is listed under the excused absence definition.
  • The note is submitted within 3 days of the scholar’s return to school.
  • The note is submitted via the MACS Attendance Portal (Beginning September 1st, 2026).
  • The note includes the scholar’s name, grade, homeroom teacher, reason for the absence, date of the absence (s), & parent signature.
  • Beginning, September 1st, 2026, the parent/guardian note must be submitted via the MACS Attendance Portal (not email.) The parent/guardian note must include; the scholar’s name, grade, homeroom teacher name, reason for the absence, date of the absence, & parent signature.
• Medical Absences: Absences due to illness that exceed 3 or more consecutive days will only be excused by a doctor’s note.

Progressive Attendance Monitoring

Chronically Absent

Any scholar whose absences exceed 10% of enrolled school days are tracked separately from & in addition to unexcused absences tiers. Chronic absenteeism also tracks absences for excused/medical reasons & automatically triggers Tier 3 intervention.

Hospital/Homebound Policy

• Any scholar anticipated to be absent 10+ consecutive school days (or intermittently for a documented chronic health condition) will be considered for HHB services upon completion of the HHB referral & parental-agreement process.
  • Scholars approaching the 10 day consecutive mark for absences due to medical reasons are automatically routed to HHB review.

Automatic Withdrawal

• A scholar may be withdrawn from MACS for non-attendance after 10 consecutive unexcused absences.
• Parents/guardians will be notified via certified mail ahead of the withdrawal.
• Scholars that are receiving HHB services or who have incurred excused absences during the 10 day consecutive period will not be withdrawn.

Late Arrival & Early Pick-Up

• Scholars arriving at school after 9:30am will not be permitted to class unless they have a doctor’s note.
• Scholars being picked up early from school must be picked up by 2:00pm.
• For a scholar to receive credit for a half a day of school, they must be present for at least 4 hours of the school day.

Tardiness

• Conversion to Absences: To encourage punctuality, every five unexcused tardies will be counted as one unexcused absence for attendance and truancy purposes.
• Parental Notification: Parents/guardians will be notified when their child accumulates multiple tardies. If tardiness becomes a recurring issue, the Attendance Team may request a meeting with the parents/guardians to discuss the impact on the scholar’s academic progress.
• Interventions: Repeated tardiness may lead to interventions similar to those used for unexcused absences, including parental meetings and involvement of the school social worker.

Documentation and Record-Keeping

• The school will maintain accurate attendance records, which will be reviewed regularly by the Attendance Team and made available to relevant school staff. These records will be used to identify patterns of absenteeism and inform intervention strategies.
• Parents/Guardians will receive their scholars detailed attendance report every progress reporting period.
• All attendance correspondence made via email, phone, communication folders, home visit, certified mail, etc. will be documented in the scholar’s Infinite Campus Attendance log.
• Signed acknowledgements will be kept on file in the scholar’s digital PR folder & records room PR folder for a period of 2 school years.
• All attendance/discipline data as well as the Board’s decisions on SASCC recommendations will be maintained & reported to the State Board of Education annually by the Director of Operations.

Contesting an Absence or Tardy

• Please feel free to email: crewfamilyinfo@milesaheadcharter.org for any questions related to any tardies or absences. We are more than happy to review records alongside our families.