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Attendance

All children who have attained the age of six or who will have attained the age of six by February 1 of any year are required to attend school regularly during the entire school term. Children who will have attained the age of five years on or before September 1 of the school year are eligible for admission to public kindergarten during that school year under rules adopted by the district school board. 

 

Any child who has attained the age of six years on or before September 1 of the school year and who has been enrolled in a public school or who has attained the age of six years on or before September 1 and has satisfactorily completed the requirements for Kindergarten shall progress according to the district's student progression plan. 

 

A student who attains the age of 16 years during the school year is not subject to compulsory school attendance beyond the date upon which he/she attains that age if the student files a formal declaration of intent to terminate school enrollment with the district school board. The school district must notify the student's parent of receipt of the student's declaration of intent to terminate school enrollment. Section 1003.21, Florida Statute.

 

Required Instructional Hours 

In order to meet the state’s requirements for academic instructional time, families are expected to have their student complete the following minimum hours of schooling each week:

 

Grade(s)

Expected Hours Per School Day

Expected Hours Per Week

Expected Hours Per Year

K – 3

4-5

20-25

720-800

4 – 12

5-6

28-30

900-1000

Note that these are the minimum hours required by the state and that students are
  responsible for mastering all material, which may require additional time.

On average, students should complete approximately 7-8% of their coursework in each course every week.

A student demonstrating adequate participation (and therefore progress) in school is based on several criteria and is a combination of measures. These measures include the student daily logins, course percentage completion, and amount of communication with the teacher. Students are expected to submit assignments in each course every week school is in session. A student is in good academic standing based on weekly progress and work submissions as defined by course pace charts and percent complete, as well as regular communication with teachers. Therefore, failure to make adequate weekly progress and/or regular communication with teachers, in all courses, may place the student at risk for revocation.  

 

Attendance Policy (Florida Statute 1003.21)

 

Regular participation in online classes is critical to student success. Attendance in virtual school is determined by assignment completion. Since students have flexibility to choose the time to begin work each day, take their course work to remote locations, and determine the days of the week to complete assignments; Volusia Online Learning has a zero tolerance policy for truancy.  Parents and guardians have the legal responsibility to ensure that their students are fully participating in online instruction by monitoring their progress and checking for assignments and assessment completion.

Parent(s)/Guardian(s) should:

·       Ensure the student participates in educational activities for an appropriate number of hours per day/week, as outlined in the Required Instructional Hours.

·       Ensure all assignments are completed, uploaded, and submitted for grading.

·       Ensure the student attends all required Live Lessons.

·       Participate in monthly calls between the student and teacher.

·       Provide transportation to all state and district testing.

·       Submit doctor’s notes for extended absences.

·       Monitor and ensure academic integrity.

Virtual “attendance” is taken each school day based on students signing into their online courses, working at least five hours per school day, and making successful academic progress. Students are expected to complete all required coursework for a given grade level during the school year. The schedule and rate at which a student completes work is referred to as “pace”. Each virtual course has a pacing guide that serves as a map to successful course completion. Students are expected to stay “on pace” by completing assignments according to the pacing guide. Students have access to the virtual courses 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. On average, students should complete approximately 7-8% of their course work in each course every week.

·       A student is considered not in attendance or is absent if they do not submit assignments in all courses according to the pace guide for each course.

·       Parent(s) and guardian(s) can monitor student progress by creating their own “Guardian Profile” account (strongly encouraged), or by viewing their student’s account. Just ask your student to show you their dashboard.

·       Teachers are required to notify the student and parent or guardian when the student is falling behind pace or has not worked in any assigned course for more than 7 days.

·       If a student falls more than two weeks behind pace, the parent and student will be required to attend a meeting in which the student will be placed on a Student Success Contract.

·       Students have the same guidelines related to truancy as students in brick-and-mortar schools. Continued absences can result in intervention via the school social worker and/or the student being revoked from VOL to return to their zoned school.

VOL Full Time K-12 students are expected to attend school starting on day one. Any student who has not attended school by day 10 of the school year will be administratively withdrawn as a no-show, using the code Did Not Enter (DNE). Parents/Guardians will need to enroll their child in their zoned school for the current school year.


Truancy 

Florida law defines "habitual truant" as a student who has 15 or more unexcused absences within 90 calendar days with or without the knowledge or consent of the student's parent or guardian, and who is subject to compulsory school attendance. 

Due to the unique online educational environment at Volusia Online Learning, 15 unexcused absences may be equivalent to 15 or more school days in which the student has not completed any work and has not responded to communication attempts made by a designated Teacher, designated School Administrator, and/ or School Social Worker. When a truancy concern arises, the Student Support team will convene to determine interventions that may need to be implemented to support student/family needs. If students/families are nonresponsive to these attempts, then local law enforcement may be contacted to perform a well-being check. As a last resort, a student may be revoked from Volusia Online Learning for truancy if the student is not completing any work or responding to communication attempts.

Attendance Requirements for Students to Maintain their Driving Privilege 

Minors between the ages of 14 and18 years of age who do not attend school regularly will not be issued a learner’s permit or will have their driving privilege suspended by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Section 322.091, Florida Statute. 

Volusia Online Learning will report all students between the ages of 14 and 18 years of age who accumulate 15 unexcused absences within a period of 90 calendar days to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV). VOL Full Time is also required to report all students who withdraw from school as a dropout. This notification to the DHSMV initiates one of two actions: The DHSMV will post a Notice of Intent to suspend driving privileges to the driver record of all reported licensed students.