Attendance

retaliation against any person who in good faith reports an act of harassment or bullying and appropriate consequences for these acts will be determined by the administration based on the facts of the case.

The school prohibits any person from falsely accusing another as a means of harassment or bullying and appropriate consequences for these actions will be determined by the administration based on the facts of the case.

Student Pranks

Student pranks that disrupt any aspect of school, cause any property damage, or have an adverse effect on students or faculty, may subject the student to serious disciplinary action. The student will also be responsible for any financial liabilities resulting from the prank.

Reporting Serious Offenses

The school reserves the right to report serious offenses (those offenses that may constitute violation of criminal laws established by the State of Alabama) to the proper authorities and to press charges against the student if the situation warrants it. This action would require the approval of the Superintendent and the Executive Committee of the School Board.

Regular attendance in class is essential to the success of a student’s school experience. It is assumed that each student will do everything possible to fulfill commitments to the school, including attendance and coursework. These expectations are for the good of the student as well as to uphold the academic integrity of BCS.

Student absences are categorized as “Excused” and “Unexcused” and the total number of absences (including excused and unexcused) allowed per course per semester for each upper school student is 8. If a student’s number of absences in a particular course exceeds the number granted by the school (8), the student and parent may be required to provide additional documentation or meet with administration (or both).

Pre-Planned Excused Absences

● A parent/guardian should email attendance@bcsk12.org for approval of pre-planned excused absences. This email should contain the date(s) and reason for the absence. Please send all preapproval requests at least 48 hours in advance to ensure completion of this process. ● Examples of pre-planned excused absences include the following (but not limited to): college visits, medical appointments, DMV & passport appointments, family events (weddings & funerals), and positive student experiences. ● Upon receipt of this request, a member of the school administration will grant or deny approval and email the parent/guardian notifying him or her of the decision. ● Students are allotted a maximum of 3 non-medical excused absences per semester. This allotment does not guarantee approval of non-medical excused absence requests. ● Students and parents are encouraged to check the status of an absence on FACTS and notify the office immediately if any discrepancies exist in a specific student’s record of absences.

Unplanned Excused Absences

A parent/guardian should email attendance@bcsk12.org at the earliest possible time if his or her student is absent due to sickness, injury or emergency. Any absence that does not receive proper written documentation within 5 business days of the absence will be permanently recorded as unexcused. Once a student has reached five (5) absences in a semester, any further unplanned excused absences must be accompanied by a written physician’s note documenting the cause of such absence.

Unexcused Absences

For each unexcused absence that a student accrues, a deduction of one percentage point (out of 100) from the student’s final grade for the academic semester will be assessed. The following are examples (but not limited to) of unexcused absences: ● Any of the above listed pre-planned and unplanned absences, which are not documented in writing and approved ● Any unplanned absence which is not documented within five business days ● Hair appointments, shopping excursions, automobile repairs, suspensions from school, travel, vacations, tardiness, parent emails without any explanation

Make-Up Work

Students will be required to make up all missed work, including homework, tests and quizzes as follows: ● For unplanned absences relating to illness, injury, and death in the family, all work missed must be made up within two times the number of days (not periods) the student was absent. ● For pre-planned absences such as educational trips, college days, appointments, etc., students do not receive additional days for make-up. Students are expected to have their assignments ready and be prepared to take any missed tests upon return to school or by the date determined by the teacher prior to the absence.

Failure to make up the assignment or test within the allotted time as referenced above results in an automatic zero. BCS policy requires that students turn in ALL assigned work even if the grade will be a zero.

Proper Procedure for Checking Out

Detailed records for students will be kept in the office regarding checking in/out of school. Students showing an excessive number of check ins/outs will have the situation reviewed in a conference between the parent/legal guardian, the student, and the Principal or Assistant Principal.

Students may not leave campus during the school day without written notification in the form of a note or email stating the reason for checking out or an in-person appearance from the parent/legal guardian or adult on the family emergency contact list. A phone call without some form of written verification will not be accepted for checking out.

