SECTION V  ATTENDANCE POLICIES

 

1. Absences:  A 24 hour answering machine is available for calls at 646-6590x211.  All absences must be cleared by a telephone call or not from the parent or guardian within 72 hours of the absence.  Any absence not cleared within 72 hours will be UNEXCUSED and may become a TRUANCY.

 

2. Excused Absences:  The State of California considers illness, medical appointment and the funeral of an immediate family member to be excused absences.  Justifiable personal necessity may be excused with administrator approval (see Appeal Process below).  Seven excused absences (10 for period 1) are allowed per semester.  After the 7th absence (10 in period 1) an absence will be considered excused only if an illness is documented by a physician or a court appearance is documented by the court. (Time missed from class while attending extracurricular or cocurricular activities is not considered an absence.)   Absences beyond the 7th (10th in period 1) that are not excused by a physician’s note or documentation from the court will be considered excessive absences. Early dismissal: If your student will need to leave school for any reason, please send them to school with a note for the Attendance Office and an Off-Campus Pass will be issued. Remind your student that they will need to stop by the Attendance Office when they return to campus to pick up an Admit Slip.

 

3. Truancy is an intentional absence on the part of the student without an excuse from any class for longer than 30 minutes. No work may be made up for any truancy.  A truancy may consist of any absence that has not been cleared within 72 hours by the parent .  If an absence is found to be a truancy, the following procedure will be followed:  Truancy #1 - the parent will be notified and detention will be assigned; Truancy #2 - the student will meet with the assistant principal, Saturday School will be assigned, and the parent will be notified; Truancy #3 and all subsequent truancies: A meeting will be set up with the Assistant Principal and the parents and the student will be assigned to Saturday School.  A letter will be sent to the District Attorney's office about the truancy.  All work permits issued by the school and open campus privilege will be revoked.  The student will be ineligible to participate in any extra-curricular activities including sports and dances for six weeks.  Further truancy may result in alternative placement.

 

4. Unexcused absences:  Tardies that are more than 15 minutes and any absence not covered in the two categories above are unexcused absences. These include: car problems, alarm failure, etc. The student will receive a warning at the first unexcused absence.  Subsequent unexcused absences will result in detention. Students will not receive credit for work missed due to unexcused absences.

 

5. Excessive Absences:  Any absence accompanied by a note from a physician or documentation from court will not count toward excessive absences.  All other absences for any reason do count and once seven absences (10 in period 1) have accumulated in a semester, all subsequent absences are excessive absences. With each subsequent excessive absence, teachers for the class or classes that the student is absent from will be notified and the grade for that class will be reduced by 1/3 letter grade, i.e., B- into a C+, at the end of the grading period. The parent will be notified of each excessive absence and each reduction in grade.

 

6. The Appeal Process:  The Site Cabinet reviews all appeals. This committee consists of the principal, the assistant principal, the athletic director, the counselor and may also include the ROP coordinator and the activities director.  A Justifiable Absence Form must be picked up in the Attendance Office, filled out completely and turned in at least one week prior to the absence. NO EXCEPTIONS. Case-by-case issues of exceptions are such things as collage visitations and bereavement. The committee will also review appeals based on illness, beyond seven days, which may have unusual circumstances. Note: Two collage visits per year are allowed only through the appeal process.

 

7.  Tardy Policy:  Any student arriving late to class is considered tardy unless a valid excuse of illness, doctor appointment, funeral or justifiable personal necessity is given.  Tardiness due to justifiable personal necessity must be approved by an administrator.  Students who are more than 15 minutes late must report to the Attendance Office to be readmitted to class. Students with an excused tardy or students who are more than 15 minutes late without an excuse need to go directly to class.

 

a)  Tardy Contract:  

Tardy #1: Warning by teacher

Tardy #2: Teacher detention and parent contacted by teacher

Tardy #3: Assistant Principal will assign after school detention

Tardy #4: Assistant Principal will assign Saturday School and will have conference with parents

Tardy #5 and subsequent tardies: There could be a 5% grade reduction on the next test or assignment given in class at the teacher's discretion.

 

b)  Tardy Sweeps may be held without prior notification to the students.  Any student who is not in a classroom will be assigned detention.  Students out of class without a pass will be issued a detention regardless of their placement on any tardy contract.

 

8. Emergency Contact:  In case a parent or guardian cannot be reached by telephone, only the people listed on the Emergency Card may be contacted.  Please list two local contacts on the Emergency Card and keep this information up-to-date.  Parents or guardians are responsible for notifying the Attendance Office if another adult is in charge of their student or if they have Hospital Release Forms on file at local hospitals. If a parent signs over legal guardianship, the school cannot contact the parent in regards to the student.

 

9. Change of Address:  All changes should be immediately registered in the Counseling Office, 646-6590x277. Proof of new residency will be required.

 

10. Temporary Guardianship:  Parents need to make prior arrangements with the Attendance Office in person as to the name, address and home telephone number of any temporary guardian.  Please indicate the length of time the temporary arrangement will be in effect.

 

11. Medical Excuses (Long Term) for PE:  For a student to receive a "medical" for a unit (3 weeks of class time) in Physical Education, a doctor's note must be on file in the Counseling Office before the end of the unit in question.  A parent's note will suffice until a doctor's note is obtained.  If a note is not obtained, a failing grade will be given.  A student who is on a long term medical that requires the student to miss two units will receive "NM" (no mark) for that quarter.