- Parents/Students
Attendance Reporting
ATTENDANCE REPORTING
The Attendance office is located at the main entrance of the new Student Services Building
24-hour Attendance Line: (650) 968-2406
Attendance Office: (650) 940-4648
Español: (650) 940-7403
Attendance Clerk: Josie Esparza
INFORMATION NEEDED TO REPORT AN ABSENCE:
FULL DAY ABSENCE
1. Student's first and last name (spell last name)
2. Student ID#
3. Date(s) of absence
4. The reason for the absence (eg: illness, medical, dental, ortho, DMV, court, etc.)
5. Your name, phone number and relationship to the student
1. Student's first and last name (spell last name)
2. Student ID#
3. Date(s) of absence
4. The reason for the absence (eg: illness, medical, dental, ortho, DMV, court, etc.)
5. Your name, phone number and relationship to the student
PARTIAL DAY ABSENCE
1-5. All information requested from Full Day Absence above plus
6. Period(s) student will miss
7. Time you will be picking-up your student and/or returning to campus (if your student is leaving on their own, please state time to release AND method: bike, bus, car, etc.)
1-5. All information requested from Full Day Absence above plus
6. Period(s) student will miss
7. Time you will be picking-up your student and/or returning to campus (if your student is leaving on their own, please state time to release AND method: bike, bus, car, etc.)
• LEAVING CAMPUS EARLY
If you will be picking up your student early for an appointment, it is the parent/guardian’s responsibility to notify the Attendance Office and come into the Attendance Office and sign-out the student (unless your student is leaving as per item 7 above). Students will not be called out of class until the parent/guardian is in the Attendance Office. Please allow at least 15 minutes to call students out of class (especially if they are in P.E.). Students who do not sign out will receive unexcused absences for the classes they miss that day.
If you will be picking up your student early for an appointment, it is the parent/guardian’s responsibility to notify the Attendance Office and come into the Attendance Office and sign-out the student (unless your student is leaving as per item 7 above). Students will not be called out of class until the parent/guardian is in the Attendance Office. Please allow at least 15 minutes to call students out of class (especially if they are in P.E.). Students who do not sign out will receive unexcused absences for the classes they miss that day.
• ARRIVING TO CAMPUS LATE
If your student will be arriving late from an appointment, it is the parent/guardian’s responsibility to notify the Attendance Office. Students must come into the Attendance Office to pick up an Admission Slip to be allowed into class. If you forget to call, a parent/guardian must come into the Attendance Office and sign-in the student. Students who do not sign in will receive unexcused absences for the classes they miss that day.
If your student will be arriving late from an appointment, it is the parent/guardian’s responsibility to notify the Attendance Office. Students must come into the Attendance Office to pick up an Admission Slip to be allowed into class. If you forget to call, a parent/guardian must come into the Attendance Office and sign-in the student. Students who do not sign in will receive unexcused absences for the classes they miss that day.
Attendance FAQs
Attendance FAQs![]()
Planned Absences, Family Vacations, and Recreational Activities
Family vacations and recreational activities are not excused absences. While we are sensitive to the inconvenience to families with conflicting vacation schedules, we cannot accept these as excused absences. Contact the administration in advance if you feel your circumstances warrant an exception.
Correcting Errors in Attendance Records
The attendance office handles over 10,000 separate records of attendance and tardiness per year. Due to this large volume of information, we sometimes make mistakes, but we have developed a system to make corrections. We believe that it is both reasonable and useful that students be asked to follow through and seek the correction of these errors.
If you receive a call and your child says he or she was not absent (or was excused for some “school” reason), have your child go to the attendance office and find out what period(s) he or she was marked absent. The student must see the teacher and request that the teacher correct the error.
If you receive a call and your child says he or she was not absent (or was excused for some “school” reason), have your child go to the attendance office and find out what period(s) he or she was marked absent. The student must see the teacher and request that the teacher correct the error.
Notes to excuse absences
Parent/guardian notes or emails are NOT accepted. Doctor/medical notes ARE accepted with a date/time stamp from a physician for a partial day's absence. If your student is ill for more than 3 days, a doctor's note will need to be provided to the Attendance Office upon the student's return.
Can students call in their own absence?
Per CA Education Code, Section 46012, students 18 or older can excuse their own absences.
Homework During Absence
If your student is absent, look at the teacher’s web page for assignments, SIS (Student Information System) or call the counseling secretary at (650) 940-4614. Teachers can be emailed directly.
Definition of an Excused Absence
Illness, quarantine, health appointments (medical, dental, and optometry), religious holiday observances, death in the immediate family or serving on jury duty are the only legal reasons to be absent from school. School-initiated activities that cause a student to miss a class, such as field trips are also considered “excused absences.”
