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Attendance Policy

Regular attendance is vital to a child’s success. A child who is not in school cannot learn. For this reason, it is important that all parents make a commitment to make sure that their child is at school and on time. Please make every effort to adjust doctor appointments and family schedules to minimize time away from school. Please note that:
 
  • California State law requires that students will be in attendance during the school day unless officially excused.
  • Parents are responsible for notifying the attendance office if their child is absent. Parents can call the school from 7:00a.m. – 3:30p.m., Monday – Friday, to let the attendance office know of an absence by calling the attendance clerk at (760) 572-0222, ext. 2300. If calling before or after school hours, a message can be left on the attendance clerk’s voice mail.
  • If contact is not made by phone, a written note, signed by the parent/guardian, must be sent to the school upon the child’s return.
  • If a child is absent due to illness for three or more consecutive days, a note from a physician is required to excuse the absence.
  • A physician note is also required if a child misses more than 5 days during the school year for medical appointments.
  • All students must report to the attendance office to obtain an admit slip following an absence. Students will not be allowed back in class by the teacher without an admit slip. The slip clarifies whether the absence is excused or unexcused.
  • Excusable absences are illness, medical appointments, and bereavement
 
San Pasqual Valley USD reserves the right to respond to the home to address habitually absent students or to address issues of compulsory attendance. A  SARB letter will be sent home notifying parents on the 3rd, 6th, 9th ,12th and 15th  unexcused absences (7 period absences equal one school day After the issuance of the third notification letter, the student may be referred to the School Attendance Review Board (SARB) for action. Students who are not in a class assigned and do not have a pass to be elsewhere will be considered as ditching class (truant) and will be appropriately disciplined.
 
Unexcused absences are unacceptable; this includes any absence that is not excused by the State of California. (student illness, student medical appointments, bereavement and student court appointments) Three unexcused absence may cause a student to be reported as a habitual truant.  Truancy cases are reported to the School Attendance Review Board (SARB) for action.  Retention at grade level will be considered for students who exceed the maximum number of absences. Students who have more than 6 excused absences must provide a doctor’s note or the absence will counted as unexcused.
 
DEFINITION OF “ABSENCE”
An “absence” is defined as the missing of class due to any non-school related activity – whether it is   an excused absence, unexcused absence, or intended absence.
 
ABSENCE VERIFICATION
Mrs. Hotel, Attendance Clerk
All absences must be verified by a student’s parent/guardian. Absences must be verified by telephoning the school at 760-572-0222 x 2300 the morning of the absence or by note on the day the student returns to school. An attendance clerk or voice mail is available 24 hours a day.  Failure to present acceptable verification will result in the absence being “unexcused.”