Whether you got caught in traffic, slept in, or needed to run to Starbucks before school, we’ve all had those days where the clock strikes 8:35 a.m. as you pull up to campus, and you dread going to the office to grab a tardy pass. Your parents are mad that they need to call the attendance line and give a lame excuse for why you were late, and you are annoyed because you only showed up five minutes after the bell. “Am I really late enough that I need a pass,” you think to yourself?

Going back to school with the hybrid schedule is different, and the process of checking into the office if you are tardy has changed a bit. Students no longer have to get a slip or late pass from the office if they are a few minutes late and can spare themselves the stress of being asked to go to the office after they have already made their way to class. “Whoo-hoo!” you may think, but does this mean you can get away with skipping some school and showing up late? That’s going to depend on your teacher. Maybe one cool teacher will let it slide if you roll in a few minutes after the bell, but others might not be so tolerant. You have to know your teachers pretty well if you plan on abusing this new policy. At least now you don’t have to hear the phrase, “you’re late, go get a pass from the office,” again. 

In all seriousness, don’t use this as an excuse to sleep in an extra ten minutes and grab a coffee before the first bell because you may not always get away with being late. Teachers can still mark you tardy, even if you are a few minutes late as normal, and nothing is worse than looking at your transcript and seeing all of those late marks. Also, be smart. If you pull into Miramonte thirty minutes after the first period started, you’re going to need an excuse. A parent or guardian does still need to call and give a reason for your tardiness, whether the excuse is true or not. I think we can all agree we’ve had our parents call and say we had a doctor’s appointment in the morning, instead of just admitting we went to bed a little too late and needed the extra thirty minutes to sleep in. 

Does this apply to leaving school too? Definitely not! As incredible as it would be to not have to check out of school and simply walk out whenever you feel like it, that is not the case. Students still need to grab a pass from the office and have their parents call the attendance line. 

Enjoy not having to grab a tardy pass from the office anymore, but don’t be surprised if you end up being marked tardy because you took advantage of this new norm, when you really thought you got away with it every time.