Attendance is regulated by the Federal Government (No Child Left Behind Act), Maryland Sate Board of Education (COMAR 13A) and the Prince George 's County Public Schools (Administrative Procedure No. 5113)

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The following procedures are our best effort to reach a goal set for us by the government of 94% present each attendance day of the school year. There is no distinction between lawful/excused absences and unlawful/unexcused absences. Both types of absence count against our attendance record. The school requires accurate and honest information in order to best comply with regulations and meet this goal.

Only parents/guardians of record may provide information, make requests, or sign out students. This means the only person(s) that can have access to the particular student or the student's records is the person(s) listed in our database at the time of the transaction. Be prepared to show proper picture identification if requested.

ERHS is encouraging everyone to attend school every day; there is no substitute for being here. Experiences one has in a classroom are difficult if not impossible to duplicate and very often cannot be represented as well as the original experience with make up assignments.

ABSENCES: Parents, guardians, and students need to read our policies and procedures below. Trips and vacations are not considered excused absences. You should schedule your plans around the school calendar. All the major research studies in education show that school attendance is a major factor affecting student success.

CLICK HERE to go to the PGCPS SCHOOL CALENDAR

Attendance regulation COMAR 13A.08.01.03 defines lawful (excused) absence and states that "Students presently enrolled in public schools are considered lawfully absent from school, including absence for any portion of the day, only under the following conditions:

•  Death in the immediate family. (The local school system shall determine what relationships constitute the immediate family.)  Our school defines the immediate family as:

•  father (step father, male legal guardian)
•  mother (step mother, female legal guardian)
•  uncle (brother of parent/legal guardian/step parent)
•  aunt (sister of parent/legal guardian/step parent)
•  brother (step brother)
•  sister (step sister)
•  grandfather
•  grandmother)

•  Illness of the student. (The principal or a pupil personnel worker shall require a physician's certificate from the parent or guardians of a student reported continuously absent for illness.)

•  Court summons.

•  Hazardous weather conditions. (Hazardous weather conditions shall be interpreted to mean weather conditions which would endanger the health or safety of the student when in transit to and from school.)

•  Work approved or sponsored by the school, the local school system, or the State Department of Education, accepted by the local superintendent of schools or the school principal, or their designees as reason for excusing the students.

•  Observance of a religious holiday.

•  State emergency.

•  Suspension.

•  Lack of authorized transportation. (This does not include students denied authorized transportation for disciplinary reasons.)

•  Other emergency or sets of circumstances which, in the judgment of the superintendent or designee, constitutes a good and sufficient cause for absence from school."

This list does not include "Family/Personal Emergency" or "Out of Town". School employees operate in place of the parent ( en loco parentis ) during school hours and should be told reasons for emergencies in order to research requests and judge them as good and sufficient so try to include more information rather than less.

Students who are absent 1 or 2 days must submit a note from the parent/guardian to their homeroom teacher (1st period teacher) within 2 days of their return to school stating the date and reason for the absence and a work number where the parent can be contacted during the day. Students who do not bring an excuse note have 48 hours (2 days) to bring in a note. Students who are absent 3 or more days may be required to present a note from their physician to the homeroom teacher (1 st period teacher ) . Students who are absent for other than the above reasons or who fail to provide an acceptable note within 48 hours (2 days) will be marked unexcused and will not be allowed to make up the work they missed in class. Students who accumulate five (5) unexcused absences in a semester long course or ten (10) unexcused absences in a year long course will not receive credit for the class (N Grade).

LATE ARRIVALS TO SCHOOL: All students who arrive after 8:25 AM must report to the attendance office with a note specifying the reason for tardiness. and acquire a late pass from the attendance office personnel before reporting to class. "Family/Personal emergencies" must be explained, and the attendance office personnel will use discretion and judgment in determining the legality of the late arrival. Students who are late for medical/dental or other appointments with professionals must present an excuse on letterhead from the professional visited. Students late due to illness must present a note from the legal parent/guardian of record. Students late without a note have 48 hours (2 days) to produce a note. Students late because of school buses will not be penalized and will be provided with a late pass at the door. Passes will be distributed only to students who enter the building via the main lobby entrance. Verification of late buses will be confirmed from the late bus check-in list. Students late because of transportation of any type other than school buses will not be excused. Trips and vacations are not considered excused late arrivals .

