DoDEA reminds parents about school attendance policy Published Sept. 17, 2013 By Staff Reports 52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany -- The U.S. Department of Defense Education Activity has a student attendance policy for Department of Defense Dependents Schools. The system-wide policy for students is consistent with those found in many public schools throughout the United States. - All students are required to attend school for 180 instructional days per school year. - Academic penalties will not be imposed for excused absences. - Whenever a student needs to be out for more than five days, the teacher will provide a Student Educational Monitoring Plan to lessen the impact of a student missing instruction in class. - Excused absences include personal illnesses; medical, dental or mental health appointments; serious illness in the student's immediate family; a death in the student's immediate family or of a relative; religious holiday; emergency conditions such as fire, flood or storm; unique family circumstances warranting absence and coordinated with the school administration office; college visits that cannot be scheduled on non-school days; reasonable amounts of time surrounding deployments and reintegration, providing missed school work is obtained in advance and completed upon return. The policy aims to establish a balance between the need for military families to spend time together following a deployment while emphasizing the importance of education. For more information about the attendance policy, visit http://www.dodea.edu/StudentServices/attendance.cfm.