Spring Hill High School’s attendance policy is based directly on Maury County’s policy. The policy is fairly strict.
Students are only allowed to be absent for personal or family member illness, death in the immediate family (3 day max), extreme weather, religious observances (5 day max), or emergencies (at the principal’s discretion). The school even goes so far as to define immediate family member as: “spouse, children, parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, mother-in-law, father-in-law, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, brother-in-law, and sister-in-law.” Defining immediate family and setting a maximum on absences seems harsh but must result from abuses to the system.
As opposed to Independence High School’s 5 allowed absences, Spring Hill does not allow pre-planned absences for family trips, etc.
When a student returns to school, they must bring a note signed by their parent or guardian explaining their absence. If the absence was due to a doctor or dentist appointment, faxed notes will not be accepted, and the note must include the name of the physician and the time of the appointment. The school may call to confirm.
Similar to Independence High School, if a student misses 10 consecutive days or 15 total days during a semester, they will lose their eligibility to get a driver’s permit and/or license. For further explanation, see my post: How Tennessee Driver’s License Laws Work.
For the full attendance policy, go to page 9 at http://www.mauryk12.org/SpringHillHigh/Syllabus%20etc/HB%20-%20Attendance.pdf
On a side note, here’s an interested except from the attendance policy:
“Mass exodus, early dismissal or late arrival of all students or any segment of students shall not be permitted for any reason except for emergencies, such as inclement weather or other unavoidable situations, unless instruction time is made up in full.”
With the advent of Facebook and Twitter and with so many people carrying internet-capable phones, it’s now easy for massive groups of people to quickly organize large gatherings or departures. Instead of meet-ups, these large, random gatherings are called “Tweatups”. I believe the excerpt above refers to something like tweatups where students are organizing mass tardiness or skipping. I thought you would like to be aware of this phenomenon.
Related Posts
Spring Hill High School – Dress Code
Spring Hill High School – Academics
Spring Hill High School – Bus Stops and Times
Spring Hill High School – Parent Portal