Definition of Tardies
Students may not exceed 19 unexcused tardies across their entire schedule. On the 20th unexcused tardy, students may be referred to an alternative educational program/site pursuant to the District’s involuntary transfer policy.
Points to Remember:
- Unexcused tardies will be counted across a student’s entire schedule. An unexcused tardy is an absence from class from when the bell rings until up to 30 minutes of a class period.
- At the 15th unexcused tardy, there will be a mandatory parent conference with the student’s Assistant Principal.
- At the student/parent conference, consequences for continued tardiness are discussed and the student is assigned to Saturday School. An attendance contract will also be signed at this meeting. Failure to attend Saturday School may result in a transfer to an alternative educational program/site.
- If a student needs to leave campus during the day, parents must check out the student through the attendance office.
Definition of Truant
A truant is defined as any student who is absent from school without a valid excuse for 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. (Ed. Code 48260) A truant will be reported to the Associate Superintendent.
Upon a student’s initial classification as a truant, the District will notify the student’s parent or guardian of the following:
- Student is a truant
- Parent or guardian is obligated to compel the attendance of the student at school
- Parents or guardians who fail to meet this obligation may be guilty of an infraction and subject to prosecution
- Alternative educational programs available in the District
- Parent or guardian’s right to meet with appropriate school personnel to discuss solutions to the student’s truancy
- Student/parent may be subject to prosecution
- Student may be subject to suspension, restriction or delay of work permit and driving privileges
- It is recommended that the parent or guardian accompany the student to the school and attend classes with the student for one day.
Any student who has been reported as a truant and who is again absent from school without a valid excuse for one or more days, or is tardy, or absent from class for more than 30 minutes on one or more days, will again be reported as a truant to the Associate Superintendent.
Any student is deemed a habitual truant who has been reported as a truant three or more times per school year. A conscientious effort will be made to hold at least one conference with a parent or guardian or the student and the student himself, after the filing of each report.
DA Mediation – Truant students and their parents will be reported to the District Attorney’s office and required to attend a DA Mediation meeting at the local police department.
Students are not entitled to make up assignments and tests missed due to unexcused absences. Excessive absences or tardies may result in a failing grade.
Definition of Unexcused Absence
“Cuts” or other absences not classified as excused in the paragraph above are designated as “unexcused absences”, this includes family vacations. Unexcused absences will be counted across a student’s entire schedule; e.g. if a student has one unexcused absence in second period, two in third, and one in sixth, that equals four unexcused absences. An "unexcused absence" is in excess of a 30-minute period occurring in a given class. Parents can check their students attendance online.
Responding to Warnings
We send warning notices home to parents when students are marked absent. If you receive notices that say your student has an unexcused absence for days when he or she was ill, had a medical appointment, or should have otherwise been excused, please contact the attendance office immediately at (650) 940-4648 or call the 24-hour hotline at (650) 968-2406 within 48 hours.
Involuntary Transfers to Alternative Programs/Sites
Assignment to Alternative Programs Students may be transferred to an alternative program under the following conditions:
- Credit Deficiency: A student who is more than 20 units behind in earning credits toward graduation may be assigned to an appropriate alternative program. A credit deficiency of 15 units together with a GPA lower than 2.0 may also result in transfer to an alternative program. (Board Policy 6182, AR 6184).
- To be considered “on target" for graduation, students must have earned:
- 55 credits at the end of their Freshman year
- 110 credits at the end of their Sophomore year
- 165 credits at the end of their Junior year
- Violation of the district’s attendance policy (outlined on pages 17-19).
- Violation of Education Code 48900 Serious infractions of school rules and regulations, as well as expulsions, will result in a transfer to a Community School for expelled students and those with serious behavior problems.
- To be considered “on target" for graduation, students must have earned:
Students' Rights
If a student disagrees with an action taken by a teacher or school official, he/she should first comply with the request and then discuss the matter after class with the teacher. If the issue is not resolved, the student should follow these steps:
- Involve parent
- Involve counselor
- Involve an assistant principal
- Appeal to the principal
- Appeal to the district administration
Involuntary transfer to an alternative program/site shall be imposed only when other means have failed to bring about improvement of conduct. The decision to transfer must be in writing and must state the facts and reasons for the decision. Prior to being transferred to a continuation school, written notice must be given to the student and student’s parent or guardian informing them of the opportunity to request a meeting with a designee of the district superintendent. At the meeting, the student and parent/guardian will be informed of the specific reasons for the transfer. The involuntary transfer decision must indicate the procedure for periodic review of the student’s eligibility to return to his/her home campus. The student or parent/guardian may request a review of the involuntary transfer prior to the student’s return to the traditional campus. Conditions for return to the home school are set forth in the “Contract to Return to Home School”. The student has the right to request to be returned to a traditional site for the semester following the date on which the student met the stipulated conditions.
