ALDCA Attendance Requirements

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Every child between the ages of six (6) and seventeen (17) years shall be required to attend a public school, private school, church school, or be instructed by a competent private tutor for the entire length of the school term in every scholastic year except that, prior to attaining his or her 16th birthday, every child attending a church school as defined in Section 16-28-1 is exempt from the requirements of this section, provided such child complies with enrollment and reporting procedure specified in Section 16-28-7. 

Admission to public school shall be on an individual basis on the application of the parents, legal custodian, or guardian of the child to the local board of education at the beginning of each school year, under such rules and regulations as the board may prescribe. 

As a public school, Alabama Destinations Career Academy at Chickasaw City Schools is required to monitor student attendance in accordance with all applicable statutes set forth by the State of Alabama and the Chickasaw City Schools. Any parent, guardian, or other person having control or custody of any child enrolled in public school who fails to require the child to regularly attend the school or tutor, or fails to compel the child to properly conduct himself or herself as a pupil in accordance with the written policy on school behavior may result in the withdrawal of the student, shall be reported by the Academic Administrator to the superintendent of education of the school system in which the suspected violation occurred. 

Enrolled kindergarten students will be held to the same attendance standards as the rest of the grade levels while they are enrolled with ALDCA. 

Absences 

Every parent, guardian, or other person having control or charge of any child required to attend public school, shall as soon as practical, explain the cause of any absence of the child under his control or charge which was without permission of the teacher, and a failure to furnish such explanation shall be admissible as evidence of such child being a truant with the consent and connivance of the person in control or charge of said child, unless such person can show to the reasonable satisfaction of the court that he/she/they had no knowledge of such absence and that he/she/they has been diligent in his efforts to secure the attendance of such child. All work and time missed must be made up in a reasonable timeframe and attendance added for the days missed. 

Students are not permitted to be absent from assigned live class sessions unless there is an emergency, extenuating circumstances, or pre-approval. Reasonable excuses allow students to miss live class sessions, but students are still responsible for the work missed. Students are permitted to make up missed work and time in a reasonable timeframe. 

Excessive absences may result in a loss of academic credit, and possible referral of the matter to juvenile truancy officials, or other appropriate legal authorities for investigation. 

Excused Absences 

When a parent/legal guardian knows that their student will be absent beforehand, it is requested that the parent/legal guardian give the school prior written notice of the upcoming absence. If prior notice cannot be given, it is the legal guardian/Learning Coach’s responsibility to call or email the student’s homeroom teacher within 24 hours of the absence. 

ALDCA considers the following factors to be “reasonable” excuses and will result in an “excused absence” for time missed from school: 

  • Personal illness (a written physician’s statement verifying the illness may be required); 
  • Observance of a religious holiday; preapproval required 
  • Death in the immediate family; shall mean parents, legal guardians, spouse, brothers, sisters, children, grandparents, parents-in-law, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, aunts and uncles; 
  • Family emergency; circumstances which cause reasonable concern to the parent or legal guardian for the safety or health of the student (the reasonableness of the parent’s or legal guardian’s concern is subject to evaluation by the Academic Administrator, Academic Administrator’s designee, on a case-by-case basis)—families are allowed 5 handwritten notes per semester; 
  • Other situations beyond the control of the student as determined by the Academic Administrator, Academic Administrator’s designee, on a case-by-case basis, including, but not limited to, homelessness. 

Truancy Process 

Students who do not attend required online sessions or fail to complete required assignments within the online school will be considered absent for the required amount of time. 

Families who fail to notify the appropriate ALDCA staff are subject to unexcused absences. “Parents or guardians are required to ensure that students under their care, custody or control attend school regularly. Habitual or excessive absences from school may require school administrators to refer the matter to juvenile authorities or to initiate truancy proceedings. 

A student is deemed truant when he/she/they is/are absent from school for the equivalent of ten (10) school days. 

  • 1 day: All students who do not log into and complete at least one lesson by noon each day will receive an automated call from K12. 
  • 3 days: Students who are at risk of failing or currently failing and have accumulated a total of three (3) absences will receive text and/or email reminder to log in to complete required tasks (i.e. Class Connect sessions and online assignments.) 
  • 5 days: Students who are at risk of failing or currently failing and have accumulated a total of five 

(5) absences will receive an ALDCA initiated text and/or email notification stating “Let us support you! How can we help?” This gives students an opportunity to indicate whether they need specific support. 

  • 6–9 days: Students who are at risk of failing or currently failing and have accumulated a total of six to nine (6–9) absences are required to attend a meeting with the grade level-based Truancy Advisory Team and participate in a corrective action plan. They will also be emailed and mailed a withdrawal warning notification. 
  • 9 days: Students who are failing and have accumulated a total of nine (9) absences will receive a final call/email/text notification. 
  • 10 days: If students who are failing continue to not respond, engage, or participate in the corrective action plan, the student will be reviewed by the ALDCA Executive Truancy Team and LEA Executive Officials to determine the best course of action—including but not limited to withdrawal. NOTE: Legal guardians/Learning Coaches will have an opportunity to contest the withdrawal. Students who are allowed to remain enrolled must agree to consistently work with ALDCA staff and re-commit to enrollment requirements for a 2–4-week trial period. 

