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Attendance Matters!

Attend Today, Achieve Tomorrow
 
 
School success goes hand in hand with good attendance! Too many absences—excused or unexcused—can keep students from succeeding in school and in life. How many are too many? 10% of the school year—that’s 18 missed days or 2 days a month—can knock students off track.
Click on the flyers below to learn more about why attendance matters and what you can do to help your student succeed!
The state of Tennessee defines truancy as a student who has five (5) undocumented or unexcused absences. Continued undocumented absences is educational neglect. Children who are eleven (11) or older are deemed responsible enough to get to school without a parent’s help unless that child has an Individual Educational Plan (IEP). If a child has an IEP or is under the age of 11, the court files a warrant against the parent for that misdemeanor.
 
Bedford County Schools uses a three-tier system, put in place by the Tennessee Department of Education, as a way for parents and schools to work together to keep students in school. Please see the chart below for details. 
Tier Level Number of Absences Result  
Tier 1 0 – 5 unexcused absences Call or message from the school.

If seven (7) days have not passed, the parent may turn in the doctor’s note or a

parent note for the absence(s)
Tier 2 6 – 9 unexcused absences School will call to set up a meeting to discuss causes of absences and brainstorm ways to prevent future absences. (Same as above)
Tier 3 10+ unexcused absences Student may be referred to Truancy Board. If the student has previously attended Truancy Board or has had past Truancy issues, the school will call to set up a meeting to discuss ways to support the family to prevent future absences. A student who is in sixth grade or above will have a petition filed against them. The parents of students who have 10+ unexcused absences will have a warrant filed on them for educational neglect.
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