Attendance

In accordance with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 18A:38-25, every parent, guardian, or other person having control and custody of a child between the ages of six and sixteen shall ensure their child regularly attends school. The Board of Education requires students enrolled in the school district to attend school regularly in accordance with the laws of the State.  

The state has included absentee data as an indicator of school quality and success.  Building level chronic absenteeism rates are calculated by dividing the number of chronically absent students during the school year by the total number of students enrolled in the school. This link will give you additional information regarding how the state will calculate absenteeism.  Please be aware that the New Jersey Department of Education recognizes only five allowable reasons for an excused absence.

Attendance letters will continue to be generated through Genesis so please check those and contact either your guidance counselor or Vice Principal Matthew Agrati. Letters will be mailed home to students who are on track to be chronically absent and just two absences per month will put a student at risk of being chronically absent. 

When an individual student, group of students, or entire class(es) have tested positive for COVID-19 and are quarantining for the prescribed period of time or have been required by Randolph Health Department or school district to quarantine under other circumstances (such as being a close contact), virtual instruction will be provided to those students in a manner commensurate with in person instruction. 

Once the quarantine period is over, the student(s) will be required to resume in person instruction. Students eligible to receive virtual instruction will have access via Microsoft Teams within one school day or as soon as possible thereafter. Students who have tested positive for COVID-19 or are not permitted to attend school due to quarantine restrictions, will not be able to participate in before or after school activities, including athletics. The school district will follow health guidelines when permitting students to return to school and participate in any in person school activities.

Virtual instruction will only be provided to those students who meet the criteria above; those students will be marked as “present” in the school register for daily and course attendance. All other students who do not attend in person instruction will be marked as “absent” in the school register and for course attendance regardless if he/she attends class virtually.

• Please do not submit early dismissal notes through Genesis
• These dismissals are only approved when a parent or guardian's permission note (stating the reason for dismissal) is submitted to the Attendance Office and verbally verified with the parent or guardian by the attendance secretary
• Students leaving early for the day must sign out through the Attendance Office when leaving
• Students must also sign in upon returning to school (if applicable)
• The student MUST be picked up by someone listed on the student's Genesis emergency card
• Students who leave prior to 1:00 PM will not receive credit for a full day of attendance

The New Jersey Department of Education recognizes only five allowable reasons for an excused absence. Excused absences include:

• Religious observance (N.J.A.C. 6A:32-8.3(h))
• "Take Our Children to Work Day" (April 25, 2019)
• Participation in observance of Veterans' Day (N.J.S.A. 18A: 36-13.2) or district board of election membership activities (N.J.S.A. 18A: 36-33)
• The closure of a busing district that prevents a student from having transportation to the receiving school
• College visits (maximum of three per year during a student's junior or senior year). Travel days are not excused during a student's college visit. Documentation with the student's name and confirmed date of visit must be provided upon the student's return to school (within five school days). An email with confirmation of a pending visit is not an acceptable form of documentation to excuse an absence.

All other absences, including illness, out of school suspensions, vacations, student generated cut days etc. will be calculated as unexcused in the New Jersey Department of Education's attendance data.

“An excused absence” is a student’s absence from school for a full day or a portion of a day for the observance of a religious holiday pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:36-14 through 16, or any absence for the reasons listed below: 

a.   Where appropriate, when consistent with Individualized Education Programs, the Individuals with Disabilities Act, accommodation plans under 29 U.S.C. §§ 794 and 705(20), and individualized health care plans; 

b.   Take Our Children to Work Day; 

c.   An absence considered excused by a New Jersey Department of Education rule; 

d.   The student’s illness only if supported by a doctor/physician’s note. 

• It is recognized that not all illnesses require a visit to a doctor/physician.  If this is the case, the absence will count towards loss of credit and is the reason why students are allowed a reasonable number of unexcused absences before losing credit.                                                            
• Necessary and unavoidable medical and dental appointments that cannot be scheduled at a time other than the school day. 

e.   The student’s required attendance in court;

f.    The student’s suspension from school; 

g.   Family illness or death supported by a medical note for family illness or a written notice from the parent for death;                       

h. Visits to post-secondary educational institutions up to the permitted maximums per year established by Department of Education; 

i.   Interviews with a prospective employer or with an admissions officer of an institution of higher education; 

j.   Examination for a driver’s license; 

k.  Necessary and unavoidable medical or dental appointments that cannot be scheduled at a time other than during the school day; 

If appropriate documentation is not provided with specific dates when the student returns to school, (not to exceed five school days beyond the students return to school) the absence may or may not count toward loss of credit.

• Any undocumented absence
• Family vacations
• "Cut days" that may, or may not, be related to the Junior or Senior Prom
• Performance of household duties or babysitting
• Missing more than 10 minutes of a class
• Absences during make-up snow/emergency days
• Any other reason that is not listed as an excused absence

• To receive credit for a course, a student must attend class on a regular basis and complete all requirements of the scheduled course  
• A student may not be granted credit toward graduation in a scheduled course after the unexcused absences exceed:
  • Eighteen (18) per year in a full year course
  • Nine (9) per semester in a semester course
• A secondary student who has been dropped from a course of study will be assigned to an alternate program such as restricted study
• A secondary student denied course credit may attend a credit completion session to regain denied credit.  Programs may include “summer school” or the online credit recovery program at the student’s expense. Your child's guidance counselor can provide more specific information
• A student may elect to participate in Physical Education (P/E) make up sessions
  • Two sessions must be made up for every one class that was missed

• Your child's Genesis account has an Attendance tab in the top header that will provide you with the total number of days absent as well as the total number of absences for each class
• It is possible your child may have a different number of absences in each class because of the rotational schedule
• Notification to parents/guardians about course totals and possible loss of credit is provided through the Letters tab in Genesis
• Notification to parents/guardians about loss of credit will be posted in Genesis, a Blackboard alert will be emailed, and a hard copy letter will be mailed home

Randolph High School Attendance Secretaries

hs-attendance@rtnj.org

Rob Zimmerman, Secretary

(973) 361 - 0808 ext. 6508

rzimmerman@rtnj.org

Matthew Agrati, Vice Principal

(973) 361 - 0808 ext. 6200

magrati@rtnj.org