Attendance

Student and Family Attendance Responsibilities:

• Students should attend school daily arriving on time.

• Students should come to school prepared to actively participate in their education.

• Students should be in their seats and ready to work when the tardy bell sounds for every period.

• Parents/guardians are responsible to have their children attend school daily.

• Parents/guardians are responsible for reporting any and all absences to the school office.

• Parents/guardians are responsible for maintaining an awareness of their legal obligation to have their child attend school each day.

• Parents/guardians have the right to call the Alameda Police Dept. if their child refuses to attend school.

What are the schools' attendance procedures?

Attendance is taken in the first 20 minutes of the school day in elementary school and within the first 10 minutes of the period in secondary school. Students absent for any reason are required to bring a note to the Attendance Office the following day signed by a parent explaining the reason for the absence. A parent phone call to the Attendance Office is also encouraged on the day of the student’s absence. Parent calls/notes for excused absences should include:

• The date of the absence

• The first and last name of the student

• The reason for the absence

• The parent’s name/signature

What are the school's tardy procedures:

Students who come to school after the bell has rung must report to the Attendance Office to get an admit slip for class. Students who arrive in class late without a note will be marked unexcused tardy. A note or telephone call is required from a parent or guardian every time a student is tardy to school.

What absences are considered unexcused?

All absences that have not been cleared by a parent will be considered an unexcused absence. A student who is:

1) Absent from school without a valid excuse three full days in one school year, or

2) Tardy or absent for more than any 30-minute period during the school day without a valid excuse on three occasions in one school year, or,

3) A combination of the two will be considered a truant.

Note: Three unexcused absences and/or three or more tardies over 30 minutes results in a first letter of truancy.

Legitimate Student Absences:

• Illness

• Quarantine under the direction of the county or city health officer

• For the purpose of attending a funeral service of a member of the immediate family, so long as such absence is not more than three days if the service is conducted outside of California

• For the purpose of jury duty in the manner provided for by law

• School personnel may require students to remain out of school for a maximum of three days due to pediculosis (head lice). The attendance card should be marked as an illness for the three-day limit. Cases which are not cleared after three days should be marked as unexcused absences.

Absence to Obtain Immunization:

The Education Code deals with claiming attendance for up to five days for any pupil who has not been immunized providing the District has not notified the parent or guardian of the pupil. The immunization requirement includes diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough), tetanus, poliomyelitis, and measles.

The District shall notify the parent or guardian of the pupil that they have two weeks to supply evidence either that the pupil has been properly immunized or that the pupil is exempted from the immunization requirement pursuant to Section 3385 or Section 3386 of the Health and Safety Code.

The notification shall include a source of medical care such as the County Health Department to obtain such immunization.

School Excused Absence for Justifiable Personal Reasons:

• Bereavement in the event of death of members of the immediate family, including parents, offspring, brothers, sisters, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, correspondent step-relatives, court-appointed foster parents, legal guardians, or any other person regularly residing in the home

• Critical illness in the family which has a direct impact on family members in the home (family is defined in the paragraph above)

• Appearance at SARB or satellite SARB meetings

• Attendance at events sponsored by certain organizations or groups as approved by the principal's designee

• Family emergencies

• Other exceptional circumstances to be approved by the school principal (which may include an appearance in court, observance of a holiday, ceremony of his or her religion, attendance at religious retreats, family retreats, or an employment conference). A pupil shall also be excused when he or she is the custodial parent of a child who is ill or has a medical appointment during school hours. Under this policy, attendance at religious retreats shall not exceed four hours per semester.

Leaving School Early:

Whenever students must leave school early, whether or not they will return to school that day, they should bring a note regarding the early dismissal to the Attendance Office before first period. The note must be signed by the parent and indicate the time the student is to be dismissed, the reason for the early dismissal, and the name of the person who will be picking the student up from the office. That person must be the parent or one of the adult designees on the student’s emergency card. At the early dismissal time, the adult must come to the office and sign the student out.

Absence-related Make-Up Work:

The student is responsible for obtaining make-up work from the teachers upon returning to school and for following each teacher’s make-up policy. Teachers are not required to give students make-up work for any unexcused absences. At the discretion of the teacher, the opportunity to make up schoolwork missed may be given. Students are encouraged to contact and may request homework by email or by contacting the office on the third consecutive day of absence. We strongly encourage students to set up a homework “buddy” to stay current with assignments.

Specific laws related to school attendance:

Education Code 48200 – Students between the ages of 6 and 18 years must attend school.

Education Code 48260 – A student is a truant when he/she is absent from school without a valid excuse three full days in one school year or tardy for more than any 30 minute period during the school day three times.

Education Code 48263 – Truant students may be referred to SARB.

Education Code 48293 and Penal Code 272 – Parents are responsible to send their children to school or they will face charges in court.

Education Code 48293 (a) – A parent or guardian may be held responsible if a student does not follow the SARB contract.

Vehicle Code 13202.7 – The court may revoke or delay a driver’s license of a student between the ages of 13 and 18 if he/she is a habitual truant.

Truancy Ordinance – A county ordinance that allows law enforcement to cite students who are not in school.

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