This article will help you get your tardy management system live in Minga — from defining your policy and choosing your recording method to configuring automations and preparing your staff. By the end, you'll have a fully operational tardy workflow that records incidents, issues consequences, and notifies students, parents, and staff automatically.

Minga's tardy management system centralizes the entire tardiness workflow — from check-in through consequence — so your teachers spend less time managing late arrivals, and staff spend less time chasing down consequences.

Permission level: Owner | Manager

Define your tardy policy: Introductory information that will affect your decisions and approach to your new tardy processes.
How tardy management works in Minga: An overview of the terms, tools, and triggers that work together to deliver a cultural shift on your campus.
Choose your recording method: Decide between a centralized check-in workflow or teacher-reported tardies via your SIS.
Customize your tardy behavior, consequences, and automations: Your account includes pre-built defaults — review and customize them to match your policy.
Go live on campus: Create the processes and workflow to record tardies.
Complete and track consequences: Accumulating consequences for being tardy will require a way to complete consequences.
SIS reconciliation: Launch the workflow on campus and keep your attendance records in sync.
FAQs
Resources

Define your tardy policy

Define your tardy policy before touching any settings. Minga will enforce whatever rules you configure, so it's worth aligning on three things first:

Define When Will Tardies be Recorded

Determine if a Tardy will be start-of-day only, or recorded every period.

	Start of Day	Every Period
Primary Goal	Ensuring students arrive at school.	Maximizing accuracy for each period.
Staff Effort	Lower	Higher
Best For...	Schools with limited staff or low hallway issues.	Schools seeking to eliminate "hallway roaming" and skipping.

Define How Students Be Checked In

Establish where students should go to check in and who is responsible for recording the tardy:

Staff Member: With a device and scanner or even a cell phone, a staff member can quickly scan students in using a physical or digital ID. Ideal for the start of the school day.
Kiosk: A device can be configured to allow students to input their ID, which records the tardy and can issue a tardy pass. Ideal for periods throughout the day where centralized entrances are no longer used.
QR Code: Posting a scannable QR for student devices can allow students to get a tardy pass themselves before rejoining their class.
Teacher in Class: Using My Class, a teacher can record a Tardy in a few clicks as the student enters the class.

	Staff Check-In	Kiosk	QR Code	Teacher in Class
Pro	Staff can verify student identity.	Low staffing requirement.	Very fast for students.	No students wandering.
Con	Requires a staff member.	Potential for missed scans.	Works best with mobile devices.	Disrupts instruction.

Document a Progressive Consequence Framework

Your school likely has this framework documented already. Ensuring this is documented will allow for clear communication to staff and students on how the process works. Consider carefully when parents should be notified.

For example:

Tardy Count	Classification	Consequence/Action	Notification
1 & 2	Warning	Tardy Warning	Student Notified
3	Detention	Lunch Detention	Student & Parent Notified
5	Detention	After School Detention	Student & Parent Notified
10	Referral	Parent Referral

Tip: Document your policy before setup. Use it as a reference when configuring consequence automations — it'll save time and prevent misalignment.

How tardy management works in Minga

Before configuring anything, it helps to understand what each piece of the system does and how they connect.

The ideal workflow might look like this:

The student checks in tardy. A staff member scans their digital ID, they scan at a kiosk, or even scan a QR code. In every case, a Check-in Reason is being used— this is the trigger for everything that follows.
A Tardy Behavior is recorded. Minga logs one tardy against the student. The running count is what the system watches.
A Hall Pass is auto-issued. The student's digital ID displays a Tardy Hall Pass. The teacher checks for it at the door — no attendance book update needed.
If a threshold is hit, an Automation fires. When the tardy count reaches a number you define (e.g., 3rd tardy), Minga automatically assigns a Consequence — a warning, detention, referral, or whatever your policy calls for.
Notifications go out automatically. The student, parent, and even relevant staff are notified based on the consequence type and your notification settings.

The four building blocks — and what each one does:

Element	What it does
Behavior	The record. Logged every time a student is late. The cumulative count is what triggers automations.
Consequence	The outcome — a warning, lunch detention, after-school detention, ISS, etc. Consequences are assigned when a threshold is reached.
Automation	The rule that connects behavior count to consequence. Example: "After 5 tardies, assign a lunch detention."
Check-in Reason	The trigger. Scanning a student's ID with this reason records the tardy, issues the hall pass, and fires any applicable automations — all in one scan.

