Attendance Codes SY 24/25

The reason for an absence and the type of documentation received determines which attendance codes are used to document a student absence.

For example, a teacher providing a list of students on a field trip would be coded as ‘CLS’ or Class Excused. However, a student who has a full day of absence for a medical reason and has documentation of the event received from the parent only would be PMD.

A comment must be entered when any attendance code is used, except for Absent Unknown and Absent Unexcused (UNX). The comment should be entered in each period that is affected by the absence.

Attendance events need to be modified when the reason for the absence or comments are changed.

Only building and substitute secretaries receive training on coding absences. Building staff, including administrators do not receive this training. If there are questions about attendance coding the SDS for the building should be consulted.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.

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

1	Attendance Codes
2	Code	Definition	Situation	Status Type	Excuse Type	Documentation Needed
3	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
4	DR	Death of Relative	Death of immediate family member or relative. The absence 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.
5	EXC	Excused Absence	Verified student absences. Student excuse note 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.
6	ELV	Early Leave	Parent/Guardian signs a student out of school and provides documentation that supports excused absence.	Absent	Excused	Student must be signed out on Student Release Log and have same documentation as required for EXC.
7	EUX	Early Leave Unexcused	Parent/Guardian signs a student out of school and fails to provide documentation of excused absence.	Absent	Unexcused	Student Release Log
8	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.
9	HOM	Home Instruction or Home Tutoring	This code applies to students absent from school and assigned home instruction by the Home Instruction Office or Home Tutoring, and have a Secondary Enrollment to Home Instruction or Home Tutoring.	Absent	Exempt	Home Instruction Approval Letter and Secondary Enrollment to Home Instruction or Home Tutoring.
10	INS	Institutionalized	Code applies to those students admitted to a psychiatric hospital, treatment center, or substance abuse facility.	Absent	Exempt	Court Documents, Facility Document
11	KDG	Staggered Start Kindergarten	Beginning of the Year Staggered Start	Absent	Exempt	Official District Calendar, Letter from School
12	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, Documented Verification with Transportation Office
13	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. Documentation that the student is being treated/followed by a medical professional for a condition which the medical professional determines may cause the student to be absent from school. This documentation does not need to specifically identify the date of absence but must be updated annually for the current school year. Parent/guardian should reference the documented condition when requesting excusal of absence from school.
14	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.
15	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.	Absent	EXCUSED	Student must be signed in on Late Arrival Log and have same documentation as required for MED.
16	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	Excused	Documentation from Medical Professional, IEP, Documentation from teacher that work was completed. See District Guidelines on Coding for Medical Issues.
17	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.
18	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. Board Approved Reasons: Attendance Notes Board Policy 5200: Attendance
19	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.
20	PDR Added 6/27/24	Parent Death of Relative	Parental excuse for death of relative, but does not provide copy of Obituary, Memorial Card or Copy of Death Certificate. The absence 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	Parent Note (Must be signed by Parent/Guardian) , Student Absence Notification Form (Completed by staff, if taken via phone).
21	PK	Staggered Start Pre-K	Beginning of the Year Staggered Start	Absent	Exempt	Official District Calendar, Letter from School
22	PMD	Parent Medical	A parental excuse for a full day of absence for a medical reason. Written parent notes must be signed by the parent. To be used for full-day absences only.	Absent	Excused	Parent Note (Must be signed by Parent/Guardian) , Student Absence Notification Form (Completed by staff, if taken via phone)
23	PMEL	Parent Medical Early Leave	A parental excuse for an early leave for a medical reason. Student must be signed out on the Student Release log and Parent signature is required on the documentation.	Absent	Excused	Parent Note, (Must be signed by Parent/Guardian), Student Release Log, signed by Parent/Guardian.
24	PMLA	Parent Medical Late Arrival	A parental excuse for a late arrival for a medical reason. Student must be signed in on the Late Arrival Log and Parent signature is required on the documentation.	Absent	Excused	Parent Note (Must be signed by Parent/Guardian), Student Late Arrival Log, signed by Parent/Guardian.
25	PSD Added 6/27/24	Parent Safety Determination	Parental excuse for absence due to parent concerns over student safety.	Absent	Excused	Parent Note (Must be signed by Parent/Guardian), Student Absence Notification Form (Completed by staff, if taken via phone)
26	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 520. Student must be signed in on the Late Arrival Log.	Absent	Excused	Student must be signed in on Late Arrival Log and have same documentation as required for EXC.
27	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