Student Handbook

Reasons for Excused Absences

• An excused absence includes but is not limited to the following categories:
• School related absences - i.e. sports, field trips, guidance visits
• Religious holiday absences
• Illness/medical related absences
• Court appearances - must have court subpoena or letter from lawyer or parent/guardian
• Vacation with family

Excusing Absences

• For the school year 2023-24, we are using an attendance form. If your student will be absent from school for any reason, please submit the attendance form, on the website within 24 hours. Be prepared to report the following information: student name, grade, date of absence, reason for absence and your name/relationship. Any absence not excused within 24 hours will remain unexcused. Only parents/guardians may excuse absences. Students cannot excuse themselves.

Fill out the attendance form

Excused Absences for Physical Education

• Excused absences for one to three days from physical education classes require a note from the parent/guardian presented to the instructor at the beginning of the class.
• Excused absences for more than three days require a written excuse from a health care provider and must be presented to the physical education instructor. The instructor and designated team counselor will then decide the modifications in the class, if needed.
• Each academic school year updated notes from the health care provider should be placed in the student’s file in the Health Services Department.

Medical Verification for Excessive Absences & Truancy

• In instances where students have excessive tardies or absences, the School District may require that absences for medical reasons be verified by a medical professional. Students who have accumulated ten (10) or more days of unexcused or excused absences, or have excessive tardies will be required to provide documentation from a medical care provider that the absence was due to medical reasons. At the discretion of administration, verification from a medical professional may be required at any other time to verify an absence due to medical reasons. 

Special Leave (Family Vacation)

• Absences from school when taken to accommodate a family's vacation can have a negative impact on academic performance. Parents and students must assume responsibility for, and students will be required to make up for missed work.  Guardians are required to submit a written request for special leave to their student’s counselor.  

Appointments (doctor, orthodontist, etc) are best scheduled before or after school hours.  However, if your student will be coming late due to an appointment, please bring a note from the provider.  If you are picking up your child early, please come to the main entrance and your child will be excused from class.   If someone other than a parent/guardian will be picking up your child, we require written authorization.  Please be specific, including the name and relationship to your child (sibling, grandparent, friend etc.) as well as a phone number where you can be reached to verify.  In accordance with our visitor policy, visitors may be asked for identification.

Please note that due to liability issues, St. Louis Park Middle School will not be accommodating virtual appointments for students with outside providers during the school day.
 

Students who have been absent for legitimate reasons will be allowed a reasonable amount of time to make up work missed while they were absent. Upon returning to school it is the STUDENT’s responsibility to get missed assignments. A student shall receive 2 days to submit work for the first day missed and one day for each day missed thereafter. If pre-arranged tests or projects are due on days of absence, the student must be prepared to take the test or submit any project on the day they return, unless other arrangements have been made with the instructor. Students with unexcused absences due to truancy or skipping class may not be allowed to make up work for credit.

Students who have been dismissed from school as Out-of-School Suspension (OSS) will be allowed to make up the work from the class(es) missed and receive credit for the work.

Students are expected to use the bathroom and go to their lockers between classes. Hall passes will not be issued the first and last 10 minutes of class and students are not permitted to leave class unless it is an emergency, with which the teacher may refuse to give a pass or call for an ASC/Hallway Supervisor to walk students to the location. Classroom teachers will receive a permanent pass for the purpose of bathroom and/or locker access. One student will be permitted to go to the bathroom or locker at any given time.

Any student in the hall without a hallway pass may lose pass privileges. Certain conditions may warrant a medical waiver to this policy. Students that are in the hallway with a pass should expect to show their pass to any staff person as requested (this includes students with a permanent pass). When a student arrives at their assigned space, the staff person will collect the hallway pass.

Frequent Use Passes
Students with extenuating circumstances will receive a permanent pass from the student services team (i.e. nurse for medication, social work services, etc.). Permanent passes will be issued through the student services office.
 

Students are expected to be in class or in their assigned space on time, everyday. Students are considered tardy if they arrive after the scheduled passing time bell. Students must have a pass to class to excuse any tardy after the passing time bell, otherwise the tardy is unexcused and subject to classroom interventions. Arriving late by more than 10 minutes without a pass is considered a partial absence, and still counts as an unexcused absence.

