Attendance

School attendance is a crucial component of a student's success and academic achievement. A pattern of absences may put a student at risk of not achieving the Academic Knowledge and Skills (AKS) for their grade level and courses. Certain absences are considered to be excused according to state guidelines. Excused absences include:

• Personal illness or attendance in school endangering a student's health or the health of others.
• A serious illness or death in a student's immediate family requiring absence from school.
• A court order or an order by a governmental agency, including pre-induction physical examination for service in the armed forces, mandating absence from school. Observing religious holidays, necessitating absence from school.
• Conditions making attendance impossible or hazardous to student health or safety.
• Serving as a page in the Georgia General Assembly.

Please remember that if your student is absent from school, you need to send a note within 2 school days to the school stating the reason for his/her absence. Should the reason be one noted above, your child's absence will be marked excused.

A new state truancy law (O.C.G.A. Section 20-2-690.2) defines truant as “any child subject to compulsory school attendance who during the school calendar year has more than 5 days of unexcused absences.” 

It is important for parents to be aware of attendance requirements. Please read Gwinnett County Public Schools' Student/Parent Handbook, which outlines attendance expectations.

In addition, our teachers and school leadership will communicate with you regularly on school attendance issues. Thank you for your support of your student's academic achievement. Your child's regular attendance at school makes a difference.

Students arriving at school following the 7:00 AM bell need to check in at the Attendance Office and will be considered tardy. A parent/guardian is not required to check a student in. 

Excused Check-Ins

To justify a late arrival, parents/guardians must submit a personal note and/or medical justification through PARENT VUE. Please see: https://www.gcpsk12.org/families/parent-vue/report-absences for instructions. They may also email the attendance office (PDSHSattendanceoffice@gcpsk12.org) with the following information:

• Student name
• Student ID
• Reason for the late check-in
• Date
• Parent/guardian phone number
• Medical or court documentation, if applicable

Students arriving late to school without proper documentation will be considered unexcused. Failure to check in at the Attendance Office may cause the student to be considered AWOL from class

Students who need to leave campus during the day must go to the Attendance Office located at the front of the school building.

No student will be allowed to leave the building until contact has been made with the parent or guardian. Students who do not follow this procedure will be considered absent without leave (AWOL) and will face consequences in accordance with school policy.

Check Out Procedure

Parents, guardians, or verified emergency contacts must enter through the Attendance Office located at the front of the building. Proper identification is required to check out a student. 

Students who drive: Parents or guardians of students who drive and wish to pick up their students early may do so by calling the Attendance Office at the desired dismissal time and confirming the required personal information. 

*Students are not permitted to leave after 1:15 p.m. or during final exams.

Email Check-Out Requests (New Check-Out Process):

Parents or guardians may request a same-day student check-out by emailing PDSHSAttendanceOffice@gcpsk12.org no later than 6:30 a.m. on the day of dismissal. Please include all of the following required information in your email:

• Date
• Student’s full name
• Student ID number
• Requested check-out time
• Reason for dismissal
• Whether the student will be picked up or will drive
• Parent/guardian name, signature, and phone number(s) for verification

Students Who Drive - Parents or guardians may authorize an early dismissal for student drivers by submitting an email request.

*Students are not permitted to leave after 1:15 p.m. or during final exams.

General Information

State law requires school attendance for students ages 7 to 16. Gwinnett County Board of Education Policy states that students will be excused from school under the following circumstances:

1. Personal illness or Doctor/Dentist appointment.
2. Serious illness or death in the immediate family.
3. Court order. Documentation must be attached.
4. Religious holidays.
5. Unsafe conditions (inclement weather).
6. Voter registration.

The only reasons accepted to justify an absence and/or arrivals and departures outside of school hours are those listed above and verified by the following formal documentation:

• Doctor's or hospital notes,
• Court or government-required documents, and
• Obituary or funeral brochures/programs.

Documentation

To justify a school absence, parents/guardians must send a personal note and/or medical justification through PARENTVUE. Please see https://www.gcpsk12.org/families/parent-vue/report-absences for instructions. 

You may also email the attendance office (PDSHSattendanceoffice@gcpsk12.org) with the following information: Student name and number:

• Student's full name
• Student ID
• Date
• Reason for absence
• Parent/guardian signature
• Parent/guardian phone number for verification
• Medical/court documentation, if applicable 

Important update to the absence policy

To justify absences of 4 consecutive days or more, official documentation (doctor's note, program/event documentation, etc.) is required; handwritten notes will not be accepted to justify extended absences. Without proper documentation, these absences will be recorded as unexcused.

Additionally, please be aware that for students with 10 or more excused absences, the total number of absences will be factored into determining if additional absences will be excused absences. While a portion of the requested absence may be excused, the excusing the full absence is not guaranteed.

Absent Without Leave

Once a student arrives on campus, the student is considered to be at school and must obtain permission to leave campus for any reason by checking out in the Attendance Office, even if classes have not yet begun. You are considered AWOL and subject to behavior consequences if you:

• Fail to check in after 7:00 am
• Leave campus without notifying attendance office
• Are absent from school without parent/guardian permission
• Skip a portion of a class, a full class, or several classes
• Are out of class without your teacher's permission
• Fail to go to the cafeteria area during your lunch period
• Go to your vehicle without permission
• Are in an unassigned area of the school without permission

Certificate of Enrollment and Alcohol Drug Awareness Program (ADAP)

These forms are available at the Main Office Desk:

• Before School (6:30 AM – 6:55 AM)
• During the student’s lunch 
• After School (1:50 PM – 2:20 PM)

Certificate of Enrollment

• The cost for the COE is $3.00
• It takes twenty-four hours to process the paperwork from the time the forms are submitted.
• The COE is only valid for 30 days from the date it was signed by the Administrator.
• A COE is needed for your Learner’s Permit and another COE will be needed for your Driver’s License.

Alcohol Drug Awareness Program (ADAP)

• If you took Health at Paul Duke STEM and passed the ADAP test, you were given a certificate at the end of class.
• The cost to replace a lost ADAP Certificate is $3.00. (This can only be reprinted if you took health at Paul Duke STEM)
• It takes twenty-four hours to process the paperwork from the time the form is submitted.