Attendance

Contact the Attendance Office:
Holli Grubb
(270) 467-7502 (Direct)
holli.grubb@warren.kyschools.us

2025-2026 SWHS ATTENDANCE PROCEDURES

SUMMARY OF ATTENDANCE PROCEDURES (**See full WCPS Attendance Policy)

• CALL OR EMAIL THE OFFICE: Call or email as early as possible on the day of absence to relay the reason for absence. Student calls are not acceptable. Calls do not count as notes for an excused absence. Phone: (270) 467-7500  Email: swhs@warren.kyschools.us.

• BRING A NOTE WITHIN 5 DAYS: Any student who is absent, tardy, or signs out early must bring a note within five (5) school days explaining the reason for the absence.  Notes may also be emailed to swhs@warren.kyschools.us.

• TARDIES COUNT: Students are counted tardy if not in their classroom when the bell rings. All late check-ins and check-outs are counted in the attendance count as attendance events. A parent note used to excuse a late check-in/out is counted as one (1) parent note.

• BUSES ENSURE PUNCTUALITY: Late buses are always excused. Car riders should expect traffic delays around the school in the morning and plan accordingly.

• 7 PARENT/GUARDIAN NOTES PER SCHOOL YEAR: After 7 parent notes have been used, only a third party note will excuse an absence or tardy.  Parent notes only excuse one day per note.  For example: A student is absent 2 days and uses a parent note, this will count as 2 parent notes for the event.

• 10 DOCTOR NOTES PER SCHOOL YEAR: After turning in 10 doctor notes, the student will be required to have a WCPS Medical Excuse Form be filled out by a physician and signed by the parent to have the absence excused. These forms are available at https://bit.ly/wcpsmef.

• Orthodontic, dentist, chiropractic, well check-up, and driver’s test appointments will not be excused for the entire school day unless driving distance is a factor. A parent note will be required along with the doctor’s note to excuse the full day.

• EDUCATIONAL ENHANCEMENT OPPORTUNITY FORMS: If you would like to have your student miss school days for an educational enhancement opportunity, please submit the form to the attendance office at least two weeks in advance.  Please see the WCPS Student Handbook for more information. Visit this link to download form: https://bit.ly/wcpseho. 

MAKE UP WORK

It is the student’s responsibility to make arrangements with teachers for make-up work, assignments, or tests missed during the absence. A good starting point is Google Classroom or email.  Teacher email: first name.last name@warren.kyschools.us.  For example: john.smith@warren.kyschools.us

TRUANCY

What constitutes truancy? Any student that is six years old but has not reached his/her eighteenth birthday, who has been absent and/or tardy from school without a valid excuse for 3 days is a truant. Any student who has been reported as a truant two (2) or more times is a habitual truant.

TRUANCY PROCESS:

Step 1: 3 unexcused absences and/or tardies, the principal/designee will contact the parent/guardian in writing concerning the student's absences.

Step 2: 5 unexcused absences and/or tardies, the district's Delinquency Prevention Services Worker will be notified and will make contact in an attempt to avoid any court action. 

Step 3: 6 unexcused absences and/or tardies occur, court action may be pursued.=

Step 4: 15 unexcused absences: House Bill 611, the new truancy law states if your child(ren) has 15 unexcused absences and/or events (events can be tardies, early check-outs, late check-ins, etc.), the Warren County Public Schools district has a legal obligation to refer you to the Warren County Attorney’s Office, where parents/guardians and children risk being referred to court.

NOTE: It is the parent/guardian's responsibility to ensure the student’s correct address and contact information is on file with the school.

LEAVING SCHOOL EARLY

Students leaving school during school hours may only be checked out by the parent, legal guardian, or designees who are LISTED ON THE EMERGENCY CARD.

All persons MUST SHOW VALID ID when requesting to see or to check-out a student. NO EXCEPTIONS!!!!!!!

Anyone checking out a student MUST have his/her name listed on the student's emergency card. No student can be called out of class before the parent/guardian has arrived and their ID has been verified. 

Please do not call and ask to have students waiting. The goal is to keep students in the classroom and learning.

A legal guardian must make changes to the emergency card in person. Phone calls are not acceptable.

NOTE: It is the parent/guardian's responsibility to ensure that the emergency card is turned in at the beginning of the school year.

The progress of a student at school depends greatly on the punctuality and regularity of attendance.  We firmly believe that attendance is a student-parent/guardian responsibility. When a student must be absent from school, it is the responsibility of the parent/guardian to call the school where the child is enrolled on the date of the absence to inform the school of the reason for the absence.  

• A written excuse (parent note or doctor’s note) must be submitted within 5 school days of an absence.  If a note is not received by the school within 5 school days, the absence will be counted as unexcused. 

• A parent/guardian may submit 7 parent notes during the school year to excuse attendance events.  

• Once a student uses all their parent notes for the year, only a third-party note, document, or other information requested by the school will excuse the absence or tardy.  Otherwise, all absences and tardies after the 7 excused ones will be unexcused. 

