Attendance

Students must turn in excuse notes to the Attendance office within two (2) days of returning to school or parents may submit excuse notes via ParentVue. If a note is not submitted within 5 days of the absence, formal documentation is required.  Parent note must reflect the absence date(s), reason, student’s name, ID number and parent’s signature.  Note MUST be written and signed by the parent to be valid. If student has no note, he/she will be considered as having an unexcused absence.  If the student fails to bring a note, the absence will be regarded as an unexcused absence.

Students are allowed 10 parent notes per school year. After 10 parent notes, no absences will be excused without formal documentation (Doctor/Hospital, Court/Government mandated, Funeral programs).

Please note that students who miss more than half of their classes will be considered absent for the entire day even if they check into school late.

Reporting Absences Electronically in ParentVue 

Gwinnett County Board of Education Policy states that students will be excused from school under the following circumstances.

EXCUSED ABSENCES:

• Personal Illness
• Doctor/Dentist/Other healthcare professional (must be accompanied by a note from doctor)
• Serious illness or death in immediate family
• Religious holiday. (Please name holiday).
• A court order or an order by a government agency, including pre-induction physical examinations for service in the armed forces mandating absence from school (Must attach formal documentation).
• Conditions rendering attendance impossible or hazardous to student health or safety.  (For Gwinnett County Public Schools, the closure of schools for hazardous conditions may only be made by the Superintendent for the purposes of excused absence).
• Students who are in a foster home or otherwise in the foster care system under the Division of Family and Children Services of the Department of Human Services will be counted present for any day, portion of a day or days missed from school when attending court proceedings related to that student’s foster care.
• One day for voter registration or voting in a public election.
• Tests and physical exams for military service including National Guard. (Must provide formal documentation).
• Student spending time with parent(s) or guardian who are active-duty combat-zoned and about to leave for overseas deployment or who are between military deployments (5 excused absences per school year).
• Students serving as pages for the Georgia General Assembly.
• Students participating in the Student Teen Election Participant (STEP) program will be counted as present and given full credit for the school day during which he or she served in the STEP program.
• Students who participate in an activity or program sponsored by 4-H.
• College visit. (Allowed two (2) per semester.  Must provide documentation from college/university).

Absences are unexcused for all other reasons, including but not limited to:

UNEXCUSED ABSENCES:

• Missing the bus
• Oversleeping
• Power outage
• Vacations
• Trips
• Family visits
• Car trouble/Car Accident/Traffic congestion
• DMV Appointment
• Passport/Immigration/Social Security documents
• Babysitting
• Running errands and/or Skipping school
• Unspecified family emergency
• Non-school related activities (i.e., sports, camps, etc. that are not affiliated with South Gwinnett High School).
• “Senior Skip Days” are a violation of the Attendance Policy.

A student is AWOL when absent without official leave from school or class.  A student may not leave school grounds after his/her arrival on campus without the permission of a duly authorized school official.  Students who leave campus without checking out or who are absent without their parent's knowledge will be considered AWOL from school. Students who do not have permission to be out of class are considered AWOL from class. Students absent from class for 10 or more minutes are AWOL. AWOL consequences are as follows:  

• 1^st AWOL - Administrative Conference and Warning
• 2nd and 3rd AWOLs - ISS and/or Detention
• 4+ AWOLs - ISS/OSS, Loss of Extracurricular Privileges, and Loss of Parking Privileges

A student who is tardy to class and/or school is in violation for the Gwinnett County Student Behavior Code (Rule 10). TARDINESS TO CLASS/SCHOOL AND UNEXCUSED CHECK INS.
Rule: Students should be in their classes when the first bell/chime rings at the beginning of the day and at the beginning of each class.

A student is considered tardy if his/her whole body is not in the class when the final bell/chime rings. Students arriving more than 10 minutes late to class will be written up for being absent without official leave (AWOL).

Students arriving to school 7:03 am – 7:10 am and are not accompanied by a parent/guardian or have a doctor’s note, must report to a Tardy Station to receive a tardy pass.