Student arrives after the bell without a pass:
In the first 10 minutes of class = Tardy Unexcused (TU)
After the first 10 minutes of class = Partial Unexcused (PU)

Student arrives after the bell with a pass:
In the first 10 minutes of class = Tardy Excused (TE)
After the first 10 minutes of class = Partially Excused (PE)

Student does not arrive:
Is absent, but unexcused = Absence Unexcused (AU)
Is absent, but excused = Absence Excused (AE)

Students, who are in the halls without a pass after passing time has ended, will be escorted to class by ASC/Hallway Supervisor, support staff, and/or administration. Tardy students are expected to enter quickly, quietly, and respectfully. 
 

Students that demonstrate excessive tardiness and/or skip class are considered in-school truant and are subject to the following interventions to include but are not limited to:

• Meeting with grade level administrator and student support team to include the student’s family
• Attendance contract
• Loss of hallway pass privileges
• Delayed or early passing time (student will be required to transition to class outside of the regular passing time)
• Truancy Process as determined by Hennepin County (BASIL)

Note: Tardies do not need to be consecutive. 

Administration and ASCs (Achievement and Support Coordinators) will engage in restorative processes with students to improve Attendance. Students can be placed on a week-long or day-to-day contract to track their daily attendance. If students do not collaborate with this process and/or demonstrate improvement, higher level interventions may be assigned.

After 15 consecutive days of unexcused absences, a student will be dropped from our enrollment. Parents/Guardians and their student(s) will be required to attend a re-enrollment meeting prior to returning to classes.

During an emergency or drill, students must stay with their assigned staff person and proceed in an orderly fashion to the designated area. Students should be aware of the posted instructions in each room and listen to the directions from staff.

Each year, each grade level has a field trip to enhance the content of a classroom experience.

• 6th Grade - Minnesota History Center
• 7th Grade - Theater Production
• 8th Grade -  REM5

We reserve the right to withhold a student from field trip(s). Reasons for students being withheld from field trips could include, but are not limited to attendance, behavior, or health concerns.

If a student becomes ill or injured during the day, they must report at once to the Health Aide’s Office. Parents or Guardians will then be notified by the Health Aide if students are ill or injured and in need of medical care. Because of the limited ward facilities, parents are requested to provide transportation as soon as it is possible. Each student should return the Emergency Procedure Card completely filled out by the parent or guardian to enable the school to contact the parents or guardian in the event of an emergency.

Prescription Medications - Medications prescribed by the doctor should be brought to the Health Services office in the prescription bottle with a note signed by the parent/guardian and a written Doctor’s order requesting that the medication be given in school. Students can carry an asthma inhaler during the school day. We must have a written Doctor’s order to carry, a note from the parent/guardian, and the inhaler must be marked with a prescription label. We also like to have an extra inhaler in Health Services just in case there is an emergency because personnel in Health Services do not have access to student’s lockers.

Non-prescription Medications - Advil, Tylenol, cough and cold medicine can be administered from a Health Service. The medication must come in the original container with a written note from the parents stating when and how much the student is to take. 

NO MEDICATION should be in student’s lockers or on their person. If there are Health Service or medication questions please call 952-928-6311.

Find out more about Health Services
 

For the safety of students with different types of allergies, especially latex allergies, we are requiring that all balloons be kept out of the building. Balloons that are brought into the school will be confiscated. So please, NO balloons in the building. As always, student safety is our foremost concern. We do not want to risk any student’s health.

Both fiction and non-fiction materials are available in the Media Center for classroom work, project and recreational use. The center subscribes to multiple print magazines and newspapers. Electronic resources include subject research databases, periodical and reference indexes and databases, encyclopedias, automated book catalog and internet access.

• A green Library Media Center pass is required for individual student LMC access.  Students may obtain a pass from classroom teachers.

Each student will receive a locker for use during the year.  Lockers are not to be used for storage of illegal or dangerous items.  For safety purposes, valuable items should not be stored in lockers.  Each student is to use their own locker and students are not to share combinations with classmates.  The school provides these lockers for students and reserves the right to inspect student lockers.  Random locker clean outs and locker checks will occur during the school year.  If a locker is not working properly, it should be reported to student services.

Lost books that are found will be returned to the department. Other items that are found may be claimed in the designated lost and found area.  Those items that are not claimed will be turned over to charitable organizations at the end of the quarter.  If students find lost items, they are expected to turn them into the office. 

The pledge will be read once a week on Thursdays during announcements.  Anyone who does not wish to participate in reciting the pledge of allegiance for any personal reason may elect not to do so. Students must respect another person's right to make that choice.

View MN statute 121A.11

The St. Louis Park Public Schools Land Acknowledgement is read by a student leader weekly on Tuesdays during announcements. 

