On Friday, January 17, 2025, WHS announced on its website that the Student Absences and Excuses policy had been updated by the Weston School Committee to enforce the idea that regular attendance at school is directly related to students’ academic success. 

   As explained on the WHS website in January after the policy change was made official, “If students have a medical appointment, they must provide documentation from the provider confirming the visit’ for the absence to be excused. Students should give that documentation to the attendance office when they arrive at school or parents should email the attendance office with that documentation.” 

   This change has led to some confusion for students who aren’t used to needing documentation. The administrators who have to oversee the correct accounting of absences try to explain it to confused students.

   “[For example], you went to the dentist and you missed your English class, and then you come back in and you say, ‘Oh, I was at the dentist,’” said assistant principal Todd Whitten. “We don’t automatically assume that you’re lying to us, but we do ask for families to provide a note so that way we can confirm that was the case.”

   The new policy also detailed other changes in how students can get their absences excused. As of January, parents are asked to give the attendance office pre-notification of any expected absences, such as for planned trips or appointments, and to provide documentation regarding the reason students were absent whenever appropriate. While this seems like a simple request, submitting this documentation can be a challenge.

   “Sometimes it’s difficult just because of the steps involved: getting the note, remembering the note, and uploading it,” said Whitten. “This is where the Powerschool parent portal is sometimes difficult due to how new it is and the difference between the desktop and app version, which can be confusing for parents.”

   For students, not having proper documentation of their absence or failing to give notice prior to their absence can lead to an unexcused absence, which in some cases can then lead to a detention. 

   “We don’t want to be giving detentions to students who have missed a class because they had a doctor’s appointment [or] because they were sick,” said Whitten. “We try to make sure that the detentions are only being directed at students who are willfully saying ‘I don’t want to go to this class today.’”

   Another way that absences affect students is through the NC rule. This is a “grade” that can show up on a student’s report card in place of a standard letter grade if a student misses more than the allowed number of classes per quarter for any reason. For five-credit courses, for example, the NC is triggered once a student has seven absences in a quarter, and even excused absences count toward this total.

   “The thing that [was] the hardest for me to wrap my brain around last year when I was new, and I think it’s hard for all the students, is that for the NC rule, an absence is an absence,” said Whitten. 

   As noted in the WHS Student/Parent Handbook, absences for visits to a health professional, a family funeral or family emergency, religious holidays, student illness, college visits, and mandatory court appearances are all examples of excused absences. This is not to be confused with what counts towards the NC rule, however, as even these excused absences count towards an NC. The only absences that do not count toward the NC are those for school-sponsored field trips and early dismissals for sports.

   Students who are rarely absent do not generally have to be concerned about the rule, but they still try to pay attention to ensure it doesn’t become a problem.

   “When I first heard about [the NC rule], I didn’t really know what it was, so I was kind of worried,” said freshman Emilia McGarr. “But because of [the rotation of] the classes, I think it’s really unlikely that you’d miss enough of one class to get no credit.”

   For students who miss too many classes and risk receiving an NC, they can go through an appeal process to receive a letter grade instead of the NC. The difference between excused and unexcused absences, however, can become relevant to an appeal: if a student has a lot of unexcused absences, it may be harder for them to get their NC waived. 

   “The appeals committee will consider the student’s circumstance, and we’ll waive the NC if the absences were unavoidable,” said Whitten. “That’s why those notes [excusing the absence] are so important for us to have.” 

   While the change to the attendance policy this past January was relatively minor, the impact on students’ school life can be major given the possibility of receiving a detention or an NC. To avoid these risks, the administration has some advice for all students to follow.

   “There’s two things I would say,” said Whitten. “Check your emails, because that’s Ms. Clemente’s means of communicating with students if you have an unexcused absence to clear up or if you’re getting close to an NC. If you don’t check your email, you’re not aware of this information. And read the handbook; it’s super helpful.”