Regular attendance is important to school success. Call the attendance line at 612-668-4040 or email JPS.Attendance@mpls.k12.mn.us if your child is going to be absent, and leave a message with a reason for the absence. When leaving a message, give the following information: Child's name, phone number where you can be reached, reason for absence (see below). If your child had a doctor's/dentist's appointment, ask them for a note stating the child was there, and send the note with your child when they return to school. Absences not acknowledged by note or telephone call will be considered unexcused and are subject to truancy/attendance procedures. If your child is late to school, they will need to get a pass from the office before going to class.

Excused Absence

Requests to excuse a student from school during the school day should be made in advance in writing. The Board of Education permits us to excuse students for the following reasons with no prior notice required:  

• Illness - If a student misses three (3) or more days in a row due to illness, either a note from a health professional, or a conference with the school nurse is required for excuse. If a student has eight (8) or more absences accumulated during a school year due to illness, the same documentation is required to excuse the absences. 
• Funeral attendance - up to four days, but you may request a longer period from the principal if needed for travel or cultural observances.
• Family emergency - up to three days accumulative in a school year. If the emergency is due to relocation or moving, it should be limited to one day.?
• Transportation problems - when a scheduled bus stop was not made, or was made late, or the bus experienced mechanical failure.
• Transportation interruption - when the student's relocation requires a new bus stop where none exists, and the parent is unable to transport the student to school, and the student lives within the attendance area for the school; or the student is relocated and qualifies as homeless or highly mobile and a new stop is not immediately available.
• Extreme weather conditions - the parent may determine if the weather is too extreme for the student to attend school.?
• Student appointments with healthcare providers or other professionals when the appointment cannot be made outside of school hours - the appointment must be verified in writing by the professional.

• Religious observance
• District recognized cultural observance
• Family activity - up to five (5) days in one school year. A Family Activity Form must be submitted ten (10) school days in advance of the first absence; missed schoolwork must be made up; the student must have shown adequate progress and attendance prior to the request; no family activity absences will be approved during state-wide testing days. If you need a paper copy of the request form, see the main office. 
• Appearances in a court, or quasi-judicial meeting ordered by a court, when the meeting cannot be scheduled outside of school hours?
• Non-District competitions or events - documentation from the sponsor must accompany the request; missed schoolwork must be made up by the student.

Student Release Policy

Before a student leaves the school building, his/her parent must report to the Office to sign out. Office staff will call your child(ren) to the office. Students are not to be picked up in the classroom.

Tardy

• Late to school: Student should sign in at the desk on the first floor outside the office.
• Tardy: If students miss a few minutes of class, they must give a pass to the teacher as they walk in. If they do not have a pass:
  • They will be marked tardy.
  • Upon the 2nd tardy, they will have to conference with that teacher.  
  • After the 3rd tardy, a phone call will be made home.  
  • For the 4th tardy, students will be required to serve lunch detention.
  • For the 5th tardy and beyond, social workers/teacher teams/families will be involved in a problem-solving process that works best for that student

Skipping

If students miss 15-50 minutes of class, they will be marked as absent for the hour. A phone call will be made home if this is unexcused and they will be required to serve lunch detention. If this happens again, Social Workers, Deans, and Advisors will be alerted. The school must submit the names of truant students to the legal system.

School Closings (weather, others)

If you question whether school will be canceled due to weather, listen to WCCO AM radio-830 or watch the local news stations. You should listen/watch for Minneapolis Public Schools. This information will also be posted to the district website at mpls.k12.mn.us.