Hello Mountaineer families,

Please take the time to go over our newly revised 2024-2025 Student Handbook. There are some points we would like to highlight now:

• If prior contact is not made, parents must provide a written excuse within 24 hours of an absence.

• Students who are excusably absent for more than (8) days in a semester, regardless of the reasons, will be considered "frequently absent". If there is a pattern of frequent absence for "illness", the parents will be required to provide a statement from a physician describing the health condition that is causing the frequent illness and the treatment that is being provided to rectify the condition.

• (9-12th grade) Students who are unexcused in any class will lose 3% of their marking period grade for every unexcused absence.

• Students in 7-12th grades may not access cell phones during classroom time (bell to bell) to distract or impact the students' learning.However, in the event that the use of a cell phone has been determined as instructionally necessary, the student may have it during the approved time. The expectation is that grades EK-6 are not to have a cell phone on school grounds. If found on school grounds, cell phones will be placed in said student’s backpack for the rest of the school day.

• REVISED Dress Code

• Tops must have straps or sleeves and must cover the student’s entire torso from armpit to armpit. Removal of hats, coats, and costume masks are expected and not to be worn/displayed during school hours. Pants, shorts, and skirts must have an inseam at least 4 inches in length. Clothing may not display material that:

• Is materially and substantially disruptive or that school officials can reasonably forecast will create a substantial disruption;

• Is obscene, sexually explicit, indecent, or lewd;

• Promotes the use of or advertises illegal substances, including but not limited to substances illegal for minors;

• Incites violence;

• Contains “fighting words”;

• Constitutes a true threat of violence;

• Demonstrates hate group association/affiliation or uses hate speech targeting groups based on their membership in a protected class; or

• Displays nipples, genitals, or buttocks.

• For a student entering the District for the first time or entering 7th grade, a parent must provide the building principal or designee with a certificate stating that the student has received at least 1 dose of an immunizing agent against each disease specified by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) or other responsible agency or documentation of an applicable approved exemption. A student can be excluded after November 1, 2024 if compliance is not met.

• Information about work permits is available at the Main office in the 5-12 building for high school students. The school may rescind the work permit based upon student’s attendance and/or academic performance.

Thank you in advance for your time in reading the handbook. Please direct any questions to your student’s school office.