Attendance

 

ATTENDANCE (Board Policies JH, JHB, and JHCA)
State law mandates that the school record reasons for all student absences. Therefore, when a student is absent, it will be necessary for the parent to call the school on or before the day of the absence in order to advise the school as to the reason for the absence. When it is impossible to call on the day of the absence, the school should be notified on the morning the student returns, in time for the student to obtain an admission slip prior to the student's first class. All absences not verified by parental or
administrative authorization will remain unexcused.

• High school students will be allowed no more than ten (10) total absences per semester and no more than five (5) unexcused absences per semester. If a student should have more than ten (10) total absences or more than five (5) unexcused absences in any class, the student will not receive credit in that class.

 

 

Each student is expected to be in attendance every day that school is in session. The school assumes that both the student and his/her parent(s)/guardian(s) are aware that the school has claim on their student’s time and he/she is obligated to be in class every day of the school year unless excused for illness or other unusual circumstances. Students will be marked tardy if they arrive to class after the bell up to ten (10) minutes. After ten (10) minutes, the student will be marked absent from
the class.

The education of each student is the joint responsibility of the home and the school. Only through cooperation can the student be assured of receiving all educational advantages available. Student participation in class activities, listening to presentations, clarifications and explanations, and attendance at school assembly programs are considered an integral part of the educational program. It is impossible to gain the full significance of any class experience through makeup work.

A. EXCUSED ABSENCE: An absence caused by illness of the student, by illness or death in the family, or by other unusual/emergent circumstances is considered to be an excused absence.
Notification of the absence must be communicated by the parent/guardian prior to the absence, or no later, than the morning the student returns, in time for the student to obtain an admission slip prior to the student’s first class.

 

Examples of excused absences include, but are not limited, to:

• Evidence that the student is not in proper physical or mental condition to attend school.
• An illness in the immediate family, which requires the absence of the student.
• A death in the immediate family.
• Religious holidays.
• A court appearance or other legal procedure upon submission of proof.
• Attendance at special events of educational value as approved by the school administration.
• Approved school activities during class time.
• Special circumstances that show good cause, which are approved in advance by the school administration

If providing a note to the office to excuse an absence, it must be received on the morning the student returns from the absence and contain the following:
• Verification of days missed because of illness not requiring doctor’s treatment with a parent’s note.
• Verification of days missed because of court with original court documentation.
• Full name of the student
• Date note is being turned in
• Student’s grade
• Student lunch ID number
• Date (s) and reason for absence(s)
• Full name of the parent (printed and signed)
• Telephone number where parent can be reached.
*Absences from class or school due to a student’s participation in a school sanctioned activity or absences from class or school resulting from a student’s suspension or required parent conference shall not be counted as absences for the purpose of attendance enforcement.

B. UNEXCUSED ABSENCES: An absence that is regarded by the school as unnecessary, avoidable, or where truth has been averted, is considered to be an unexcused absence. This type of absence includes absences not verified by a parent or guardian, as well as truancy.
Additionally, any absence that has not been pre-arranged and/or excused via phone call or a written note per the guidelines listed above will also be marked as unexcused.

Examples of unexcused absence include, but are not limited, to:
• Oversleeping
• “Running late”
• Car Trouble
• Being pulled over by law enforcement
• Weather, unless due to school closures decided by Chino Valley Unified School District
• Leaving school to grab lunch or change clothes as detailed by our “Closed Campus” policy

• Leaving school to retrieve forgotten items, either in a car or at home.
• Working a job during school hours not in-line with the high school’s Work-Based Learning Program expectations and requirements
• Failure to provide a reason or context.

 

C. EXEMPT ABSENCE: Absences considered EXEMPT from the 10-day total include participating in a school approved field trip and/or a medical illness/appointment accompanied by a doctor's note indicating the dates a child should remain out of school and a return date, emergency medical visits, and/or hospitalizations.
School staff will work with families regarding attendance to create an action plan for special situations related to health and other issues.

MAKE UP WORK AFTER ABSENCE
Students who plan to miss a class(es), due to participation in an extracurricular activity, will complete assignments PRIOR to the activity or make other arrangements with the teacher(s) PRIOR to the activity.
Teachers shall provide an opportunity for a student to make up missed work due to any absence, and students shall be held accountable for the work. When a student is absent, however, the educational experiences lost during that absence may be irretrievable because the instruction and interaction in the instructional setting cannot be duplicated through make- up work. After any absence, a secondary student is required to initiate contact with the teacher(s) to obtain appropriate makeup work within three (3) school days immediately following the absence. Once contact has been made with the teacher(s) specific make-up work must be completed and returned to the teacher(s) within a reasonable length of time, to be determined by the teacher and/or administration.

The make-up work must be returned to the teacher(s) by the specified due date if it is to be acknowledged. Students shall be allowed a minimum of three (3) days to complete make-up work.

CALL OUTS
Please note that calling a student out of school is a disruption of the learning environment and should be avoided at all costs. However, if calling a student out of school early is absolutely necessary and unavoidable, the above guidelines must be met in order for the absence to be marked excused.
Otherwise, absences will be marked as unexcused. Siblings may not sign other siblings out of school.

ATHLETIC AND/OR EXTRA-CURRUCIULAR EVENTS
A student must attend school the entire day to participate that day unless special circumstances warrant administrative approval in advance. Students who are absent for any part of the school day will be declared ineligible unless the student meets one of the excused absence reasons per the student handbook. Students absent for illness are ineligible to participate in any after school activities.
Additionally, if a student obtains more than 9 absences (total) in a semester, they will not be permitted to attend after school extra-curricular events. For athletes, please see the athletic handbook for additional information on attendance and game days.