Frequently Asked Questions

Per SBBC Attendance Policy 5.5, the only reasons that are eligible for an excused absence are as follows:

These acceptable reasons also apply to tardies and early sign outs.

1. Illness of student, which may be related to physical or mental health. 

A student’s physical and mental health are factors that parents will consider to determine if their child must stay home from school. 

Physical Health: Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) recommends keeping a child home if they have: 

a. A fever of 100.4 degrees F or higher, 

b. Sore throat, coughs, chills, and/or body aches, 

c. Rashes, yellow eye drainage, greenish-yellow phlegm from a cough or cold, vomiting, or diarrhea. 

Mental Health: BCPS considers mental health to be a part of a person’s overall health and wellness. A student’s successful participation in school activities may be severely affected by the social/emotional well-being of the student (e.g., excessive stress or anxiety, depression, grief/bereavement). 

PHYSICIAN’S NOTE: If a student is continually sick and/or repeatedly absent from school, the student must be under the supervision of a licensed health care practitioner, or if the absence is related to the student having autism spectrum disorder, receiving services from a licensed health care practitioner or behavior analyst certified pursuant to F.S. s. 393.17, in order to receive an excuse from attendance (F.S. s. 1003.24(4)). 

2. Illness of an immediate family member. 

3. Death in the family. 

4. Religious holidays of the student’s own faith. 

5. Required court appearance or subpoena. 

6. Special event. Examples of special events include important public functions, educational enrichment activities, conferences, state/national competitions, college/university campus tour/visit, as well as exceptional cases of family need. A special event must be approved by the principal, or the principal’s designee, prior to the absence. In cases where prior approval was not possible, the principal may excuse the absence. 

7. Scheduled medical or dental appointment. This may include “an appointment to receive therapy service provided by a licensed health care practitioner or behavior analyst certified pursuant to F.S. s. 393.17 for the treatment of autism spectrum disorder, including but not limited to, applied behavioral analysis, speech therapy, and occupational therapy” (F.S. s. 1003.21(2)(b)(2)). 

8. Students having, or suspected of having, a communicable disease or infestation which can be transmitted are to be excluded from school and are not allowed to return to school until they no longer present a health hazard (F.S. s. 1003.22). Examples of communicable diseases and infestations include, but are not limited to, fleas, head lice, ringworm, impetigo, and scabies. Students are allowed a maximum of five excused days absence for each infestation of head lice. 

NOTE: Students on field trips are not considered absent.

Attendance phone calls are generated automatically by the district as soon as attendance is submitted by a teacher each class period. If your child was not present in class at the time attendance was taken, you will receive this call. However, if you submitted an absence, signed your child in for an excusable reason, or signed your child out, the attendance clerk will correct the attendance in the system.

Attendance clerks are limited to what they can excuse, and the window in which they can excuse. Per the BCPS Attendance Policy, absences must fall under one of 8 categories to be excused, and all absences must be submitted within two school days of the absence.

There is a Request for Absence form that should be filled out and submitted any time your child is going to be absent for a reason that does not clearly fall under one of the eight district approved excusable categories. Once it is filled out with as much detail as possible, please submit to the front office for administrative approval. You will be notified if your request is denied.