Tip: Communication to parents can be sent on a Behavior or a Consequence. Keep this in mind as you customize, as overcommunication can definitely happen in some cases. Think carefully about when and where families should be notified.

Choose your tardy recording method

There are two ways to record tardies in Minga. Choose the one that best fits your school's workflow.

Method A — Centralized check-in (recommended)

Late students check in at a central station or with a roaming hall monitor. Minga records the tardy, issues a hall pass, and triggers any automated consequences in real time.

Best for: Schools that want a consistent, campus-wide workflow and want to reduce teacher involvement in tardy tracking.

✅ Pros	⚠️ Cons
Consistent process across every classroom	Requires a staffed check-in station or roaming monitor
Instant consequences and notifications	Tardies must be synced to your SIS daily
Teachers don't update attendance — just check My Class for the hall pass	Timing must align with automated absence calls

Method B — Teacher records tardies into SIS

Teachers take attendance as normal and mark tardies directly in your Student Information System (SIS). An admin exports that data at the end of the day and imports it into Minga to trigger consequences and notifications.

✅ Pros	⚠️ Cons
No change to the existing teacher workflow	Consequences and notifications are delayed until the end-of-day import
No SIS sync required for Minga data	Inconsistent classroom enforcement results in lower student accountability
Students go directly to class	Updating attendance mid-class disrupts instruction time

Customize your tardy behavior, consequences, and automations

Your Minga account includes default tardy behaviors, consequences, and automations that are ready to use out of the box. You don't need to build from scratch — review the defaults, customize them to match your policy, and turn them on.

Step 1 — Review and activate the tardy behavior

Go to Behavior Manager > Behaviors.
Locate the default Tardy behavior and confirm it is set to Active.
Turn off any auto-assigned hall passes or notifications directly on the behavior — these will be controlled through your consequence automations and check-in reason instead.

Step 2 — Review and customize consequences and automations

Your account includes pre-built consequence automations linked to the Tardy behavior. Review them against your policy and adjust thresholds as needed.

To review or edit a consequence:

Go to Behaviors in the Primary Navigation > Behaviors and click into an existing consequence, or click Create > Consequence to add a new one.
Select Guidance as the category.
Choose the Consequence Type (detentions require completion by check-in).
Enable notifications for student, parent, and/or admin as needed.

To review or edit an automation:

From Behavior in the Primary Navigation > Types, click into an existing automation or click Create > Automation.
Confirm the Tardy behavior is selected.
Set the behavior threshold — the number of tardies that triggers this consequence (e.g., 5 = consequence assigned after the 5th tardy).
Select the consequence to assign.

For a complete walkthrough of Consequences and Automations, please refer to this article.

Step 3 — Set up your tardy hall pass

A tardy hall pass is automatically assigned when a student checks in late, giving teachers a visible confirmation that the student has checked in. Teachers don't need to update attendance — they just check for the pass.

Go to Hall Pass in the Primary Navigation > Types.
Select the pencil icon on the default Tardy Pass to edit it, or click Create to make a custom pass.
Set a default pass time to limit how long the pass stays active.
Enable Ignore limits if your school uses blackout periods at the start of each period.

For a complete walkthrough of creating hall passes, please refer to this article.

Step 4 — Set up your tardy check-in reason

The check-in reason is what staff scan when a late student arrives. It connects the scan to the tardy behavior, hall pass, and consequence automations — all in a single action.

Go to Check In in the Primary Navigation > Reasons.
Click Create Reason.
Enter a name (e.g., "Tardy Check-In") and select a color.
Under Roles, select Students and Student Leaders.
Under Auto Assign Behavior, select the Tardy behavior.
Under Auto Assign Hall Pass, select your Tardy Hall Pass.

For a complete walkthrough of setting up a check-in, please refer to this article.

Once set up, a single ID scan at the check-in station records the tardy, issues the hall pass, and triggers any applicable consequences automatically.

Go live on campus

Introducing a new tardy policy can be a big shift for both staff and students. Minga recommends the following rollout plan, which focuses on building habits first and applying consequences later. By following this 4-week schedule, you ensure that everyone understands the "why" and "how" of the new system before accountability begins.

Week 1: Education & Observation

The goal of Week 1 is to ensure every student and staff member knows exactly what constitutes a Tardy and where the Tardy Stations are located.