EARLY DEPARTURES: Students need to submit a note to the attendance office before school the day before an early departure so that there is enough time to verify the information. The note must contain the reason for the early departure, the student's ID number , a phone number where the parent can be contacted during the day, and the signature of the parent. The attendance office verifies all early departure requests. If an unexpected event arises and a student cannot bring in the note the day before, then parents should send in a note the day of the request. If parents do not send in a note and confirm the request via telephone, they must come into the attendance office to sign the student out of school. Unless prior arrangements have been made, only legal guardians and parents may sign a student out of school. No student should leave the building without signing out in the attendance office before they leave. Trips and vacations are not considered lawful excuses .

EXTENDED ILLNESSES: If a student is going to be absent from school for more than three (3) days for medical reasons, the parent/guardian needs to inform the guidance secretary so that arrangements can be made for the acquisition of make-up work. The number to the guidance office is 301-513-5305.

SCHOOL SPONSORED ACTIVITIES: Absence from school or class for a school-sponsored activity will be treated as an excused absence. Students are encouraged BUT NOT REQUIRED to get assignments in advance or to have the assignments completed by the next day.

PLANNED ABSENCES: For a planned absence(s) to be lawful/excused, students must have in the database at the time of request:

•  a GPA of 2.00 or higher

•  NO grades of D, E, I, or N in any subject on current progress reports or report cards

•  NO unexcused absences

•  TEN (10) OR FEWER cumulative excused absences. Suspensions are excused absences

Students who can meet these requirements should follow these procedures:

•  Pick up a "PLANNED ABSENCE REQUEST" form at scheduling office or print one from our web site. Have it completed and signed. Attach documentation for your planned absence. This documentation must include contact information to be used for verification (such as a phone number or email address) in addition to a valid postal address. Documentation could include email, brochures, announcements, correspondence with an admissions officer or designee.

•  Submit the form to the scheduling office at least FIVE SCHOOL DAYS IN ADVANCE so research on your request can be completed. Your request will be reviewed by a committee consisting of the scheduling coordinator, the curriculum coordinator, and the principal. The request will either be approved (your absences will be lawful, excused) or denied (your absences will be unlawful, unexcused).

•  One day after submitting the request, you should pickup the approval form or the denial letter from your homeroom teacher before the absence(s) occurs. Have your teachers sign the approval form in the spaces provided. The student should return the approval form to the scheduling office. The denial form is the students to keep.

All of the above requirements have to be met and above procedures followed in order for the planned absences to be approved. Requests that fall outside these requirements are reviewed by the scheduling coordinator, the curriculum coordinator, and the principal who make a MUTUAL and FINAL decision.

IF YOUR PLANNED ABSENCE REQUEST IS DENIED and the student is absent on the dates requested, the absence will be illegal unless a doctor's note on letterhead is produced.

Planned absence requests to visit colleges and other post secondary organizations will be considered for seniors only. Many opportunities exist on days when high school is not in session to visit. Refer to the link below for the dates that PGCPS is not in session:

CLICK HERE to go to the PGCPS SCHOOL CALENDAR

PLANNED ABSENCES OUT OF THE COUNTRY:  If a planned absence involves travel outside the USA, we will withdraw the student on the date of departure and re-enroll the student if the student returns. In this way the absences will not count against our school in trying to meet the goal of 94% present each attendance day.

ATTENDANCE OFFICE: If parents or guardians would like to check on the attendance record of their children, they can reach the attendance office at 301-614-3447 . Personnel from the attendance office will send letters and make calls to the parents and/or guardians of students who accumulate excessive absences. In an attempt to improve home-school communication and to increase each student's attendance rate, an automated calling device will leave a message at the home of each student on each day they are absent or late. Be sure to have accurate information in the school's database.