Any absences due to medical reasons must be documented by an original receipt or invoice from the office of a doctor. Photocopies will not be accepted. The physician’s office may fax the receipt or invoice to the high school office at 365-7156 or at the Freshmen Center office fax at 365-6640. Faxes will only be accepted from the physician’s office. Any other fax transmission will not be accepted. Lake Central reserves the right to verify the absence with the physician. A doctor’s receipt or invoice must be submitted to the attendance office upon the student’s return to school. Absences that are documented by original receipt or invoice from a doctor will not count toward the five (5) day absence rule for loss of credit. In addition, absences related to required court appearances may be exempt from the five (5) days absence rule if a subpoena from the appropriate authority is submitted to the attendance office prior to the absence or upon return to school. Funerals of relatives are also exempt from the attendance rule with the proper documentation submitted to the attendance office upon return to school. Other exempt absences include approved service as a page or as a poll worker, approved school related functions, and two (2) verified college placement exams. All exempt absences must be documented within three (3) school days of the absence. Those students who are absent only from SPT, AIDE and/or SRT will be allowed three (3) verified absences. Subsequent unexempt absences will result in an assigned Friday School or suspension per absence.

Accepted reasons for verified absences, which do count toward the five (5) day absence policy, include, but are not limited to:

• Illness (including visits to school nurse)
• Military appointment (not recruitment)
• Approved vacations
• Family emergencies
• College visitation – seniors will be allowed two (2) college visitation days providing the requirements/steps are completed:
  • Only seniors are allowed a preapproved college visitation day and must have a minimum of 34 credits (semester 1)/37 credits (semester 2) and be eligible to graduate.
  • Arrangements must be made with the building principal prior to the visit.
  • A letter from the university, which verifies the student’s visit, must be brought to the attendance office upon the student’s return to school

A student, who exceeds four (4) nonexempt absences per semester and has accumulated no truancies during the semester, may request a conference with a building administrator/designee. Consideration will be given to the implementation of an individual plan for the student to earn back the number of days in excess of four (4). This individual plan will include a requirement of makeup time in afterschool detention and/or Friday sessions. In any class, the student will be denied credit after one opportunity to earn back absences. Any student who has accumulated more than six absences in a particular class will not be eligible for the attendance buyback program in that class.

Appeals regarding loss of credit may be requested through the Attendance Office.

Any student who must leave the building during the school day for medical reasons (doctor/dentist appointment, etc.) must have a parent or guardian notify the high school office prior to the absence. A student who misses more than ten (10) minutes of any class will be recorded absent in the class. Students must receive approval from the attendance office before leaving the school building. Upon returning to school, the student must present written documentation from the doctor indicating the time of the doctor appointment or visit in the form of an original receipt or invoice. The school and the Indiana Department of Education strongly recommend that all doctor appointments be scheduled at times other than during the school day. Before a student who has become ill or injured is sent home from the nurse’s office, the nurse will notify the student’s parent or guardian to arrange for transportation.

Absences that are not applicable to the regular attendance policy (absences for part of the day on a regular basis or absence for an extended period of time for reasons other than illness) are subject to the following procedures:

• Written request for the absence, which includes reasons consistent with the policy, must be sent to the Director of Curriculum and Instruction.  Written requests should include the following:
  • Name, grade, and school of student
  • Tim/dates of absence
  • Rationale for the absence based on the criteria below
• The Director’s response shall be issued to the student’s parents in writing.  The response shall include possible ramifications of altering the student’s regular instructional program.  Permission or denial will be based on the following criteria:
  • The activity cannot reasonably occur without interrupting the school day
  • The activity represent a unique educational opportunity
  • The activity facilitates the attainment of specific educational objectives
  • The activity is consistent with and promotes the policies, the educational philosophy and goals of the Lake Central School Corporation and the State Board of Education
  • The student must have earned minimum scholarship grades of “C” for each subject on the most recently received report card.  The principal shall monitor student academic performance at the end of each grading period

Vacation related absences do count toward the five (5) day absence rule for loss of credit. Any questions should be directed to the attendance office.

Students are considered truant in any of the following situations:

• Student’s absence is not verified by parent or guardian
• Student is not in assigned area or assigned activity while on school property during the school day
• Student leaves school without receiving prior approval from the attendance office
• Student is more than five (5) minutes tardy to class

Truancies are cumulative throughout the school year. Students do not receive credit for work missed in a class as a result of a truancy. Disciplinary action for truancy is serving time for time (with Friday School being the minimum consequence assigned) plus an additional consequence for the act. For example, a student who misses the entire school day will be assigned two (2) three hour Friday School sessions.

• 1st truancy = time for time (Friday school minimum)
• 2nd truancy = 1 day of OSS + time for time
• 3rd truancy = 2 days of OSS + time for time
• 4th truancy = 4 days of OSS + time for time
• 5th truancy = 10 days of OSS and a request for expulsion (violation of suspension clause) Lake Central School Corporation defines a student who has accumulated four (4) truancies within a school year as a “habitual truant”

If a student is late arriving to class/school any time during the school day, it is the student’s responsibility to report directly to the attendance office. A student who arrives to class five (5) or more minutes after the bell will be counted absent for that class. Students are only allowed to be ten minutes late for 1st and 5th hour before a parent phone call or note is required. If the absence is not verified, it will count as a truancy.

All students are expected to be in their assigned classrooms when the bell sounds at the start of each class. Tardiness per semester per class will be handled in the following manner:

• 1st = verbal/written warning
• 2nd = detention
• 3rd = detention
• 4th = Friday school/suspension

A student is limited to three (3) assigned Friday School sessions per semester. Subsequent infractions normally resulting in Friday School will result in a suspension.