Attendance
Attendance
Compulsory School Attendance: Oregon Revised Statutes
The state of Oregon requires “all children between the ages of 6 and 18 years who have not completed the 12th grade to attend regularly a public full-time school of the school district in which the child resides.” (ORS 339.010) ORS 339.065 states
In estimating regular attendance for purposes of the compulsory attendance provisions of ORS 339.005 to 339.030, 339.040 to 339.125, 339.137, 339.420 and 339.990, the principal or teacher must consider:
● (Unexcused Absences) Eight unexcused one-half day absences in any four-week period during which the school is in session shall be considered irregular attendance.
● (Excused Absences) Not to exceed five days in a term or three months or not to exceed 10 days in any term of at least six months.
Truancy
Cedar Park is committed to providing parents with the information they need to support the regular attendance of their students. If you would like to monitor your student’s attendance patterns, we encourage you to use ParentVue, to contact the Attendance Secretary, or contact your student’s counselor.
When a student has a pattern of absences that indicate irregular attendance, administrators, counselors, and teachers will work with students and parents to develop a plan to improve attendance. A combination of consequences and incentives may be used to address the concern. We encourage parents who are concerned about attendance to contact a counselor to facilitate communication with teachers and to access resources for their student.
If a pattern of truancy persists despite efforts by the school to support regular attendance, Cedar Park will alert the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. We urge parents to work with us to keep their student in regular attendance and prevent this from happening.
Student Responsibility
● It is the responsibility of the student to attend classes.
● It is the responsibility of the student to consult teacher websites and planners to know about assignments missed due to absences and to complete them.
● It is the responsibility of the student to arrange notification (note, phone call) from parent/guardian regarding absence within the appropriate time.
● It is the responsibility of the student to arrive in class on time, ready to learn.
Parent Responsibility
● It is the responsibility of the parent to see that their student attends classes unless under condition of personal or family illness, legal or family obligations, religious holiday, or a significant family emergency.
● It is the responsibility of the parent to schedule medical and other personal appointments outside the school day. 14
● It is the responsibility of the parent to call the Attendance Line at 503-356-2561 to report an absence by 3:50 p.m. on the day of the absence. DO NOT pick your child up before 3:50 p.m. unless you have a medical or other personal appointment.
School Responsibility
● It is the responsibility of the school to provide a quality education.
● It is the responsibility of the school to accurately record absences and provide notice to parents when students are not present.
● It is the responsibility of the school to comply with Oregon law in determining whether an absence is excused or unexcused according to Oregon Revised Statutes.
Information About Absences
Reporting an Absence
Regular attendance and promptness is essential for success and is expected in all classes. Absences should be limited to personal/family illness, medical appointments, dental appointments, legal appointments, family emergencies, death of an immediate family member, religious holiday, or school-sponsored field trips. If your child will be absent from school, please call the attendance secretary at 503-356-2561.
Leaving Campus During the School Day
Cedar Park operates under a closed campus policy. Students are not permitted to leave school grounds without a parent or guardian during school hours. If you would like to check your child out early, please check in with our attendance secretary in the main office. If a parent or guardian would like another responsible adult to pick up their child, they must call the Attendance Secretary or provide the school with a note. If a student is checking out of school early due to an appointment, the student should have a note, signed by a parent or guardian, indicating the reason for the early dismissal and the time the student is requested to check out. Students are asked to show the note to the teacher and then to proceed to the Attendance Secretary with the note to check out. If students plan to return to school after an appointment, they should check in with the Attendance Secretary when they arrive on campus.
Arriving to School Late/Arriving to Class Late
Arriving to School Late
If students are late to school, they must sign in with the Attendance Secretary and provide a note or a parent phone call to excuse the tardy. They will be given a Late Pass that allows them to go to class excused from tardiness. If a student arrives without a note or phone call, the tardy or absence is marked unexcused. The school’s auto-dialer will alert parents to the absence. Once a note or phone call from the parent is received by the front office, the tardy or absence is excused. If the note/excuse does not meet the conditions for excused absences defined in Oregon Revised Statutes, the absence (or tardy) is unexcused.
Arriving to Class Late
It is critical to arrive in class on time. Teachers expect students to be in their seats, ready to learn at the beginning of class. Tardiness leads to a decrease in instruction and distracts other students from learning. If students are arriving to class late because they were in the office or meeting with a staff member, they are expected to get a Late Pass before proceeding to class. Student patterns of on-time arrival to class are regularly monitored by administrators. Students who repeatedly arrive to class late may receive consequences such as lunch detention.
Withdrawal from School
If your family is planning to move, contact the Registrar as soon as possible. For purposes of records and communications, parents are encouraged to call the school with specific information about where the family is moving. In order to check out of school on the last day, students must return any classroom materials/supplies, turn in all books, clean out lockers, and pay all fines/fees before departing. After this list is complete, the student will be issued a withdrawal slip. Each teacher and the Library Media Assistant must sign off on this form. Oregon law requires our school to drop students who do not attend for 10 school days. If you are aware of a reason that your student may not attend school for 10 days, we ask you to please contact the Attendance Secretary. In addition, we encourage you to work with a counselor if the long-term absence is linked to health or family issues.
Closure, Snow Delay & Early Release due to Weather
School closure or delayed start decisions will typically be made and posted on the District website by 5:15 a.m., then communicated to local media. We encourage and support families to make attendance decisions for your children) based on your own assessment of travel conditions at your location.
When all district schools and facilities are closed
● All daytime and evening activities/events are cancelled
When there is a 2-hour delay in opening school
● All schools will open two hours later than regularly scheduled.
● Buses are on snow routes.
● There will be no bus service (both a.m. and p.m.) for Bonny Slope elementary school.
● If weather conditions substantially improve by 11:00 a.m. any changes in afternoon bus service will be communicated no later than 1:00 p.m.
When school is on time and buses are on snow routes
● All schools operate on regular daily schedules.
● There will be no bus service (both a.m. and p.m.) for Bonny Slope and Nancy Ryles elementary schools.
● If weather conditions substantially improve by 11:00 a.m. any changes in afternoon bus service will be communicated no later than 1:00 p.m.
When weather conditions necessitate an early closure of schools
● We encourage you to refer our website and local media for more detailed information.
● All daytime and evening activities/events are cancelled.