Student arriving to school after 7:10 and are not accompanied by a parent/guardian or have a doctor’s note are considered AWOL and must report to the Front Desk for a Red Slip.

For a check in to be considered excused the student MUST present a note with the same criteria as stated in the Absences Tab or a parent must come in, tell the reason the student is late and sign the Check in form.

If the student does not have a note or a parent does not accompany the student upon arriving late, the tardy will be marked unexcused.

Students have 6 minutes between each class. Students should be in class when the bell rings. A student is tardy if they are not in the classroom when the last bell rings. This includes returning from lunch to class. Students who do not make it to lunch in the designated 6 minutes are tardy. Students who check into school without a parent or note will be marked unexcused tardy.

The Tardy Stations close 10 minutes after the Period bell/chime rings to start that period.  Any student in the hall after this 10-minute window without a hall pass or tardy slip will be escorted to In-School Suspension for AWOL.

• Students arriving to school after 7:03 am and are accompanied by a parent/guardian or have a doctor’s note may check-in at the Attendance Office.
• Students arriving to school 7:03 am – 7:10 am and are not accompanied by a parent/guardian or have a doctor’s note, must report to a Tardy Station to receive a tardy pass.
• Student arriving to school after 7:10 and are not accompanied by a parent/guardian or have a doctor’s note are considered AWOL and must report to the Front Desk for a Red Slip.
• Any periods prior to check-in are unexcused unless student provides a parent/guardian note with a valid excuse reason or formal documentation.

Students are not allowed to check themselves in when they reach the age of 18 unless the student has an approved emancipated student document on file.

***NO CHECK OUTS AFTER 1:30 PM***

ANYONE CHECKING OUT A STUDENT MUST SHOW PICTURE ID AND BE ON THE STUDENT’S APPROVED LIST IN THE SYSTEM 

• Any student needing to leave campus for any reason during the day must check out through the Attendance Office. Parent/guardian or someone listed on the student’s emergency list must provide photo ID to the Attendance Office.
• For students that drive that need to leave campus early, parent/guardian must send an email to sarah.pelzer@gcpsk12org along with a copy of their photo ID giving student permission to leave campus.  Student must come to the Attendance Office for a pass to leave campus. Students who do not follow this procedure will be considered AWOL and may receive appropriate consequences.
• Students leaving campus early using a ‘rideshare’ (i.e., Uber, Lyft, etc.), parent/guardian must send an email to sarah.pelzer@gcpsk12org along with a copy of their photo ID giving student permission to leave campus. 
• Student must come to the Attendance Office for a pass to leave campus. Students who do not follow this procedure will be considered AWOL and may receive appropriate consequences.
• Any periods after check-out are unexcused unless student provides a parent/guardian note with a valid excuse reason or formal documentation.

Students are not allowed to check themselves out when they reach the age of 18 unless the student has an approved emancipated student document on file.

If a junior or senior must visit a college during a school day, please provide proof of the college visit upon their return. Ask for a note on the college letterhead, a brochure, or forward the college tour confirmation email to Sarah.Pelzer@gcpsk12.org. Excused college visits are limited to two (2) per school year.

A student must be present for half the school day (7:03 - 10:30 am or 10:30 am - 2:10 pm) to participate in an extracurricular event after school or that evening. This includes practices, productions, athletic events, etc. In order to participate in an event that is held on the weekend, a student must be present for half the day on Friday prior to the weekend. 

Students in extracurricular activities will be reported to their coach, mentor, and sponsor for poor attendance behaviors. The student could be prohibited from participating in the event or activity.

The Certificate of Enrollment is a notarized form required to test for both a driver’s permit and driver’s license.   The cost for the form is $5.00 per copy.

1. Visit MyPaymentsPlus 
2. Select the Activities and Events tab. 
3. Select School Fees, Certificate of Enrollment. 

After ordering, you may pick them up from the SGHS Attendance Office within 48 hours. This form is only valid for 30 days.