In the event that a student’s chronic truancy results from homelessness, the student’s enrollment rights at ALDCA shall be based on the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. In the event that a truant student is currently being served by our Special Programs teams, a manifestation meeting will be held to include the Student Attendance Specialist, Special Programs Manager, Academic Administrator, Executive Director and the parents of the student to determine and evaluate next steps. Attendance is mandatory of all students enrolled in the school during regular school days whether working in online coursework or offline assignments, and/or at Live class sessions to which s/he has been assigned to attend. All absences and missed work must be made up and accounted for. 

Attendance for ALDCA students is accounted for in the following ways: 

  1. Student working on coursework whether on or offline in the online school; 
  2. Students submitting coursework for a grade whether on or offline in the online school; 
  3. Student participation in assigned virtual online sessions with state-certified teachers. 

Learners’ Permit/Drivers’ License Denial due to Truancy 

Students must be in good academic AND attendance standing in order to request proof of enrollment documentation for driver’s license and learner’s permits. ALDCA has the right to withhold any student’s proof of enrollment required for obtaining a driver’s license or learner’s permit if the student is truant. Please contact the school registrar to request your proof of enrollment. 

Extended Leave for Medical Treatment 

At ALDCA, we take great pride in our ability to aid and foster students with intensive physical and mental conditions. These conditions often make extended leaves from school necessary. In the event a student requires therapy and/or treatment for an extended time period (more than 5 school days), the student is encouraged to use the afternoons, weekends, school holidays and catch-up days available to finish his or her work. However, if the illness/treatment/therapy makes completing assigned tasks impossible and an extension or an excusal of assignments is requested, you MUST provide the course teacher a SIGNED and DATED excuse from a DOCTOR. Note that it is highly suggested that these occurrences/documents be presented as situations arise and not at the end of the semester, the Hospital Homebound Committee (HHC) must receive documentation from the doctor or hospital. The HHC will meet to develop a Hospital Homebound Service Plan that will be followed by teachers and reviewed until the student is able to return. 

Note: Attendance logged in the OLS must reflect the progress made in the courses.  If attendance does not match the progress, administration may modify the attendance for those hours logged. This modification of hours will put the student in jeopardy of becoming behind on attendance or below the mandated state requirement for attendance.  The student would then be considered excessively absent. Teachers and administrators may ask for proof of all work completed at any time of the year. 

Academic Review 

What is Academic Review? 

Our goal is for every student to be successful at ALDCA. In the event that a student is struggling with attendance, engagement, or academic achievement, an added layer of support will be provided to address the deficiencies. 

When is a student placed on Academic Review? 

Students meeting the following criteria can be placed on Academic Review: 

  • Current grade of D or F 
  • Not attending required class connect sessions 
  • Lack of participation required class connect sessions 
  • Chronic absenteeism 

As a public-school program, Alabama Destinations Career Academy at Chickasaw City Schools is required to monitor student attendance as well as overall progress, in accordance with all applicable statutes set forth by the State of Alabama. If placed on Academic Review, ALDCA staff will inform the student’s Learning Coach and/or Legal Guardian via phone, email, and U.S. mail.  

What is the student’s/parent’s role while student is on Academic Review? 

Students on academic review will be required to: 

  • Meet with a support staff member once a week 
  • Attend and participate in all required live sessions 
  • Complete all assignments as assigned on the daily plan 

The Learning Coach will be required to: 

  • Ensure the student’s progress and online school time is comparable to attendance logged 
  • Attend the weekly support session with the student and support staff via online methods or over the phone. 
  • Keep all lines of communication open with the teachers and other support staff.

What is ALDCA’s role while student is in Academic Review? 

  • Support staff and teachers will monitor the student’s progress. 
  • Support Staff will hold weekly chat and progress sessions with the student and parent. 
  • Teachers will provide support as needed, including tutoring sessions. 
  • Teachers and support staff will communicate with the student and parents weekly and as needed. 

What are the outcomes of Academic Review? 

For non-attendance related issues, ALDCA staff will review student progress towards engagement and academic achievement after a period of 6 weeks. If requirements are not met and adequate progress is not shown, ALDCA may follow the protocol outlined in the student handbook and revoke the student’s enrollment based on the Non-Resident Agreement. 

If requirements have been met, the student is showing progress and attendance is up to date, the student will no longer be designated as under Academic Review. Please be advised, that should the student become disengaged and/or the Learning Coach fails to log the attendance, ALVA will continue to follow the protocol outlined in the student handbook as before mentioned. 

Policy is subject to change at the discretion of Executive Director.