Attendance Policy
To review the entire policy of DCPS requirements on attendance, view the DCPS Attendance and Truancy Policy.
General Attendance Requirements
All children who reach five (5) years of age on or before September 30th of the current school year are considered school-aged and must attend school on time every day until they meet high school graduation requirements or reach their 18th birthday.
Excused absences are when school-aged students are absent from school with a valid excuse and parental approval. Examples of excused absences include:
Student illness (a doctor’s note is required for a student absent five or more days in a term);
Illness of a child for parenting students (a doctor’s note is required for a student absent five or more days in a term);
Medical or dental appointments for the student;
Death in the student’s immediate family;
Exclusion by direction of the authorities of the District of Columbia, due to quarantine contagious disease, infection, infestation, or other condition requiring separation from other students for medical or health reasons;
Necessity for a student to attend a judicial proceeding, or court activity, as a party to the action or under subpoena;
Observance of a religious holiday;
Absences to allow students to visit their parent or legal guardian, who is in the military; immediately before, during or after deployment;
Emergency or other circumstances approved by DCPS.
The following absences may also be excused without written documentation from the parent, as verified by the school:
Lawful out of school suspension or exclusion by school authorities;
Temporary closing of facilities or suspension of classes due to severe weather, official activities, holidays, malfunctioning equipment, unsafe or unsanitary conditions, or other condition(s) or emergency requiring a school closing or suspension of classes;
Failure of the District of Columbia to provide transportation in cases where the District of Columbia has legal responsibility for the transportation of the student; and
An emergency or other circumstance approved by DCPS.
If a student is absent for a total of up to four (4) cumulative days in each grading period, a parent's written excuse is sufficient for explaining the absence.
If a student is absent for five (5) or more cumulative days per term, further documentation is required beyond communication by the parent for the absence to be excused. A written explanation of the student's absence must be submitted by a doctor or staff of a relevant agency, on an official doctor's office/agency letterhead and signed by a relevant official.
Students accumulating more than thirty (30) unexcused absences within a school year will receive a grade of FA (failure due to absences) and only be promoted if a written justification is submitted by the principal to the Chancellor.
The Deal Attendance Form is available HERE. Please contact our attendance counselor, Sylvia Stephens, at sylvia.stephens@k12.dc.gov if you have any questions.
