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  1. PARENTS & STUDENTS
  2. Attendance
  3. Attendance

Attendance

Reporting an Absence:

If a student is absent, it is the responsibility of the parent/ guardian to do one of the options listed below before 9:30 a.m. the morning of the absence.

  • Click on the campus email for your child's campus. Complete all the fields and include details on why the student is absent so that attendance can be coded correctly. Don’t forget to hit submit when the form is completed. 
  • Call your campus attendance office and leave a detailed voice message.  Always include the student’s name, date of absence, the reason for absence, estimated date of return, your name, and a phone number where you can be reached.  Please, visit our Campus Directory for office phone numbers.

Collecting Missed Work for a Student:

  • Once a student has missed 2 consecutive days of school, a parent may request missed work that can be completed at home. We suggest that parents or the student contact the student’s teachers via e-mail and ask for any missed work. If needed, teachers will leave the assignments in the school office for parents to pick up after 3:00 p.m. on the day requested.

Compulsory Attendance:

  • All students enrolled in public schools in Texas are required by state law to be in attendance at least 90% of the total school days in each semester to receive credit for the classes in which they are enrolled. Failure to attend at least 90% of the school days may result in loss of credit and cause a student to have to repeat some or all of the courses for that semester/year.

Excused Absences:

  • State law and school guidelines governing attendance require that excused absences pertain to illnesses, medical or legal appointments, funerals of immediate family members, college days, and school-sponsored trips.

Absence Related to the DPS/DMV:

Starting in the 2021-2022 school year, state law and school guidelines allow a student who is 15 years of age or older to be excused from school for not more than one day for the following purposes:

  • Obtaining a driver’s license; or
  • Obtaining a learner license/permit

This absence will be excused only when documentation is provided to verify the DPS visit. This does not include taking a driving test with a Driving School.   Students must provide the attendance clerk with a copy of the paper license or permit within 3 days of the absence.

College Visits:

  • Juniors and Seniors are allowed two school days per year by the state for college visits. One of these days may be used as a travel day. Before a college visit, students need to pick up a yellow College Day Form from the counselor’s office to have it signed by a counselor and principal. A copy of this form should be given to the attendance clerk before the visit and the yellow form needs to be signed by a college official on the visit. The student will also need to obtain a letter from the college on the day of their visit. This should be on the institution’s letterhead with the student’s full name and the date of the visit. It also needs to state that the student was on campus for an official visit.
  • The yellow form and the college letter must be handed to an attendance clerk within 3 school days of the visit.  Once received and coded the absence will not count against the student’s absences. 

Absence for Military Recruitment:

  • Students who are 17 years of age or older and pursuing enlistment in a branch of the United States Armed Services or the National Guard are allowed 2 days per school year for “military recruit” absences.  The student needs to notify the school before the absence and after the absence, must provide a letter from the recruiter that includes the student’s name, the military branch, the date of the visit, and a signature by the recruiting officer. This letter must be turned in to the attendance clerk within 3 school days of the visit. Once received and coded, the absence will be excused.

Religious Holy Days:

  • If a student is absent due to the observance of religious holy days, the student shall not be penalized for the absence. Excused days include days of travel to or from a site where the student will observe the holy days. Excused days for travel shall be limited to not more than one day for travel to and one day for travel from the site of the observance.
  • To be considered a religious holy day, the day should be one generally recognized by the student’s religious denomination as a holy day that is required to be observed by all members of that denomination. Church retreats, camps, mission trips, and individual religious rites (baptisms, christenings, bar mitzvahs, etc) are not considered holy days.