St. Louis Park Middle School does not allow student visitors. If a student is considering enrollment and interested in learning more about St. Louis Park Middle School, that student needs to contact the Student Services Office to arrange a tour. The number to the Student Services Office is 952-928-6301.

Substitute teachers provide a valuable service to our school. Students are expected to conduct themselves as they would with their classroom teacher and follow all school and district policies.

St. Louis Park Public Schools must obtain and use information about each student to plan the best educational program possible. The school district shall permit the parents of a student who is or has been in attendance in the school district to inspect and review the educational records of the student except those records which are made confidential by state or federal law. The school district shall comply with a request immediately, if possible, or within five days of the date of the request except Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays.

The Minnesota Government Data Practices Act (Minn. Stat. 13.01-99; Minn. Rules 1205.0100, et seq.) governs the maintenance and dissemination of all records kept by school districts. The Minnesota Rules expressly provide that both parents have full rights under the Act regardless of custody arrangements, unless the district has been provided a court order that provides this right has been terminated. (Minn. Rule. 1205-0500.)

The rights of the non-custodial parent include the right to access, to challenge and to authorize the release of data to a third party, regardless of the wishes of the custodial parent. Stepparents, grandparents and foster parents have a right to access only if they are acting as a parent in the absence of a parent. A written release from a parent (custodial or noncustodial) is required before data may be related to a stepparent, grandparent or foster parent.

Student records include census information, such as: students, parents, and siblings names, address, phone numbers, schools attended grade and transportation information. Other information induces health data, subjects taken and grades (marks) received, various kinds of reports, attendance data, test scores, correspondence between home and school and extra-curricular activity information. While some information is collected because the law requires it, the major purpose of all student data is to help school personnel better understand the students and meet their individual needs.
 

If your home address, email address, or phone numbers (cell, home, or work) change, please email or call Bridgid O’Hara at ohara.bridgid@slpschools.org or 952-928-6301 with the updated information. Accurate information provides for successful family communication and timely delivery of any communications. 

If you are a child under the age of 18 who lives or attends school in St. Louis Park then you are eligible to receive free medical care at the Central clinic located at the Central Community Center. Clinic Services include: Routine Care, Counseling, Health Education, Lab Services, and Sexual Health. In order for students to receive free medical care, they MUSt have in hand or have on file a signed consent form.

The counselors are assigned to students by team.  Counselors work with students to provide students with academic, social and emotional support and guidance.  They work with students, parents, teachers and referral agencies to help solve problems. The counselor serves as an advocate for students in relationships with the school, peers, parents and outside agencies. There are support groups led by the counseling and social work staff. The Counseling staff is part of the team for working with families to determine whether or not their student may require accommodations due to a significant disability, impacting their education.

St. Louis Park Middle School offers a wide range of services available to students who are eligible for special education. Staff resources include special education teachers, speech/language pathologists, social workers, psychologists, developmental adaptive physical education, and the school nurse. The school psychologist performs diagnostic testing to determine learning disabilities and special educational needs. A student is usually referred by a counselor, teacher or principal, but testing may be requested by a parent or student. 

Student Intervention Team is a team where teachers and counseling staff discuss possible interventions to be used to help the students reach academic success.

A study team reviews specific student needs and coordinates evaluation and planning for students who may require special education services. Parents are an important part of the process and are encouraged to share concerns with the student’s counselor. For further information regarding special education services or parental rights and procedural safeguards, contact Tami Reynolds at 952.928.6068.
 

The School Resource Officer serves as a resource person to students, parents, teachers, counselors and administrators. The St. Louis Park police officer assigned to this duty assists the school personnel in building positive relationships with kids and families and dealing with unacceptable student behavior, if necessary. Liaison is also maintained between the school and social agencies, the courts, and various diversion programs.

Social workers provide students with mental health support, advocate for student’s needs with staff, administration and families, connect students and families with outside resources for additional support, work with all stakeholders to increase student attendance and conduct groups for special issues. Social work also may include individualized educational planning and possible referral for special education services.

501 - Weapons

502 - Search of Student Lockers, Desk, Personal Possessions and Student's Person 

503 - Student Attendance

506 - Student Behavior Intervention

514 - Bullying Prohibition

522 - Student Sex Nondiscrimination

522 - Student Sex Nondiscrimination Form

522 - Student Sex Nondiscrimination - Procedures

524 - Internet Acceptable Use and Safety

524 - Internet Acceptable Use and Safety - Procedure

526 - Hazing Prohibition

531 - Pledge of Allegiance