All students must come to the main office to check in or out. Students too young to drive will not be released to anyone other than the student’s parent/legal guardian or adult on the family emergency contact list. In

extreme cases, the Principal or Assistant Principal may grant an exception. Students who do not drive must wait in the area designated by the school for a parent/legal guardian or emergency contact to arrive.

Checkouts due to Illness

Students may be allowed to check out of school following a conversation and written confirmation with parent or approved parental contacts on file.

Unavoidable Absences or Checkouts

Business trips where both parents or legal guardians are required to be out-of-town that result in the student having no other place to stay may be excused. Advance written notification is required.

Other Absences or Checkouts

Requests to excuse a student for any absence not addressed above must be made by email to the Principal or Assistant Principal by the parent/guardian a minimum of 3 days in advance. Educational trips must be of an educationally redeeming nature. Extended weekend vacations or out-of-town trips will normally not be considered excused. Great care will be taken in excusing trips of this nature, and in no case will more than 8 school days be granted. Except in very unusual circumstances, students will not be excused immediately preceding or following a school holiday (i.e., Christmas vacation, spring holidays, etc.). Occasionally, special situations may develop where a student may have an opportunity to represent his/her church, a scout troop, a civic organization, or some such group. The decision to excuse special situation absences will be made by the Principal. The student’s grades, the amount of time from school already missed, etc., will be considered in making a decision.

Participation in Athletics/Co-curricular Activities

Normally any student involved in athletics or co-curricular activities may not participate in that activity (practice, game or event) if he/she is absent the day of the activity. To be eligible to participate he/she must check in by 11:30 AM and complete the rest of the school day. This does not apply to off campus school events like a field trip.

If a student is absent from school immediately prior to or following any school activity, that absence may be interpreted as unexcused. This applies specifically to any student who is absent in the morning following participation in any activity the previous night, or any student who is absent the afternoon (or day) prior to an activity that evening.

It is a long standing BCS policy to expect athletes and fine arts students in co-curricular activities to have their homework completed and to be prepared to take tests, even if the athletic competition, event, or performance was extremely late the night before. Coaches and directors want the students to be in school, on time and ready to work.

College Visitation

Juniors and Seniors are allotted three college visit days each year. Sophomores are allotted two college visit days each year. In addition to the process for pre-planned absences (listed above), parents/guardians must

also include the college to which the student will be visiting along with the name and contact information of the student’s admissions counselor. Such requests should be made at least 24 hours in advance and should not occur prior to or the week of standardized tests or major exams. All college visits should be scheduled to take place prior to April 15th.

The student is not to use these days as an excuse for “vacation.” If there is reason to believe a college has already been chosen or the student has no serious interest in attending, permission will not be granted to miss school.

Loss of Credit for the Year Due to Absences

For a student to receive credit in any class, total semester absences may not exceed 8 or the yearly absences may not exceed 16. Whether the absences are excused or unexcused does not change the credit ruling. Exceptions may be granted under unusual circumstances after parental consultation with the Principals or Administrator. Though the school will notify the parent when a student has reached 5 absences in a semester, it is the responsibility of the students and their families to keep track of these absences if they are close to losing credit.

Summer School Attendance for “Loss of Credit” Cases

The school may require summer school attendance to earn back course credit that has been lost due to excessive absences.

Tardies

BCS does not distinguish between excused or unexcused tardies, though there are occasions that tardies are not counted due to extraordinary circumstances such as traffic or weather. Students chronically tardy will receive disciplinary action.

Tardies to Class at the Beginning of the Academic Day

The following sanctions are in place when a student reaches the following number of tardies in a particular class for the academic semester*: ● 6th Tardy: After-School Detention ● 7th Tardy: Thursday morning d-hall ● 8th Tardy: Saturday School Detention ● 9th Tardy: In-School Suspension

An administrator may assign disciplinary consequences for less than 4 tardies in subsequent quarters after a student has shown a propensity to be chronically tardy. A meeting with the parent will be requested if disciplinary actions are not correcting chronic tardiness.

*Though we are on a semester grading system, as it relates to tardies, quarters shall be defined as: ● First Quarter: Start of the First Semester to Fall Break ● Second Quarter: Fall Break to the end of the First Semester ● Third Quarter: Start of the Second Semester to Spring Break