Student Attendance SOP Template

1.Purpose

To make sure every student's attendance is recorded accurately each day, unexplained absences are followed up promptly, and records stay reliable for reporting and student welfare.

2.Scope

Applies to daily attendance taking, absence follow-up and record correction for all enrolled students. Field trip headcounts and dismissal procedures are covered by separate SOPs.

Definitions

SIS

Student information system, the software used to record attendance, contact details and enrollment data.

Unexplained absence

An absence for which no excuse note, call or message from a guardian has been received.

Chronic absenteeism

A pattern of frequent absence, excused or unexcused, tracked over a term or school year.

3.Responsibilities

Teacher

Takes attendance every class period in the SIS and reports discrepancies to the front office the same day.

Front Office Administrator

Reconciles daily attendance, contacts guardians of unexplained absences, and logs excuse notes.

Assistant Principal

Reviews chronic absenteeism reports, approves record corrections, and meets with families on attendance concerns.

School Nurse

Confirms illness-related absences against health office visit records.

RACI matrix

R = Responsible, A = Accountable, C = Consulted, I = Informed

4.Materials and PPE

Materials, tools and systems

• →Student information system (SIS)
• →Daily absence report
• →Excuse note log
• →Attendance code reference list
• →Guardian contact log
• →Chronic absenteeism report template

5.Procedure

1. 5.1

   Take attendance each period

   Teacher

   At the start of every class period, mark each student present, absent or tardy in the SIS before moving on to the lesson.

   Checkpoint: Attendance for the period is submitted within the first 10 minutes of class.

2. 5.2

   Flag late arrivals and early departures

   Teacher

   Record the exact time for any student arriving late or leaving early, and note the reason given if one is provided.

3. 5.3

   Submit attendance by the daily deadline

   Teacher

   Confirm all periods for the day are entered in the SIS before the front office deadline so the daily absence report is complete.

4. 5.4

   Pull the daily absence report

   Front Office Administrator

   Generate the daily absence report from the SIS and separate students with a call-in excuse from those with no explanation on file.

5. 5.5

   Cross-check health office visits

   Front Office Administrator

   Compare the absence list against the school nurse's visit log to confirm any illness-related absences that started with a health office visit.

   Checkpoint: Illness-related absences match a health office record before being marked excused.

6. 5.6

   Contact guardians of unexplained absences

   Front Office Administrator

   Call, text or message through the SIS app the guardians of any student with an unexplained absence, following the school's contact policy.

7. 5.7

   Log excuse notes and reasons

   Front Office Administrator

   Record the reason code, date and any written excuse note for each absence, and file the physical note if one was submitted.

8. 5.8

   Update excused and unexcused codes

   Front Office Administrator

   Set the final attendance code for each absence in the SIS based on the excuse note, guardian contact or district attendance policy.

9. 5.9

   Escalate unresponsive contact attempts

   Front Office Administrator

   If guardians cannot be reached after the school's required number of attempts, notify the assistant principal so a welfare check can be considered under facility policy and local regulations.

   Warning: Treat repeated unexplained absence with no guardian response as a student welfare concern and follow facility policy without delay.

10. 5.10

    Review chronic absenteeism weekly

    Assistant Principal

    Review the chronic absenteeism report each week to identify students with a rising pattern of absence, excused or unexcused.

    Checkpoint: Every student flagged for chronic absenteeism has a documented follow-up plan.

11. 5.11

    Meet with families on attendance

    Assistant Principal

    Schedule a meeting with the guardians of a chronically absent student to discuss barriers to attendance and agree on next steps.

12. 5.12

    Correct attendance record errors

    Assistant Principal

    Review any teacher-reported attendance error, confirm the correct status with the teacher, and approve the front office administrator's correction in the SIS.

13. 5.13

    Archive term attendance records

    Front Office Administrator

    At the end of each term, export and archive the attendance records according to the district's retention schedule.

6.Quality checks

• →Every class period has attendance submitted in the SIS by the end of the day.
• →Unexplained absences receive a guardian contact attempt the same school day.
• →Illness-related absence codes match a health office visit record.
• →Chronic absenteeism report is reviewed weekly with documented follow-up.

7.Records

• →Daily absence report
• →Guardian contact log
• →Excuse notes on file
• →Chronic absenteeism follow-up notes

8.KPIs

• →Daily attendance rate
• →Percentage of unexplained absences contacted within one school day
• →Chronic absenteeism rate
• →Average time to correct a reported attendance error

9.Common mistakes

• →Waiting until the end of the day to take attendance instead of at the start of the period.
• →Marking an absence excused without a note or guardian confirmation on file.
• →Not cross-checking health office visits before coding an absence.
• →Letting a chronic absenteeism pattern go unreviewed for several weeks.

10.Revision history