Attendance Information

What do I need to know about the attendance policies?

Click above to access the District Attendance Website with FAQs.

Did You Know?

Texas law requires students to be in attendance at least 90% of the time in order to receive credit for the semester.
90% means a student cannot miss more than 8 days in a semester for a class that meets every day. Students in A/B classes cannot miss more than 4 days.
Attendance can be a better predictor of whether students will graduate from high school than test scores.
Students in kindergarten and 1st grade who are chronically absent will not likely read at grade level by the 3rd grade.
Parents/guardians can check their student’s attendance through the Home Access Center (HAC).

Excused Absence Examples:

Religious holy days

Required court appearances

Documented healthcare appointments for the student

Mental health or therapy appointments

Activities related to obtaining US citizenship (for the student)

Death of an immediate family member

Personal illness of the student (school accepts 4 parent notes before a doctor's note is required)

*Appropriate documentation must be provided

Unexcused Absence Examples:

Family vacations, trips, cruises

Leaving campus during class or lunch period without authorized permission

Oversleeping

Babysitting for family members

Translating for family members

Missing the bus

Car trouble

Absence without written notification from parent/guardian

Wedding/graduation ceremonies

Absences and Tardies

ABSENCES: Students who have been absent must present a written excuse from the parent or guardian within three (3) days. The three-day period begins on the day the student returns to school. All absences require a doctor’s note and/or a parent’s written note. Please do not turn in notes to the classroom teacher. Remember that submitting an absence note does not guarantee that an absence will be excused. Our school attendance clerk, Mrs. Avila, will contact families if the absence cannot be excused.

📱 💻 Parents should upload absence notes here: School Absence Note 💻 📱

TARDIES: A student will be counted tardy if he/she is not in the classroom when the class starts at 7:40am. Excessive tardiness at all levels may result in a referral to the district attendance officers. Excessive tardiness is considered a Loss of Significant Instructional Time and is prosecutable in court in the same manner as unexcused absences. If a student has a medical appointment and attends any part of the school day either before or after the appointment and submits a doctor’s note upon his/her return, the absence will not count against him/her.

School employees must investigate and report violations of the state compulsory attendance law.

A student who is absent without permission from school; from any class; from required special programs, such as additional special instruction, termed “accelerated instruction” by the state; or from required tutorials will be considered in violation of the compulsory attendance law and subject to disciplinary action.

Denton ISD will enforce the Texas Compulsory Attendance Laws as follows:

Checking Students Out During the School Day

Parents wishing to check students out of class must do so through the front office. Let the office staff know you wish to take your student out of class, and a call will be placed to the classroom.

If a parent or guardian is on campus as a volunteer or lunch visitor, he/she still must follow established procedures and check the child out through the office.

Parents wishing to check students out through the office should do so before 2:40. After this time, it is not possible to retrieve students from classrooms as teachers have already begun packing up and dismissal procedures. If a guardian arrives to check students out at or after 2:40, they must wait in the office until the end of dismissal when the student is brought to the front office, or they may use their regular pick-up method designated in their students’ pick-up procedure information.

Keep in mind that when students miss 50 minutes or more of class time when either arriving to school late or being checked out early, this results in a part of day absence (POD), which is considered an absence by our district. Parents of students with many POD's are subject to the same compulsory attendance laws and guidelines as those with many unexcused/unverified absences. Parents are encouraged to communicate with the school and teacher ahead of time when they will be picking up their child early from school. However, please note that students will not be sent up to the office before parents arrive at the school to pick them up. Students will only be released to parents or other guardians designated by the parent during the registration process.

What is the Attendance Review Committee?

The Attendance Review Committee is a school-wide group of teachers and other educational professionals charged with improving attendance for students struggling in this area. The committee meets on an as-needed basis to discuss and recommend interventions to improve attendance for specific students. The committee may determine when it is necessary for a student’s parent to provide additional documentation to explain student absences. The committee also investigates attendance patterns to determine when additional assistance from the District Attendance Officer or from the Courts may be warranted. In most cases, targeted students are referred by the student’s homeroom teacher or by an administrator.

Page updated

Report abuse