Attendance and Absences

The following rules are to allow all students the opportunity to grow academically without disruption.

• Arrive to school on time everyday.
• Arrive to each and every class on time.

Students are not permitted to leave class except for medical emergencies, office summonses, or behavioral referrals. Passing periods, break, and lunch are to be used to take care of personal needs.

Every effort should be made to be in school for a full day every day.

When Your Child is Absent

• You do not need to phone the school on a day your child is absent.
• See the instructions at right for informing the school before an expected absence or after an unexpected absence. Usually the information is submitted by the child's parent or guardian, but it can also be submitted by a medical doctor, a health care agency, or the school nurse.
• To record an absence, the school needs the student's name, dates of absence, and the reason for the absence. If a printed note is used, it must be signed.
• If your child’s absence is not cleared within 10 school days it will be marked as truancy and may lead to truancy status.

When Your Child Has an Appointment

• Try to schedule all appointments for your child after school, on weekend days, or during your child’s vacation.
• If the appointment must be during school hours please have your child attend school prior to the appointment and/or return to school after the appointment to complete the school day.
• If students need to leave school early, please plan to pick-up the student before or after their P.E. class in order to avoid delays.
• Call the school to let them know your child will be absent and why.
• Also inform the school of any planned prolonged absence.

Excused Absences

Reasons for excused absences include:

• Illness
• Injury
• Medical appointments
• Dental appointments
• Optometric appointments
• Quarantining
• Funeral attendance
• Observing a holiday
• Observing a religious day

as well as many absences with prior approval.

Other absences may be considered truancy. Unexcused absences include:

• Running errands for family
• Babysitting or childcare issues
• Transportation problems
• Vacations or trips
• Weather conditions
• Family emergencies
• Parent/guardian health issues
• Absent without the consent of the parent/guardian

How to submit a note if your child is absent

If your child is unable to attend school or participate for an entire day, a parent or guardian needs to inform Ms. Valerie Saulsberry, Student Services Office Technician, on that day or the next day. Do not submit absence notes to teachers.

Submit your message or note using any of the following methods. Email is preferred because it leaves a permanent record of your communication.

1. Email Ms. Saulsberry and send a CC copy to Mrs. Avila
2. Phone Ms. Valerie Saulsberry at 310-253-7627
3. Send Ms. Saulsberry a fax at 310-559-0397
4. Bring a note to the Student Services Office

Your message must include:

• student name
• grade
• dates or absence
• reason for the absence
• your signature (for a fax or note)
• supporting documents, if necessary, such as a doctor's or dentist's note.

Why send an absence note?

Because our state funding depends on it!

Does My Child Have Any Uncleared Absences?

Parents can contact Ms. Avila to ask for a list of uncleared absences for their child.

It's possible to clear a previous absence, but not indefinitely. It's best to take care of this promptly.

What About Homework Assignments?

Parents and students should directly communicate with teachers surrounding assignments, projects, and tests prior to or during an absence.

A student who is absent from school for an excused reason will be allowed to complete all assignments and tests missed during the absences that can be reasonably provided by teachers on Schoology or in person. Upon satisfactory completion, the student will be given full credit.

What if the Bus is Late to School?

If students are late to homeroom because their school bus is late, the Student Services office will not count the student as tardy to homeroom.

If the teacher has already submitted the attendance records to the office, the student's parent may get a phone call, but the parent does not need to do anything about it.

Tardy Sweeps

Tardy sweeps help remind students to arrive on time. They can happen on any day.

When a tardy sweep occurs, teachers close their classroom doors at 8:00am. Any student who is not in their classroom is sent to the cafeteria, where a staff member writes them an unexcused tardy slip and sends them back to class.

• If it's their first time, they get a warning about tardiness.
• If it's their second time, a school staff member calls their parent or guardian to discuss their tardiness.
• If it's their third time, they must serve detention at lunchtime.

PA announcements are made when the tardy sweep begins and when it ends.

Excessive tardiness impacts classroom instruction as well as a student's grades in work habits and cooperation, their attendance record, and their eligibility for rewards and grade-level activities and events.

Remember that a student can be marked tardy not just for being outside the classroom, but also for being in the classroom but not in their seat, ready to learn.

September is Attendance Awareness Month

Read about the importance of attendance at the Attendance Works website.

California Attendance Rules

Education is a partnership between parents and the school. We will work with you to address issues or concerns which may be preventing your child from attending school regularly.

By law, education is a parental responsibility. According to the California Education Code:

Each person between the ages of 6 to18 years not exempted is subject to compulsory full-time education. Students who are absent from school without valid excuse on three occasions or tardy for more than 30 minutes in a school day on three occasions in one school year are truant and will be reported to the attendance supervisor or the superintendent of the school district.

The consequences can be severe if you fail to comply with the Education Code:

• You may be referred to the School Attendance Review Team (SART) and/or School Attendance Review Board (SARB).
• Your case may be referred to the District or City Attorney.
• Cal Works or TANF may reduce your monthly allowance per child.
• You may be fined up to $2,500 per child.

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