Attendance Codes

Last Revision Date: 15 Aug 2019

This guidance provides assistance to schools for the use of attendance codes to record student attendance. The reason for attendance and type of documentation received determine which attendance code to use.

Attendance events are modified when the reason code or comments are changed. This happens when the school receives either written or verbal notification of the the reason for the absence.

A comment must be entered when any attendance code is used, with the exception of Absent Unknown and Absent Unexcused. A comment providing details to the excuse code must be entered in each period for the respective excuse code.

If an attendance event or code needs to be changed, see the guidelines here for more details on changing an attendance code.

Code	Definition	Situation	Status Type	Excuse Type	Documentation Needed
Attendance Codes
CLS	Class Excused	Student not physically present, but is participating in a school-approved activity.	Present	EXEMPT	Attendance Roster of School Structured Activity (Field Trip, Extra Curricular Club, Off Campus Event), Attendance Roster of Athletic Team
DR	Death of Relative	Death of immediate family member or relative. The absence arising from this event is limited to a period of three days unless a reasonable cause may be shown by the applicant child for a longer absence.	Absent	EXCUSED	Copy of Obituary, Memorial Card or Copy of Death Certificate.
EXC	Excused Absence	Code is for verified student absences. Student excuse notes required to document absence.	Absent	EXCUSED	Court Notice, Observation of Religious Holiday documentation, College Visit Excuse Note from Admissions Office, Absences Excused by Principal on the Request for Principal Approval of an Excused Absence Form, or other documentation as outlined by Board Policy 5200.01.
ELV	Early Leave	Parent/Guardian is signing out a student and provides documentation of excuse.	Absent	EXCUSED	Student must be signed out on Student Release Log and have same documentation as required for EXC.
EUX	Early Leave Unexcused	Parent/Guardian is signing a student out of school and fails to provide documentation of excused absence.	Absent	UNEXCUSED	Student Release Log
FCE	Foster Care Excused	Student recently had a change in Foster Care Guardianship that has resulted in an absence or student was absent due to a Foster Care related court appearance.	Absent	EXCUSED	Addendum D of the ICCA (Individual Childcare Agreement) or court documentation.
HOM	Home Instruction	This code applies to students absent from school and assigned home instruction by the Home Instruction Office, and do not have a Secondary Enrollment to Home Instruction.	Absent	EXEMPT	Home Instruction Approval Letter
INS	Institutionalized	Code applies to those students admitted to a psychiatric hospital, treatment center, or substance abuse facility.	Absent	EXEMPT	Court Documents, Facility Document
KDG	Staggered Start Kindergarten	Beginning of the Year Staggered Start	Absent	EXEMPT	Official District Calendar, Letter from School
LB	Late Bus	Student has been prevented from attending class due to district provided transportation issues.	Absent	EXCUSED	Bus Route Roster/Log of Late Busses, Transportation Verification
MED	Medical	Student was absent due to medical reasons such as illness, injury, medical appointment, or medical reasons indicated by Medical Professional or approved by Principal.	Absent	EXCUSED	Medical Professional Excuse Note or Letter from Medical Professional, Principal Approval for an Excused Absence Form indicating the absence is for medical reasons.
MEL	Medical Early Leave	Parent/Guardian is signing out a student due to medical reasons such as illness, injury, medical appointment or other medical reasons indicated by Medical Professional or approved by Principal and provides documentation of excuse (from Medical Professional or Request for Principal Approval of An Excused Absence Form)	Absent	EXCUSED	Student must be signed out on Student Release Log and have same documentation as required for MED.
MLA	Medical Late Arrival	This is used when a student is reporting to school after the official start of the school day and provides documentation of an absence due to illness, injury or medical appointment, as outlined by Board Policy 5200.01.	Absent	EXCUSED	Student must be signed in on Late Arrival Log and have same documentation as required for MED.
MAH	Medical with Class Work	Code applies to students determined as medically fragile or chronically ill. These students are under physician care and have disabilities documented by a physician.	Absent	EXEMPT	Documentation from Medical Professional, IEP, Documentation from teacher that work was completed. See District Guidelines on Coding for Medical Issues.
NCH	Nationwide Children's Hospital	Students that are admitted to Nationwide Children’s Hospital and being taught by CCS teachers onsite at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.	Absent	EXEMPT	Nationwide Children’s Hospital Average Daily Membership (ADM) Report or Notification letter/email from CCS teachers at NCH or program supervisor.
Parent Authorized absence codes are absences reported by the parent/guardian for board approved excused activity that does not have supporting documentation. A parent/guardian is allowed to excuse 9 attendance days using these codes. After 9, additional documentation is required.
PAA	Parent Authorized Absence	Parent provides absence note for board approved excused activity but does not provide supporting documentation. To be used for full-day absences only.	Absent	EXCUSED	Parent Note
PAEL	Parent Authorized Early Leave	Parent provides dismissal note for board approved excused activity but does not provide the supporting documentation for the ELV code. Parent signature is required on the documentation.	Absent	EXCUSED	Parent Note, Student Release Log, signed by Parent/Guardian.
PALA	Parent Authorized Late Arrival	Parent provides tardy note for board approved excused activity but does not provide the supporting documentation for the TEX code. Parent signature is required on the documentation.	Absent	EXCUSED	Parent Note, Student Release Log, signed by Parent/Guardian.
PCE	Project Connect Excused	Student is homeless or in transition and has been identified by Project Connect.	Absent	EXCUSED	Student must be flagged as Project Connect for the date associated with the absence. Parent note documenting reason related to a student’s homeless/in-transition situation.
PK	Staggered Start Pre-K	Beginning of the Year Staggered Start	Absent	EXEMPT	Official District Calendar, Letter from School
PMD	Parent Medical	A parental excuse for a full day of absence for a medical reason.	Absent	EXCUSED	Parent Note
PMEL	Parent Medical Early Leave	A parental excuse for an early leave for a medical reason.	Absent	EXCUSED	Parent Note, Student Release Log, signed by Parent/Guardian.
PMLA	Parent Medical Late Arrival	A parental excuse for a late arrival for a medical reason.	Absent	EXCUSED	Parent Note, Student Release Log, signed by Parent/Guardian.
TEX	Tardy Excused	This is used when a student is reporting to school after the official start of the school day and provides documentation of an excused absence as outlined by Board Policy 5200.01.	Absent	EXCUSED	Student must be signed in on Late Arrival Log and have same documentation as required for EXC.
TIC	Truancy Intervention Center	Code applies to students assigned to the Truancy Intervention Center.	Absent	EXEMPT	Documentation from Truancy Intervention Center
TTC	Tardy to Class	This documents a student that was present in the building, but tardy to class. Not to be used when student is late to the building and signed in tardy.	Present	UNEXCUSED	Teacher Attendance Entry
TUX	Tardy Unexcused	This is used when a student is reporting to school after the official start of the school day.	Absent	UNEXCUSED	Student Late Arrival Log
TWP	Transportation Wait Period	This is used when there is an absence due to a scheduling delay in district provided transportation.	Absent	EXCUSED	Documentation verifying delay (such as an email or written documentation of verbal conversation confirming delay).
UNX	Unexcused Absence	Student absences that have not been verified. School office has not received parent excuse note, documentation or notification as to the reason for absence or the reason for absence is not excusable as per Board Policy 5200.01.	Absent	UNEXCUSED	N/A
Attendance Codes Associated with Behavior Resolutions
Code	Definition	Situation	Status Type	Excuse Type	Documentation Needed
ISS	In School Suspension	This code applies to a student assigned to In-School Suspension status.	Present	EXEMPT	Behavior Resolution, ISS, Attendance Roster
OSS	Out-of-school suspension with homework	Student is absent from class because of an out-of-school suspension. Homework is assigned during the length of suspension.	Absent	UNEXCUSED	See out of School Suspension Procedures Guidelines.
PALS	Positive Alternative for Students	This code applies to students assigned to PALS Center as a result of discipline infraction	Absent	EXEMPT	Assignment to PALS Centers in agreement with school administrator and parent.
RMV	Disciplinary Removal	Student is removed from school pending a parent/guardian hearing	Absent	UNEXCUSED	Hearing Resolution, Behavior Letter

