Chesapeake School Board Policy is as follows:

"Students shall comply with the state laws on compulsory attendance."

Students must be regular and punctual in attendance. Regular school attendance is important to the academic development of the student. Excessive and unexcused absences from school are harmful to such development.

Sickness of a student, severe illness or death in the family, exposure to contagious disease, religious holidays, or extremely inclement weather shall be considered the only legitimate excuses for absence or tardiness. In all cases of absence or tardiness the parent or guardian will give an excuse, in writing, stating the advance permission of the Principal or her representative. Such absence requests must be made in writing stating the reason and time of absence.

Legal reference: Code of VA & 22.1-254-22.1-269 Compulsory School

Unexcused absences shall include all absences that result from reasons other than sickness of a student, severe illness or death in the family, exposure to contagious disease, religious holidays, extremely inclement weather or reasons approved in advance by the principal or his designee.

Hickory High School's Attendance Procedures are as follows:

First-period teachers will report student attendance to the attendance office each morning at the beginning of the first period.

No student who has been absent may be admitted to class without an admittance note from the first period teacher.

The first-period teacher will write admittance slips (excused or unexcused) for students who were absent and teachers throughout the course of the student's day must sign the admittance slips.

Daily attendance procedure is as follows

Students arriving tardy after homeroom from a doctor's appointment must submit a note from the doctor to the attendance office.

Students who need to leave school early for doctor's appointment, etc. must submit a note from the parent to the first-period teacher at the beginning of first period.

CLASS CUTS:

Teachers take attendance at the beginning of each class.

Teachers check names of students absent from class against the absentee sheet. Students who are absent from class and who are not on the absentee sheet are reported for cutting class.

TARDY PROGRAM:

At each tardy bell during the school day, the classroom doors will be closed. No students are to be admitted to the classrooms after the tardy bell, unless they have an admittance slip from the Assistant Principal for Attendance or his/her designee.

The following administrative action will be taken for students who are tardy:

1st tardy - Warning
2nd tardy - Warning
3rd tardy - Warning
4th tardy - ISS
5th tardy - ISS
6th tardy etc. - OSS

EXCESSIVE ABSENCES:

Students may be absent only nine (9) days in a term class. These days include all unexcused and excused absences.

A warning letter is sent home when the student has missed five (5) days of class. The 10th day results in failure and loss of credit.