Policy 5113 - Absences and Excuses

Absences and Excuses

The Board of Education believes that regular attendance plays an important role in student achievement. The Board shall work with parents/guardians and students to ensure their compliance with all state attendance laws, and may use appropriate legal means to correct problems of chronic absence or truancy. Parents/guardians of children aged six (6) to eighteen (18) are obligated to send their children to school unless otherwise provided by law.

Excused Absences Absence from school shall be allowed only for health reasons, family emergencies and justifiable personal reasons, as permitted by law, Board policy and administration regulations. The Superintendent shall establish such procedures as deemed necessary to determine the causes of habitual truancy, including medical verification for excessive absence, and cooperate with other private and governmental agencies in correcting the causes thereof. (Education Code 48205)

Inasmuch as class participation is an integral part of students' learning experiences, parents/guardians and students shall be encouraged to schedule medical appointments during non-school hours.

Students shall not be absent from school without their parents/guardians' knowledge or consent except in cases of medical emergency or confidential medical appointment.

Absences for Religious Purposes

The Board of Education shall allow students to be absent for participation in religious instruction, the observance of a holiday or ceremony of his/her religion or attendance at religious retreats. Such absences shall be considered excused subject to administrative regulations.

Unexcused Absences

When an unexcused absence occurs, the student and parent/guardian shall be notified and informed of the district’s policy regarding excessive unexcused absences. The student and parent/guardian shall have a reasonable opportunity to explain the absence.

If the absence is not verified as excusable within ten (10) days, it shall be recorded as unexcused. The person receiving any explanation of the absence by the parent/guardian shall make a record of this explanation and the date when it was given.

Effect of Absence on Grades/Credits

If a student's absence is excused under Education Code 48205, he/she shall be allowed to complete any missed assignment or test that can be reasonably given, as determined by the teacher of that class. The student shall be given full credit for the assignment or test if he/she satisfactorily completes the assignment or test within a reasonable period of time. A student's grades may be affected by excessive unexcused absences in accordance with Board policy.

Parent Notification

At the beginning of each school year, the Superintendent or designee shall send a notification to the parents/guardians of all students, and to all students in grades 7- 12, informing them that school authorities may excuse any student from school to obtain confidential medical services without the consent of the student's parent/guardian.

Rule 5113

Last Revised 01/24/2014 (technical revision)

Excused Absences

A student's absence shall be excused for the following reasons:

1. Personal illness
2. Quarantine under the direction of a county or city health officer
3. Medical, dental, optometrical, or chiropractic appointment
4. Attendance at funeral services for a member of the immediate family, which shall be limited to one day if the service is conducted in California or three days if the service is conducted out of state
   • Immediate family shall be defined as mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, spouse, son/son-in-law, daughter/daughter-in-law, brother, sister, or any relative living in the student's immediate household.
5. Jury duty in the manner provided by law
6. The illness or medical appointment during school hours of a child to whom the student is the custodial parent
7. Upon advance written request by the parent/guardian and the approval of the principal or designee, justifiable personal reasons including, but not limited to:
   1. Appearance in court
   2. Attendance at a funeral service
   3. Observation of a holiday or ceremony of his/her religion
   4. Attendance at religious retreats not to exceed four hours per semester
   5. Attendance at an employment conference
   6. Attendance at an educational conference offered by a nonprofit organization on the legislative or judicial process
8. Service as a member of a precinct board for an election pursuant to Elections Code 12302
9. To spend time with his/her immediate family member who is an active duty member of the uniformed services, as defined in Education Code 49701, and has been called to duty for deployment to a combat zone or a combat support position or is on leave from or has immediately returned from such deployment
10. Participation in religious exercises or to receive moral and religious instruction in accordance with district policy
    1. a. In such instances, the student shall attend at least the minimum school day.
    2. b. The student shall be excused for this purpose on no more than four days per school month.

Method of Verification When a student who has been absent returns to school, he/she shall present a satisfactory explanation verifying the reason for the absence. Absences shall be verified by the student's parent/guardian, other person having control of the minor, or the student if age 18 or older.

The following methods may be used to verify student absences:

1. Written note, fax, email, or voice mail from parent/guardian or parent representative,
2. Conversation, in person or by telephone, between the verifying employee and the student's parent/guardian or parent representative. The employee shall subsequently record the following:
   1. Name of student
   2. Name of parent/guardian or parent representative
   3. Name of verifying employee
   4. Date(s) of absence
   5. Reason for absence
3. Visit to the student's home by the verifying employee, or any other reasonable method which establishes the fact that the student was absent for the reasons stated. The employee shall document the verification and include the information specified in item #2 above.
4. Physician's verification.
   1. When excusing students for confidential medical services or verifying such appointments, district staff shall not ask the purpose of such appointments but may contact a medical office to confirm the time of the appointment.
   2. When a student has had 14 absences in the school year for illness verified by methods listed in #1-3 above, any further absences for illness shall be verified by a physician.

Unexcused Absences

When an unexcused absence occurs, the student and parent/guardian shall be notified and informed of the district’s policy regarding excessive unexcused absences. The student and parent/guardian shall have a reasonable opportunity to explain the absence.

If the absence is not verified as excusable within ten (10) days, it shall be recorded as unexcused. The person receiving any explanation of the absence by the parent/guardian shall make a record of this explanation and the date when it was given.

Chronic Absences and Truancy

Chronic absentee means a student who is absent for any reason on 10 percent or more of the school days in the school year, when the total number of days the student is absent is divided by the total number of days the student is enrolled and school was actually taught in the regular schools of the district, exclusive of Saturdays and Sundays. (Education Code 60901)

Truant means a student who is absent from school without a valid excuse three full days in one school year, or 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 any combination thereof. (Education Code 48260)

Habitual truant means a student who has been reported as a truant three or more times within the same school year, provided the district has made a conscientious effort to hold at least one conference with the student and his/her parent/guardian. (Education Code 48262, 48264.5)

Chronic truant means a student who has been absent from school without a valid excuse for 10 percent or more of the school days in one school year, from the date of enrollment to the current date, provided the district has met the requirements of Education Code 48260-48263 and 48291. (Education Code 48263.6)

Note: For purposes of classifying a student as a truant, valid excuse includes, but is not limited to, the reasons for which a student shall be excused from school pursuant to Education Code 48205 and 48225.5. A valid excuse also may include other reasons that are within the discretion of school administrators and, based on the facts of the student's circumstances, are deemed to constitute a valid excuse. (Education Code 48260)

Truancy/School Attendance Review Board (SARB)

The Board of Education shall participate in a School Attendance Review Board (SARB), as allowed by law in order to meet the special needs of students with school attendance or school behavior problems. Students identified as “truant” may be required to attend makeup classes on one day of a weekend.

A student who has been classified as “habitually truant” shall be referred to the district’s SARB. When the district determines that the student’s attendance problems cannot be resolved or that the student and parent/ guardian has failed to respond to the district directives to correct the problem, the parent/guardian and student shall be referred to the district attorney in a complaint.

Parent Notification

At the beginning of each school year, the Superintendent or designee shall send a notification to the parents/guardians of all students, and to all students in grades 7-12, informing them that school authorities may excuse any student from school to obtain confidential medical services without the consent of the student's parent/guardian.