As the school year begun at Somerset Berkley Regional High School, students thought they finally had a grasp on the new tardy and absence policy. To the surprise of many however, the 2017-2018 school year started off with this policy having yet another revision.

Last year’s policy was a culture shock for some students as the administration cracked down on absenteeism and tardiness. By administration of such strict policies however the school’s absentee rate went down dramatically “by 25%”  as Principal Lanczycki stated in an interview last year, as well as a “30% difference in tardiness.”

The old tardy policy stated that students who were not present in homeroom promptly by 7:25 would be administered a tardy pass from the office. Tardiness was described as “any time between 7:26 and 7:45.”

Excused absences and tardies continue to include medical appointments, court appearances, drivers’ license appointments, bereavement, or a parent-written excuse if provisions of documentation are included that states you had such an appointment. Students are also given time to make up missed work, but this privilege could be taken away if you were constantly tardy.

The percussions for an unexcused tardy include the following, which were taken directly from the Student Handbook:

FIRST OFFENSE is processed by the attendance office with no penalty for the first offense of each new marking period.

SECOND OFFENSE during each new marking period will result in one detention.

THIRD OFFENSE during each new marking period will result in one detention.

FOURTH AND SUBSEQUENT OFFENSES during each new marking period will result in one Saturday School and parental notification via mail and/or phone.

The controversy begins though with the final percussion stated: “Any student who arrives more than 30 minutes after the start of the school day, without an acceptable reason for such tardiness, will be assigned a one-day Saturday School” (Student Handbook Page 58).

Though most of the general principles of the policy stand, where students are encouraged to come to school and class as on-time as possible, the policy of the excused versus unexcused tardies remains.

The new policy (implemented at the beginning of the 2017-2018 school year) is as follows:

FIRST-FOURTH OFFENSE includes no penalty.

FIFTH- SEVENTH OFFENSE includes one detention.

EIGHTH AND ALL SUBSEQUENT OFFENSES include one Saturday School and parental notification via email.

To avoid all repercussions of absenteeism and tardiness, you can simply come to school. Sometimes, however, this is simply not an option. There will never be a time when everyone agrees on certain policies, but the administration of parents and teachers are constantly working to help us prepare for the future.