Planned Absences

Process for Planned Absences

• Students may pick up a planned absence form from the Student Services Office or download one here. These forms are for three or more days.
  
• Students need to have teachers complete the form, including current grade, attendance in class and work to be completed, with due date.
• Once the form is complete, with a parent/guardian note attached, students then seek final approval from the Dean of Students.
• Students are encouraged to check in with the Dean of Student’s office before leaving for the planned absence and upon the student’s return
• A planned absence of more than 3 days requires additional paperwork and must be approved by the Dean of Students. A long-term absence requires a week’s notice. Failure to provide adequate notice may result in JUG for not following procedures.
• If the absence is approved, instructors will be informed and, where it is reasonable, homework assignments will be provided. Teachers are not expected to prepare an alternate to their classroom preparation, class discussions, testing, etc. Ordinarily, it will be the responsibility of the family to acquire tutoring when a student falls behind because of a planned absence.
• When a planned absence is not approved, it is considered an unexcused absence and therefore, instructors will not accept any work missed. The Dean of Student’s will contact the family if the absence is not excused

Parents and students especially need to understand that any choice to extend vacation times, whether at the start of school, in October, Thanksgiving, Christmas or Spring Break, will bring about serious issues regarding attendance. Students and parents who choose to extend vacation periods could be jeopardizing the student’s grade because of absenteeism and should seriously consider those choices ahead of time. Bellarmine will not accept responsibility for providing special assignments and examinations for students not in attendance because of family vacations. (See policy on absenteeism.)

Policy on Absenteeism

When a student misses six (6) classes, excused or unexcused, (not including school related (SR) absences), a letter will be mailed home outlining our process for reviewing the student’s attendance and academic status. The student’s attendance and academic progress will be monitored weekly by a committee consisting of theVice Principal of Curriculum and Instruction; Dean of Students; and representatives from the Counseling Department. At eight (8) missed classes, a letter will be mailed home stating the student may be dropped from the class (es) with a failing grade at nine (9) missed classes. Chronic illnesses will be reviewed individually and every attempt will be made to assist the student academically. Students who have significant attendance issues related to chronic illness or injury must provide medical documentation that allows for an exemption to the attendance policy. This also helps in the writing and implementation of an Individualized Accommodation Plan – if needed – to support academic success.