We have all been there, running to class but knowing we will not make it before the bell. Tardy.
The schools tardy policy read, “All students are expected to be in their classes when the tardy bell sounds. Teachers may require students to be in their seats or in a particular designated location within the classroom, gym, or shop when the bell sounds. A tardy is consistently recorded when a student is late to class. When a student is tardy, the teacher notifies the student that he/she is being marked tardy and is required to serve one unit of detention. Students must complete the required detention(s) either on the same day of the tardy(s) or by the end of the next school day. Tardies cannot be excused by a parent/guardian. Students that are more than 15 minutes late to class will be considered absent.” This information comes straight from the student handbook.
Is the tardy policy fair? My initial reaction is no, there a couple of reasons that I think this.
The first and main reason I take issue with the current tardy policy is that giving students detention for being late—but not for missing the entire class—actually encourages them to skip class altogether if they’re already running late. This seems counterintuitive. My main question regarding this policy is: how do we fix the a punitive tardy policy that results in immediate detention?
The middle school has a different approach that allows for two tardies. Their policy reads, “Attending classes on time is an important part of being a CLASSY student at SVMS. Tardies are not counted during the first week of school. Students are allowed two tardies per quarter with no consequence. If a student receives a third tardy in a quarter, he or she will receive a behavior referral for that tardy and for each additional tardy in that quarter.”
From what I remember, excessive tardies could result in being excluded from fun activities like Warrior Clan, which happened each trimester. Most students I knew didn’t complain about this policy, because it felt fair. The only ones who spoke out against it were typically those who were regularly breaking the rules.
So, could the high school adopt a similar policy? The simple answer is yes—but the full answer is more complex. Unlike middle school, the high school doesn’t have something like Warrior Clan to revoke from students as a consequence. If the high school wants to implement a similar system, it would need to find an equivalent incentive or privilege that could be tied to attendance and punctuality.
My second biggest concern is that the tardy policy in the student handbook needs to be clarified to avoid confusion for both students and parents. For instance, when it says that parents cannot excuse tardies, does that include being late due to a doctor’s appointment? That kind of situation needs to be clearly addressed in the handbook so everyone has a better understanding of what counts as an unexcused tardy. The current policy is already confusing, and adding clear explanations would make a big difference.
