Student/Parent Handbook - Ysleta Independent School District

If a student is absent without school permission, that absence will be counted as an unexcused absence. In this case thestudent may receive a zero for all work missed, parents will be notified, the student will be referred to counseling and, ifnecessary, an attendance warning will be issued, charges will be filed against parents to enforce the compulsory schoolattendance law if absences of this nature persist. See Reg. FE-R.90% RULE FOR LOSS OF CREDITA student must be present 90% of the days the class is offered in order to receive credit (middle and high school) or to bepromoted to the next grade level (elementary school). Parents will be notified prior to and at the actual point thestudent’s attendance, in any class, falls below 90%. When a student’s attendance drops below 90% but remains at least75% of the days the class is offered, the student may earn credit for the class by completing a plan approved by theprincipal. If the student fails to complete the plan set by the principal, or if attendance falls below 75% of the days theclass is offered, the student, parent, or representative may request award of credit by submitting a written petition to theappropriate campus attendance committee. An attendance committee at the campus will determine if credit will be reinstatedor if student will be promoted to next grade level based on extenuating circumstances. The attendancecommittee may also impose conditions for the student to abide by for the remainder of the grading period beforerewarding credit/promotion. Petitions for credit may be filed at any time the student receives notice but not later than 30days after the last day of classes. This applies to all grade levels.Absences considered when calculating loss of credit/retention include: Excused absences (illness, funeral, legal issues,parent requests, runaways, suspension, and inclement weather days not approved by the district), unexcused absences,and truancies. Absences not calculated against the student: absence due to required court appearances, doctor’sappointment (must have attended class sometime during the instructional day), SAC, observing religious Holy Days,business on campus, tardiness, school activity (up to 10), and approved field trip, 2 days per junior or senior year forcollege visits, and absences due to scheduled meetings with government officials if applying for citizenship, participatingin naturalization ceremonies, or playing “Taps” at a veteran’s funeral.OPPORTUNITY TO COMPLETE CLASS WORKStudents who have an excused absence will have the opportunity to make up class work, one day for each day ofabsence or a reasonable amount of time. When applicable, arrangements for make-up work should be made in advanceof an absence. Class make-up work for unexcused absences should be permitted in order to allow the student to keeppace with the instructional program. All classwork must be made up if a student misses a class or part of a class.EARLY RELEASE OF STUDENTS FROM SCHOOLA parent may request permission for a student to leave school during the school day when necessary for a doctor’sappointment or emergency. Excessive requests for permission for students to leave early will be monitored by thecampus administration and conferences with the parent or guardian will be scheduled to resolve the situation. A studentmust obtain an early dismissal slip or sign an early dismissal card from the attendance office in accordance with schoolprocedure. At no time should students leave school early without getting permission from the school and following theschool procedures for leaving the school grounds. Students who fail to follow the above procedures may be consideredtruant and subject to the campus discipline management plan.TRUANCYTruancy is defined as a student not having permission to be away from school or a valid reason to arrive late, skip class(es), miss the whole day, part of the day or miss many days. Students who are absent from one or more class periods, orare absent from school the entire day without the permission of parent(s)/guardian(s), or school authorities, or have avalid reason to be absent, are considered truant. School officials shall investigate excessive student absences fromschool. Parents must ensure that their child attends school each day for the entire period the program of instruction isprovided. If the parent has been warned in writing that the child has failed to attend school for the amount of timerequired by law, the attendance officer shall file a complaint against the parent(s)/guardian(s) in a judicial court. TexasEducation Code 25.093 (a). The fact that a parent did not receive the notice does not establish a defense to prosecution.See Important Notices.NOTICE TO PARENTS OF ABSENCESThere are many ways that the district provides notices to parents/guardians about students’ absences. These include:1. Phone messages from the School Messenger System (Sea Horse Sam) for each day the student is absent. If aparent has not resolved the absence, the School Messenger will call again and leave another message for the same andsubsequent absences.2. The progress report issued every three weeks also contains a total number of the absences for that period.3. The progress report card contains a total of all the absences the student has acquired for the year.4. Individual calls to parents/guardians from the campus teachers, assistant principals, counselors or CIS worker aremade.5. Parents can also track attendance online through PowerParent.26