Publish the Tardy Policy in the student handbook, on the school website, and on posters around the school.
Communicate to families that Minga is being used to monitor tardies, and if you have activated parent notifications, that they will receive either email or text notifications (depending on your configuration). You can utilize our dedicated family education page.
Designate Tardy Stations by placing signs at the front office or specific hallway kiosks.
Train Teachers on the new "closed door" policy, explaining that they no longer need to mark tardies in their SIS.
Conduct an Assembly or classroom presentation to explain the benefits of "Bell-to-Bell" instruction.

Week 2: The Grace Period (No Consequences)

During Week 2, students begin the physical habit of checking in at a Tardy Station, but no punishments are issued.

Scan every late student using the Check In tool in Minga.
Issue the Tardy Hall Pass so students can practice showing it to their teachers.
Review the data at the end of the week to identify "tardy hotspots" or students who are habitually late

Use this week to troubleshoot hardware or Wi-Fi issues at your Tardy Stations.

Week 3: Parent Awareness (Notifications Only)

In Week 3, we bring parents into the conversation. Students still don't receive detentions, but the system begins sending "Heads Up" alerts to families.

Activate Parent Notifications within the Notifications tab of the Tardy Behavior settings.
Send a "Final Warning" email to all families explaining that the grace period is ending.
Monitor parent feedback to ensure contact information in your SIS is up to date.

Week 4: Full Accountability

Week 4 is the "Go-Live" date where the Progressive Consequence Framework becomes fully active.

Enable Behavior Thresholds so that the 3rd or 5th tardy triggers an automatic action.
Enforce the Tardy Hall Pass as the only way a late student can enter a classroom.
Review weekly reports with the admin team to see if tardiness is decreasing.

Tip: Celebrate "Most Improved" students of "On-Time Classes" to keep the tone positive!

Complete and track consequences

Completing consequences via check-in

For detentions, the most efficient method is to scan students in when they arrive.

Go to Check In in the Primary Navigation > Reasons and create a new reason for each detention type (e.g., "Lunch Detention," "After-School Detention").
Under Auto Complete Most Outstanding Consequence, select the corresponding consequence type.
Enable Allow multiple check-ins if students may attend more than one detention per day.

Note: Each check-in reason can only be linked to one consequence type. You must create a separate check-in reason for each detention type.

Reviewing and manually completing consequences

Go to Reports > Consequence History.
Select your desired date range.
Filter by category, status, or consequence type to find the records you need.
Mark detentions as Complete once they've been served.

SIS reconciliation

Method A — Export from Minga to your SIS

When Minga is your primary tardy recorder, export the data and import it into your SIS before truancy calls go out.

Go to Behavior in the Primary Navigation.
Click the Tardy behavior in the dashboard to view today's records. Alternatively, go to Reports > Behavior History and filter by date.
Click Export List and upload the CSV to your SIS.

Method B — Import from your SIS into Minga

When your SIS is the primary record, import tardies into Minga daily to trigger consequences and reporting.

Go to My Tools in the Primary Navigation.
Click Assign a Guidance > Tardy Behavior.
Click the upload icon and select your exported SIS file (must include student ID numbers).
Click Select All, then Add.
Go to Behavior in the Primary Navigation > Reports to confirm behaviors and consequences are recorded.

FAQs

Do I need to rebuild all the consequence automations from scratch?

No. Your account includes default behaviors, consequences, and automations that are already configured and ready to activate. Review them against your school's policy, adjust the thresholds, and turn them on.

What if a student doesn't check in but still shows up late to class?

In Method A, the expectation is that no hall pass = no entry. Teachers enforce the closed-door policy by checking for the auto-assigned Tardy Hall Pass. Students without a pass should be directed back to a check-in station. Alternatively, this can be achieved with QR codes in hallways.

Resources

Tardy Management Setup Webinar Step-by-step video walkthrough of Behaviors, Consequences, and Check-In Reason configuration.

Hall Pass Manager — Setup and Configuration How to create, edit, and manage hall pass types including default pass times and blackout periods.

Live Training Calendar Weekly Zoom training sessions — bring your setup questions and get them answered live.

Create a Progressive Discipline Framework with Automated Consequences

Complete Consequences in Minga

Automating Tardy Check Ins in Minga

Tardy Management Setup Guide

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