• Attendance Procedures

     

    Texas and Compulsory Attendance

    Regular attendance at school is not just a good idea, it’s the law. It is also the greatest single factor in determining success in school. Texas law requires students who have not yet completed the academic year in which their 18th birthday falls to be enrolled in and attend school each school day. Students with excessive absences may be referred to the district attendance officer for further action. The Houston Independent School District expects all students to attend school regularly and to be on time for classes in order to benefit from the instructional program and to develop habits of punctuality, self-discipline, and responsibility.

     

    General Procedures

    ·         Attendance is taken in each class period and recorded within the first thirty (30) minutes of the class period.

    ·         Average Daily Attendance (ADA) will be taken at 10:25 am. Teachers will use the Daily Absentee Report when the Attendance program is not available. 

    ·         Students returning from an absence must bring a written note from a parent/guardian or physician vali­dating the reason for the absence, WITHIN THREE (3) DAYS, to the Attendance Office in order to re­cord the ab­sence as EXCUSED.  Acceptable reasons for excused student absences include:

    a.    Personal Illness

    b.    Death of a Family Member

    c.    Student Health Services; Family/Student Counseling Therapy Appointments

    d.    Religious Holidays and Major Activities (The student is counted present in school according to state statute and is not considered absent.)

    e.    Hazardous weather and/or dangerous road conditions, as determined by HISD

    f.     Authorized School-Sponsored Activities

    g.    Required Court Appearance

     

    ·         The Texas Education Code requires that a student be in attendance for 90% of the days a class is offered during a semester in order to be awarded credit for that class (TEC 25.092). Additionally, HISD states that students with three or more unexcused absences in any credit course will have their credit withheld and an asterisk (*) will appear on the student’s report card.

    ·         Following an EXCUSED absence, the student will be allowed to make up work missed, to take tests that were missed, and to submit all as­signments that were due during the absence.  The time allowance for taking tests or turning in assign­ments shall be equal to the number of school days or the number of class meetings the student missed due to the absence.  Teachers may extend the time allowance for mak­ing up work missed if the specific circumstances of the situation merit such action.  It is the student’s responsibility to arrange makeup work and turning in assignments.

     

    Leaving School Early

     

    A student will not be released from school at times other than regular dismissal hours, except with an Administrator’s approval and according to the cam­pus sign out procedures.

     

    Appointments

    ·         On the day of the appointment, the student must bring a note from a parent or guardian, before 7:45 am to the Assistant Principal’s Office.  The note must contain a phone number where the parent or guardian can be reached and the name and phone number of the doctor, dentist, or other professional with whom the student has the appointment.   

    ·         Students may not leave the school without the legal guardian whose name must be on file with the school.

    ·         Students must stay in their assigned class and will be called to the Attendance office when their parent or legal guardian arrives.

    ·         The parent/legal guardian who picks up the student must sign the student out of school in the attendance office before leaving the campus.