State compulsory attendance laws generally require all children between the ages of six and 19 to attend school each day that school is in session. A student who is younger than six and has ever been enrolled in the first grade is required to attend school. Once a parent enrolls a child in kindergarten or pre-kindergarten, the child is required to at- tend school that school year.

Regular attendance is critical to your child’s success in school. It is also critical to the school district’s success because it is a factor in the district and campus rating under the state accountability system and is a significant factor in the amount of state financial aid the district is entitled to receive. In the event of a temporary school closure due to a widespread illness or epidemic, such as COVID-19, all attendance policies will apply to virtual learning on remote platforms and all other forms of distance learning as they would during classroom instruction.

School officials aggressively enforce the state compulsory attendance laws. If your child, age 12 or older, is absent three or more days or partial days during a four-week period but has not had absences that would require a referral to truancy court, we will implement truancy prevention measures in hope of minimizing the need to refer your child to truancy court. If your child age 12 or older is absent from school on 10 or more days or partial days within a six-month period in the same school year, you will be referred for prosecution for contributing to truancy and your child will be referred to truancy court, unless the truancy is a result of your child’s pregnancy, assignment to a state foster program, homelessness, or being the principal income earner for your family.

You will be notified when your child has three unexcused absences within a four-week period or less to advise you that you must monitor your child’s attendance, to inform you that you may be prosecuted, and to request a conference to discuss the absences. Every day that a child is out of school in violation of compulsory attendance laws is a separate offense. You may be assessed a fine for each offense

Of course, there are times that children are sick or have other legitimate reasons for be- ing absent from school. Regardless of the age of your child, if she or he is sick and will not be at school that day, you should call the school office to let them know of the absence. Whenever a child is absent from school for any reason, she or he should bring a note signed by you explaining the reason for the child’s absence when she or he returns to school.  The principal or someone acting for the principal will make the final decision whether an absence is classified as excused or unexcused. ***Note the phone call does not replace the written documentation needed. If the child does not bring a signed note upon returning to school, the absence will be classified as unexcused. Students ordinarily will not be permitted to make up missed work for credit if the absence is unexcused.

A maximum of five (5) parent notes will be accepted for the 2022-2023 school year unless prior approval from a principal has been granted. Any further absences will be unexcused unless accompanied by a medical or court note. All absence notes must be turned in within three (3) school days upon returning to school or the absence will remain unexcused.

A student who voluntarily remains enrolled after the age of 19 is required to attend school. A student who is at least 19 years old and under the age of 21 will be required to attend school until the end of the school year.

If a 19-year-old student has more than five unexcused absences in a semester, we may revoke his or her enrollment for the rest of the school year but will not take such action on a day when the student is physically present at school. We will issue a warning no- tice to the student after the third unexcused absence that enrollment may be revoked for the remainder of the school year if the student has more than five unexcused absences in a semester.

Although students who are married are legally adults, this fact does not mean that they are not legally required to attend school until they are age 19. Recent changes to the laws on how schools enforce compulsory attendance give us the authority to file charges directly against student’s who are married, have not graduated from high school, and do not attend school. We will work aggressively with local authorities to make sure that all students who aren’t within compulsory attendance requirements come to school.

• Doctor and Dental Appointments: Absences for appointments with doctors, dentists, orthodontists, physical therapists, and other health care professionals will be classified as excused absences if the student returns to school on the same day as the appointment and presents a note from the health care provider stating the time of the appointment and the time the student left the doctor’s office. If the appointment is at the end of the school day and the student has been at school all day up to that time, the absence will be excused if the student brings a note from the health care provider the following day. These excused absences include those for a student diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder to attend appointments with health care practitioners to receive a generally recognized service for persons with that diagnosis, such as applied behavioral analysis, speech therapy, and occu- pational therapy. This provision also applies to excuse the absences of students who are parents and are absent to take the student’s child for a medical appoint- ment.

• Serious or Life-Threatening Illness: Absences resulting from a serious or life-threatening illness or related treatment causing a student’s attendance infeasible shall be excused upon presentation of a written certification from a physician licensed to practice medicine in this state specifying the student’s illness and the anticipated period of absence. Students who become truant as a result of a serious or life-threatening illness shall not be referred to truancy court but will instead be offered additional counseling.

• Religious Holidays: Absences for religious holy days, including up to two days of travel time if necessary, will be classified as excused absences.

• Court Appearances: Absences for required court appearances will be classified as excused absences upon presentation to the campus attendance official of a copy of the document requiring the student’s appearance in court.

• Foster Care Activities: Absences for court required activities attendant to the student’s being in foster care will be classified as excused absences upon presen- tation to the campus attendance official of a copy of the document requiring the student’s attendance at the activities, provided it is not practicable to schedule the activity outside of school activities. Absences are also excused if they are required under a foster care service plan.

• Sounding “Taps” at a Veteran’s Funeral: Absences by students in grades 6- 12 for the purpose of sounding “Taps” at a veteran’s funeral with military honors may be excused upon verification that the student provided the service noted.

• Citizenship/Naturalization Activities: Absences for appearing at a govern- ment office to complete citizenship application paperwork and for taking part in a United States naturalization oath ceremony will be excused upon verification of the student’s participation.

• Enlistment in Armed Services or National Guard: No more than four ab- sences in the period a student is enrolled in high school will be excused for a stu- dent who is 17 years of age or older in order for the student to pursue enlistment in a branch of the armed services of the United States or the Texas National Guard. The absence will be excused upon verification that the student did pursue such enlistment.

• Military Deployment: No more than five absences in a school year for visiting with a student’s parent, stepparent, or legal guardian who is on active duty and who is called to duty for, on leave from, or immediately returned from a continu- ous deployment of at least four months away from the person’s regular residence will be excused. The absences must occur not earlier than 60 days before the date of deployment or 30 days after the date of return from deployment.

• Election Clerk Activities: Students who are serving as election clerks or early voting clerks may receive a maximum of two excused absences in a school year for such activities.

• College/University Visits: The District will permit junior and senior stu- dents a maximum of two days per year to visit a college or university when approved by the campus principal. Absences will be excused upon verifying the visit with the District and completing all make-up work in connection with their ab- sence.

• Obtaining a Driver’s License: Students aged 15 and older may receive a maximum of one excused absence to visit a driver’s license office to obtain a driver’s license and up to one excused absence to obtain a learner license. Absences will be excused upon presenting verification of their visit to the campus attendance official and the student will be expected to complete all make-up work in connection with their absence.