In December 2016, the Ohio General Assembly passed House Bill 410 (HB410) to incorporate a preventative approach to excessive absences and truancy. Pursuant to HB410, the Brookfield Local School District has amended and adopted attendance polices that re required by law. BLSD is now required to track students' attendance by "hours" rather than "days." Every minute counts. Time out of the building accumulates quickly.

Students who are not excused from school will fall under "habitual truancy." Habitual truancy includes any unexcused absences and meets the following criteria:

Even with legitimate excuses, children with excused absences may fall under "excessive absences." Parents will be notified of a child's excessive absences whether excused or unexcused if absences meet the following criteria:

Once a child meets the above hours, our Absence Intervention Team (AIT) will put into place an Absence Intervention Plan for the child. The Attendance Officer will contact the parent/guardian, as well as the child, regarding the date and time of a meeting set by the school's AIT, that the parent/guardian and child are required to attend. During this meeting, the nature of the student's attendance problem will be identified, strategies to reduce the absenteeism will be discussed, and an Absence Intervention Plan will be developed. Action must be taken by the parent/guardian and the child to resolve the cause(s) of the absences. Failure to follow and meet the plan requirements will result in the Attendance Officer filing an official complaint in juvenile court. The school and/or district, working in conjunction with juvenile court, is required to take measures to improve habitual absenteeism, truancy, and tardiness.

Parents/guardians MUST call the school office and report their child's absence and reason. If the absence is to be for an extended time, the reason can be given and it will not be necessary to call each day.

If no call is received, we are required, by law, to contact your home requesting a response. The ONECALL system will automatically make this call.

If a student is absent due to illness, a note from the parent/guardian or doctor MUST be turned in to the office upon the student's return for the absence to be excused. If a student is going to be absent for a long period of time due to illness, the school should be aware of this factor so that home instruction can be arranged. If at any time, the absences become excessive, a doctor's statement as to the reasons for the frequent absence is required. The excuse must state that the student was unable to attend school.

If a student has been absent for three (3) or more days you may request homework.  In the event of an extended illness, additional homework may be requested provided the previous work was completed and turned in. Call the school office to make arrangements.

The Brookfield Local School District recognizes two (2) different types of absences, excused and unexcused. 

The Ohio Revised Code (ORC) and Board Policy permit students to be absent from school for the following reasons

For the above mentioned absence to be excused, the school will need to be notified the day of the absence and the student MUST bring in a signed, dated note from a parent/guardian.

Any hours/days missed longer than three (3) days from school, a note from a physician must be provided.

For court appearances, a document indicating the day and time of the court appearance must be provided upon the student's return.

If parents are taking students on a trip with them, the school should be informed before leaving. All vacations are UNEXCUSED absences, so please plan accordingly. Family vacations should be scheduled on days when school is not in session.

Students are requested to make all doctor/dentist appointments after school hours and/or on Saturday, if possible. Any appointment unable to be made outside of school hours must be verified by the student bringing in an "office visit" slip upon their return to school. Failure to bring in proper documentation may result in an unexcused absence. Students are expected to attend school before and after the appointment as only the time of the appointment and time of transportation will be excused.

Any student arriving at school and not in a designated classroom by 8:45 a.m. is considered tardy. Students late to school in the morning must report to the office before going to class. A tardy slip must be issued for admittance to class. The only acceptable excuses for tardiness are the same as those for absences and require a parent and/or doctor note. Excessive tardiness due to illness may require written confirmation from a doctor that a medical problem exists. 

Students who are tardy to school more than three (3) times will be issued progressive discipline by the administration.

Students who are tardy to class will not be admitted without a pass. Students who are tardy to class more than five (5) times during a nine (9) week period will be issued progressive discipline by the administration.

Students who become ill during the school day must obtain a pass from their teacher before reporting to the clinic. If the nurse is not available, the student should report to the office. If the student is too ill to remain in school, parents/guardians will be notified and the student will be sent home. For safety reasons, only those listed on the OneView portal contact list will be permitted to sign a student out.

Notes for early dismissal should be signed by a parent and/or guardian and should be brought to the high school office at the beginning of the day. If a student has forgotten their dismissal note or requires and unexpected dismissal, the student will NOT be dismissed unless a parent and/or guardian comes to the high school office to sign them out. For safety reasons, only those on the OneView portal contact list will be permitted to sign a student out.

Students will have one day plus the number of days absent to make up all work missed. It is the responsibility of the student to find out what they missed and make arrangements with the teachers in order to make up missing assignments.

If a student has been absent for three (3) or more days you may request homework.  In the event of an extended illness, additional homework may be requested provided the previous work was completed and turned in. Call the school office to make arrangements.

Once a child meets the above hours, our Absence Intervention Team (AIT) will put into place an Absence Intervention Plan for the child. The Community Liaison will contact the parent/guardian, as well as the child, regarding the date and time of a meeting set by the school's AIT, that the parent/guardian and child are required to attend. During this meeting, the nature of the student's attendance problem will be identified, strategies to reduce the absenteeism will be discussed, and an Absence Intervention Plan will be developed. Action must be taken by the parent/guardian and the child to resolve the cause(s) of the absences. Failure to follow and meet the plan requirements will result in the Community Liaison filing an official complaint in juvenile court. The school and/or district, working in conjunction with juvenile court, is required to take measures to improve habitual absenteeism, truancy, and tardiness.