Frequently Asked Coding Questions and Common Coding Concerns
Family Emergency – Initially coded as UNX (Unexcused); A Request for Principal Approval Form can be submitted for approval. If approved by Principal the absence coding can be changed to EXC* (Excused).
Family Vacation - See Administrative Guidelines On Coding For Family Vacations (5200.01). A Request for Principal Approval Form must be submitted for approval.
Early Dismissal for Doctor’s Appointment – Parent has signed the Student Release Log and indicated the reason of Doctor’s Appointment, written note from Doctor was not provided. This should be coded as PMEL. This code should be changed to MEL once documentation is received from the Doctor.
Nationwide Children’s Hospital – This code is only to be used for students that are admitted to Nationwide Children’s Hospital AND BEING TAUGHT by CCS teachers onsite at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. This code is NOT to be used for regular doctor appointments at Nationwide Children’s Hospital facilities. The documentation required for this code is: Nationwide Children’s Hospital Average Daily Membership (ADM) Report or Notification letter/email from CCS teachers at NCH or program supervisor.
Late Arrival for Car Trouble – This is not an excusable reason and is to be coded as TUX (Tardy Unexcused).
Late Arrival because CCS Transportation did not come - See Guidelines for Coding Attendance Due to Transportation Issues
Field Trips – When students participate in a field trip, it is important that all parties understand their role in the attendance taking procedures. On the day of the trip, the supervising individual must provide a roster indicating who is actually attending the field trip. This list must be provided to the attendance office prior to leaving the building. The attendance office will use the provided roster to edit the attendance code to CLS (class excused) for the period of time that the students were out of the building. Teachers that are not participating in the field trip should take electronic attendance. If the teacher has students absent, due to their participation in a field trip, the teacher should mark those students absent.

Coding "Appointments"

When a parent indicates in a phone call, attendance note, or on the Late Arrival/Early Release Log, that a student's absence was due to an "appointment", the type of appointment must be specified. The reason "appointment" is not a board approved reason for an excused absence. The appointment type, such as a doctor/dentist appointment, must be indicated.