Attendance Overview

Students should be in school every day; a missed school day is a lost opportunity for students to learn. The primary rationale for student attendance is the relationship between student attendance and student achievement. The general policy of the school district on Student Attendance is Policy 503.

To report attendance, email cionline@c-ischools.org.

Minnesota State Statute requires that children attend school. For students under the age of 12, it is presumed that it is a parental responsibility to ensure the child’s attendance. Between the ages of 12 through the 17th year, it is primarily the student’s responsibility to get to school on a daily basis. Student attendance in the online program is verified through consistent academic progress and consistent interaction in the learning management system, Edgenuity (6) or Google Classroom (7 and 8). Students who are not making progress and consistently interacting with the learning management system will be marked as absent.

Students in grade 6 are expected to make at least 20% of progress per week in the Edgenuity program. Example: a student who finishes 15% of the Edgenuity curriculum will be counted present for 75% of the week. Students in grades 7 and 8 are expected to finish 100% of the assigned work. Grade 7 and 8 example: a student that finishes 100% of a week’s work in a course will be marked present in that course 100% of the week.

Missing assignments should always be turned in, even after the due dates, because they will be counted as full credit.

Student Responsibility

It is the student’s responsibility to complete the week’s assignments to show that they are making progress in their courses.

Parent/Guardian Responsibility

It is the responsibility of the student’s parent or guardian to ensure the student is completing the week’s assignments, to inform the school in the event of a student absence, and to work cooperatively with the school and the student to solve any attendance problems that may arise. Parents should call/email to explain every absence on the day of the absence or send a note when the student returns to school giving the reason for the absence.

School Responsibility

It is the responsibility of the school to determine whether the student’s absence is excused or unexcused. The school must follow the regulations of the Minnesota Compulsory Instruction Law, Minnesota Statute 120A.22. Attendance is significantly related to school achievement.

Types of Absences

Excused: To be considered an excused absence, the student’s parent or legal guardian must notify the school of the reason for the student’s absence from school, and may request documentation in the event of excessive excused absences, a note from a physician or a licensed mental health professional stating that the student cannot attend school is a valid excuse.

School Excused: Absences for school-sponsored activities and events.

Unexcused: All absences not verified by a parent and all absences that do not meet the excused criteria as set in policy 503. If the school is not notified of the reason for absence the absence is considered unexcused.

Absence Examples

Examples of excused absences include:

• Illness
• Medical or mental health appointments
• Religious holidays
• Family emergencies
• Dental appointments
• Vacations (Typically six (6) days or less.)
• Suspensions
• This list is not all-inclusive.

Examples of unexcused absences include:

• Overslept
• No notification of absence
• This list is not all-inclusive.

If a student is absent without lawful excuse on three or more days, or any part of the school day, they are considered truant. Truancy is a violation of Minnesota State Law.