Leave of Absence Policy

The Governor’s School is state funded, highly competitive, and interested in fostering a very strong sense of community among its participants.  Therefore, it is believed to be inappropriate for students who have accepted a place at AGS to take temporary leaves from the program.  Time away from the program has an undesired effect on student participation, both for the individual and for the Governor’s School community at large.  We know that gifted and talented students will have many quality opportunities during the summer.  Although we hope that students invited to attend AGS will accept our invitation to attend for the full six weeks, we understand that other choices are available and difficult decisions must be made.  For students desiring to take advantage of other opportunities that coincide with AGS, students should decline the AGS invitation which will allow another student to be invited to benefit from the entire program.

Temporary leaves will be granted for certain situations and only these situations. Requests for special leaves of absence must be made in writing at least one (1) week in advance and include explicit justification for the leave.  Documentation may be requested to verify listed justification.  A form may be obtained from the AGS office once the session starts.  A leave may be granted for the following situations:

• unplanned personal or family emergencies
• weddings of immediate family members
• extremely important events of major personal, regional, or national significance
• medical reasons

Please note:

• proper paperwork must be filled out and submitted at least one week in advance
• the student cannot miss more than 2 class days
• the leave cannot be during the first 3 days or the last 3 days of the program
• no student may be granted more than one leave of absence
• leaves granted for medical reasons may not exceed a total of six (6) class days
• proper documentation may be requested to verify the listed justification for the leave