FCPS regulations require that all absences be verified. Please do one of the following by 9:30 a.m to let us know if your child will be absent or late:

• Call the attendance line at 703-227-1495
• Attendance Reporting
• Be specific about the reason why your child will not be attending school today
• Please indicate whether your child has any of the following symptoms:
  • Feeling feverish or chills
  • Fever greater than or equal to 100.4 F
  • Headache (not due to another health condition, hunger, menstrual cramps stress, or injury)
  • A new cough (not due to another health condition)
  • Shortness of breath or breathing difficulties (not due to diagnosed respiratory condition or if different than normal pattern of chronic condition)
  • A new sore throat (not due to another health condition)
  • Congestion or runny nose (not related to allergies or health condition)
  • Fatigue (more tired than normal or sudden onset)
  • New muscle pain (not due to another health condition or that may have been caused by a specific activity such as physical exercise))
  • New loss of taste, smell, or appetite
  • Abdominal pain (not due to hunger, constipation, injury, or stress)
  • Nausea, vomiting or diarrhea

Excused Absence and Tardy

The following would be an excused absence or tardy: illness of the student, death in the family, doctor or dentist appointment, extreme inclement weather, and observance of a religious holiday.

Unexcused Absence and Tardy

Absences for family and student vacations are unexcused. Students are responsible for completing any missed assignments. Teachers will provide the student and parent or guardian with missed work but are not obligated to provide assignments prior to family or student vacations.

The following would be an unexcused absence or tardy: family trip, child care situation, oversleeping, non-school related activity, traffic, or missed bus. 

Late Arrival

The parent/guardian must accompany the student to the main office and sign him/her in. Office staff will give the student a late pass and escort him/her to class.

Early Release of Students

Bull Run ES will excuse a student during the day for valid reasons. Please send a written request to the teacher when your child must leave early. Parents or guardians must come to the school office to pick up and sign out their child. Bull Run ES will not release your child to anyone other than a parent or guardian without a written request signed by the enrolling parent or guardian. If returning to school after an appointment, the parent/guardian must sign the student in upon return. Office staff will escort the student back to class. Parents/guardians are asked NOT to check out their child between 3:30-4:00 p.m., as it interferes with our end-of-day routines and dismissal procedures.

Virginia State Law

Virginia State law requires that each student who is absent from school must be reported each time by a responsible person. An excused absence is one for which parents/guardians have prior knowledge, consent, and a legitimate reason. Legitimate reasons include: illness of the student, death in the family, and observance of a religious holiday. Absences for family and student vacations are unexcused.

According to state law, the following actions need to be taken: 

• 5 Unexcused days - parent notification via letter and plan required
• 6 Unexcused days - (one additional day) - conference required
• 7 Unexcused days - attendance officer involved, possible court action

Dental and Medical

Dental and medical appointments are excused; however, we ask that such appointments be kept to a minimum during the instructional day. If a child must leave early for a medical or dental appointment, parents are requested to send a note in advance and must sign the child out in the office at the appropriate time. To protect instructional time, students will not be called to the office until a parent arrives at school to pick them up. Please allow sufficient time for your child to get to the office and for you to arrive on time to your scheduled appointment.

Tardy

Students arriving at school late must first report to the office for correction of attendance records. Car riders arriving tardy should be brought to the front of the school building and accompanied into the office by a parent/guardian. The first bell rings at 9:00 a.m. The tardy bell rings at 9:15 a.m. Students who arrive in their classroom after 9:15 a.m. will be marked tardy. Students who are tardy eight or more times in a school year will have a letter placed in their school file. If the student continues to be tardy a meeting with the principal, counselor, student, and parent will be held to discuss the situation.

Change in Transportation Arrangement

We are unable to process changes in transportation for play dates. Arrangement for play dates and visits to friends should be scheduled after students arrive safely home from school.

However, should an emergency require that a child ride home with a friend, the parent should send a note to the main office on the morning of the day permission is requested. A note is required from the parent/guardian of each student involved. Please send your requests and include a phone number where you can be reached for questions or further information.

We are unable to process changes in transportation unless both students have a note. In the absence of both students having notes, each student will be instructed to go home as they normally would go home. The students will be allowed to make a phone call to a parent to inform them of the situation. Please note if a bus is filled to capacity, a student not regularly on the bus will not be allowed to ride the bus even just for one day. That is determined by the Office of Transportation Service, not the school. Each family is urged to find a nearby neighbor that your child can go to in the event of an emergency.

Students who ride the bus to school are assigned a bus and a bus stop by the Office of Transportation Services. If you need to make a permanent change to your bus you must fill out a Request for Exception to Ride a School Bus form. This form should be turned into the school office and will be forwarded to the Office of Transportation. If you are changing your bus stop but remaining on the same bus, you need to speak with the bus driver and inform the school of the change. Parents escorting their children to school or picking them up at the end of the day may not walk to the classroom.