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Attendance Requirements and Policies

On this page you will find information about school attendance requirements, policies, and procedures, including valid reasons for student absence.

Enrollment and Attendance

A child who lives in Chicago must be enrolled and attend school from age 6 until reaching age 17. Once a child enrolls, even if they are younger than 6 or older than 17, they must attend school.

Valid Reasons for Student Absence

CPS recognizes six reasons for an absence to be considered excused:

  1. Student illness, including mental or behavioral health (as of January 1, 2022, absences can be attributed to mental or behavioral health for up to five days). Learn more: [ ENGLISH | SPANISH ]
  2. Observance of a religious holiday (absence note required).
  3. Death in the immediate family.
  4. Family emergency.
  5. Sounding taps at a military funeral for a deceased veteran.
  6. Parent or legal guardian is an active duty member of the uniformed services and has been called to duty for, is on leave from, or has immediately returned from deployment to a combat zone.

Additional considerations:

  • Circumstances which cause reasonable concern to the parent for their child's safety or health (must be approved by the principal).
  • Other situations beyond the control of the student (as determined by principal).

School Attendance Procedures

CPS values regular communication between the school and the home. Schools want to know why a student is absent. It is the expectation that if a parent/guardian has not notified the school of a child's absence, a school representative will phone the student's home. CPS’ District absentee robocaller automatically phones the home of every absent student, who has not been communicated to school personnel. Schools may also call from the front office to speak with a student’s family personally to communicate absences or attendance concerns.

Full-Day vs. Half-Day Absences

For a student to be credited with a full day of attendance, they must be in attendance for 300 instructional minutes*. A half-day absence is when a student is present for less than 300 minutes of instruction but more than 150 minutes. A full-day absence is when a student is present for less than 150 minutes.

*Instructional minutes are defined as the amount of time students receive direct instruction or participate in educational activities that are part of the approved curriculum during the school day.