KENTUCKY COMPULSORY ATTENDANCE LAWS

Except as provided in KRS 159.030, each parent, guardian, or other person residing in the state and having custody or charge of any child between the ages of six (6) and eighteen (18) shall send the child to a regular public day school for the full term that the public school of the district in which the child resides is in session, or the public school that the board of education of the district makes provision for the child to attend. Any parent or guardian who elects to send a child five (5) years of age to school shall keep the child in regular attendance. Every child actually residing in this state is subject to the laws relating to compulsory attendance, and neither he nor the person in charge of him shall be excused from the operation of those laws or the penalties under them on the ground that the child’s residence is seasonal or that his parent is a resident of another state.

EXCUSED ABSENCES (requires written statement)

1. Illness - Medical Excuse

2. Death in family

3. Medical appointment of student

4. Student sent home from school sick

5. Religious holidays

6. Reporting to court

7. Driver’s license test or examination (1/2 day-2 times)

8. Military leave, deployment, or training

9. Other circumstances as approved by principal

DOCTOR NOTES - Any absence event due to medical reasons in excess of ten (10) will require the presentation of the Warren County Public Schools Medical Excuse Form before the absence will be excused. The form will be available at all schools, central office, and some medical facilities upon parent request.

TRUANCY, WHAT CONSTITUTES: Any student who has attained the age of six (6) years but has not reached his or her eighteenth birthday, who has been absent from school without valid excuse for three (3) days, or tardy on three (3) days, is a truant. Any student enrolled in a public school who has attained the age of eighteen (18) years, but has not reached his or her twenty-first birthday, who has been absent from school without valid excuse for three (3) or more days, or tardy without valid excuse on three (3) or more days, is a truant. Any student who has been reported as a truant two (2) or more times is an habitual truant. A tardy is defined as missing no more than 35% of the regularly scheduled school day. A tardy can occur in either the morning or afternoon.

TRUANCY PROCESS – Elementary, Middle School, High School

STEP 1—Upon the third (3) unexcused absence and/or tardy, the principal/designee will contact the parent/guardian in writing concerning the student’s absences.

STEP 2—Upon the fifth (5) unexcused absence and/or tardy, the district’s Delinquency Prevention Services Worker will be notified and will make contact in an attempt to avoid any court action.

STEP 3—When the sixth (6) unexcused absence and/or tardy occurs, court action may be pursued. 

What is considered to be a tardy to class?

• Students are marked tardy in Infinite Campus if they are not in the classroom when the bell begins to ring.

• Teachers reserve the right to incorporate a stricter class tardy policy, which may include additional teacher assigned consequences.

Can my child’s college visit be excused?

• During their junior and senior years, students may make up to two college visits that will be considered an excused absence. The visit must be made to an appropriate institution such as a college, university, junior college, vocational or technical school.  Prior permission from the guidance office, along with written confirmation from the college will be required before the visit.  It must be a scheduled campus visit with the school’s admissions office. Upon returning to school, students must present documentation from the school visited to the attendance office. Additional college visits are permissible with prior principal approval.

Educational Enhancement Opportunities- Students who are approved by the principal or designee to participate in Educational Enhancement Opportunities which cause absences from school must turn in the following items to the attendance clerk upon their return to school for the absence(s) to be excused:

• A daily journal describing the educational activities/experiences for each school day missed

• A written reflection about the overall educational experience and how the experience should prove beneficial to future aspirations.  

• EEO/EHO Forms are available at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uj7502x89_4hFwTG9tD112IhZ2rEDjHQ/view?usp=sharing

What is the procedure for checking out?

Parents needing to send messages to their son/daughter should E-MAIL the office staff so the message can be delivered to the student.  Send the message for your student to: swhs@warren.kyschools.us.

In the subject heading, please reference the appropriate title “student checkout, student message, or bus notes for (your son/daughter, including his/her last name)”.  Type the message for your son/daughter in the body.  Once messages are received, they will be delivered to students during the next locker break.  It is the parent/guardian responsibility to verify the student checkout note/bus note by calling the school at 270-467-7500.  

In all cases, whether a student is being signed out by a parent/guardian or a parent/guardian designee listed on the emergency card, identification must be shown to the attendance clerk prior to student release. 

1. Students checking out (leaving premises) by themselves

   1. Students must have a parent/guardian signed handwritten checkout note stating reason for checking-out, time, and a contact telephone number.  The student should present a checkout note to the Front Office before 7:30 a.m.  A parent can fax or email a note containing the same information to the school in instances where an appointment was made after the student got to school.  In ALL cases, if the Office Staff cannot speak with the parent/guardian to confirm the information on the note or fax, the student will not be permitted to leave.

   2. Checking out is to be done at the end of class whenever possible.

   3. Checking out is not allowed for job interviews, work, banking, shopping, family errands, haircuts, etc.  If parents insist on checking out their child for one of these reasons, it will be unexcused and will be reported to court officials as such should truancy become an issue.

Educational Enhancement Form

Medical Excuse Form