Senior year and 180 day log requirements?

[Joan in GE]

I'm wondering how people fit in the 180 day requirement in the graduation year...and what public schools do...

 

I was looking at one umbrella school and they wanted all the work to be officially completed by May 1....working backwards, the 2nd semester would have to have started 14 December if it included 2 weeks of Christmas vacation and nothing for Easter....and the 1st semester started 10 August. This is if the student is not working weekends....

 

The one we're using doesn't have May 1, but we're constricted by transcript receipt deadlines in July which means (with overseas mail) that work needs to be finished by the end of May so that it can get sent and checked.

 

Here I'd been thinking he would have some weeks after AP's to get his other coursework done....

 

I just don't see how public schools are doing this unless they are counting all those days between end of coursework and graduation in June...

 

Anyone have experience with this?

 

Thanks,

Joan

[Gwen in VA]

Way back when when there were wolves in Wales..... At my high school, seniors were specifically exempt from the 180-day requirement. They stopped classes several weeks before everyone else.

 

I don't know how the legalities and technicalities work out now.

[AnitaMcC]

Not sure the exact details, but with many schools, they don't finish until mid June. So instead they send something like a pre-transcript that shows the current grades and then when the school year ends a final transcript is sent.

 

My niece and nephew, they graduated in June. They didn't have their final transcripts available until near end of June. It wasn't a problem with any of the schools they applied for. A few of the schools made the acceptance conditional that the final transcripts would not show any "surprises". For many of the schools they just required the transcripts by a few weeks before semester began.

 

Some high schools end their year mid May and others not until late June. Some allow seniors to skip the last week or two, others don't (our district does not).

 

You mentined umbrella schools... they can require whatever limits they want.

[Ellie]

Public schools count the days of school; as long as students complete their work, they don't have to actually be at school every day the school is open. (Some schools count "in-service" days as school days, even though only the teachers show up. Go figure.)

[FaithManor]

In Michigan, seniors are exempt from the 180 day attendance requirement so long as they have their assignments turned in....usually commencement is two weeks before everyone else finishes school. Teachers with senior level classes usually break things down so that their seniors take final exams here the second or third week of May. Transcripts are done right away to accomodate college requests.

 

Faith

[In The Great White North]

We don't count days at all, so for us it was irrelevant. And I believe our state's public schools actually require 175. I have no idea if it applies to seniors or not. Are your colleges actually requiring you to submit a log?

 

When ds applied to colleges, it was assumed (by all he applied to) that final grades would come some time in the summer.

 

Back in the day, (of teacher strikes, bus strikes, cafeteria worker strikes, etc), I graduated a few days before I started college. Somehow, I doubt they even had my transcript yet.

[Julie in MN]

Not sure the exact details, but with many schools, they don't finish until mid June. So instead they send something like a pre-transcript that shows the current grades and then when the school year ends a final transcript is sent.

 

This is the type of thing that's done in public schools here. There are several deadlines.

 

Certain hoops must be jumped in order for the student to be allowed participate in the graduation ceremony (and senior party afterwards). However, at the ceremony, students only receive a fake diploma because the final credits really have not been awarded yet.

 

Julie

[Joan in GE]

Thank you all!

 

I see there is quite a variety in practice...so it helps me see how different states (or I should say schools in them) are applying the law.

 

It is not the college but the umbrella school that is requiring the 180 days. I know lots of states have the 180 day law for homeschoolers. But I'm looking to the end of the year and seeing how tricky the timing will be due to Swiss college deadlines for documents to be submitted (July 15 - you apply by the end of April, but have until the 15th to submit supporting docs).

 

So I've written the school with the variety of practices that you all have described and asked how they interpret the law.

 

Thanks!

Joan

[Susan C.]

In South Carolina, we have a 180 day requirement. I take the last day I want to be doing school before Christmas break, and count backwards 90 school days, add days off, and that is our start date. It is usually the beginning of August. Semester one ends before Christmas, three weeks off, then after New Year's Day, we start back and go until the first or second week of May. Public school here starts mid August and goes until mid June, they have a lot of days off.

 

If I am short days (I usually am not) I will use weekend days where a lot of school was done to gather up the 180.

[Starr]

I would just document hours to equal 180 days. (Maybe some of those hours were spent all on one subject, art/travel/field trips/ ) Then have them finish their coursework because you know it's good to have an education.

There is no way our ps seniors are in school 180 days. Colleges really want to know what kind of education they've had and if they are going to do well in college. They don't really care if they've had 160 days or 180 days of a school year. Many of the private schools have fewer days. If they aren't going to give you a high school diploma it really doesn't matter any more anyway. You send your own transcripts into the colleges.

[Joan in GE]

I got their answer and for the senior year, they will issue the transcript (which takes 4 weeks to process) if the work is done even if the 180 days are not finished yet. Sigh of relief.

[Tammyla]

Our state has a 180 day attendance requirement. However, they do count excused absences, any early release or part days, etc. Many years they have to attend classes on make-up Saturdays or lengthen the year, to make up for snow-days. Last year 9 days were added to the end of the year, and the teachers and students hated it.

 

Many seniors here try to at least be in the class that sends in attendance. They can be late and leave early, but they are counted present.