Attendance Policy

School attendance is vital to students‘ achievement. Students who develop patterns of good attendance are much more likely to be successful both academically and socially.  When students return from absences, they are required to provide, in writing, the reason for their absence.  Elementary-aged students can provide this information to their classroom teacher.  Middle school students, who have more than one teacher, must submit this evidence to the main office.

School attendance is the law.  Please read the legal regulations below:

California Compulsory Full-Time Education Law

**excerpted from LAUSD Parent-Student Handbook

Education Code section 48200 states that each person between the ages of 6 and 18 years not exempted under the provisions of Chapter 2 or Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 48400) is subject to compulsory full-time education. Each person subject to compulsory full-time education and each person subject to compulsory continuation education not exempted under the provisions of Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 48400) shall attend the public full-time day school or continuation school or classes and for the full time designated as the length of the school day by the governing board of the school district which the residency of either the parent or legal guardian is located and each parent, guardian or other person having control or charge of the pupil shall send the pupil to the public full-time day school or continuation school or classes and for the full time designated as the length of the school day by the governing board of the school district in which the residence of either the parent or legal guardian is located.

Los Angeles Municipal Code SEC. 45.04. DAYTIME CURFEW RESTRICTIONS FOR MINORS.
It is unlawful for any minor under the age of 18, who is subject to compulsory education or to compulsory continuation education, alone or in concert with others, to be present in or upon the public streets, highways, roads, alleys, parks, playgrounds, or other public grounds, public places, public buildings, places or amusement and eating places, vacant lots or any place open to the public during the hours of the day when the school, which the minor would normally attend, is in session, on days when that school is in session. This section shall not apply to public sidewalks immediately adjacent to school grounds, the entrance areas to schools, or to school grounds.

Los Angeles County Chapter 13.57 - DAYTIME RESTRICTIONS FOR MINORS
It is unlawful for any minor under the age of 18 years, who is subject to compulsory education or to compulsory continuation education, to be "absent from school and found in a public place, unless the minor has one of the valid excuses (refer to Section 13.57.020). For purposes of this chapter, a minor is "absent from school and found in a public place" if said minor is found idling, wandering, strolling, playing, or aimlessly driving or riding about in or upon any public street, avenue, highway, road, curb area, alley, park, playground, or other public ground, public place or public building, place of amusement or eating place, vacant lot or unsupervised place, or any place open to the public during the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. of the same day on days when said minor's school is in session. 

Every student is expected to attend school on a daily basis, unless there is valid justification for the absence [Education Code 48200]. Please refrain from allowing your child to have ―parent permitted truancies. These truancies are best described as absences for reasons other than what the law allows. They may include the following: 

 

• Personal business 
• Car problems 
• No clean clothes 
• Bad inclement weather 
• Walkouts/demonstration 

School attendance is vital to students‘ achievement. Students who develop patterns of good attendance are much more likely to be successful both academically and socially. Schools are required to update attendance data and records during the current school year. Corrections and updates to attendance data and records are not allowed after the school year has closed. It is the parent‘s/guardian‘s responsibility to provide documentation within then (10) days after the student returns to school in order to prevent absences from being converted to truancies

 

Excused Absences: California E.C. 48205 provides that a student shall be excused from school when the absence is due to:   

• Illness 
• Quarantine 
• Medical, dental, optometric or chiropractic services. 
• Attending the funeral of an immediate family member e.g., mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, brother, sister, or any relative living in the immediate household of the student (one day within the state, three days outside the state) 
• Jury duty 
• Illness or medical treatment of a child of whom the student is the custodial parent. 
• Justifiable Personal Reasons is when the pupil‘s absence has been requested in writing by the parent and approved by the principal or designee. Absences that fall into this category include, but are not limited to: 
• Mental Health Day Treatment 
• Appearance in court 
• Attendance at a funeral service 
• Observance of religious holiday or ceremony 
• Attendance at a religious retreat (shall not exceed 4 hours per semester) 
• Revoked suspension through appeal‘s procedure 
• Attendance at an employment conference 
• Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day®

Upon receiving appropriate verification that an absence occurred due to one of the reasons listed above, the school will consider the absence to be excused. A pupil absent from school for the above excused reasons shall be allowed to complete all assignments and tests missed during the absence that can reasonably be provided and, upon satisfactory completion, shall be given full credit. The teacher of any class from which a pupil is absent shall determine what assignments the pupil shall make up and in what period of time the pupil shall complete such assignments. The tests and assignments shall be reasonably equivalent to, but not necessarily identical to, the tests and assignments that the pupil missed during the absence. 

Any absence for reasons other than those listed as EXCUSED ABSENCES are unexcused. The District is required by law to seek an explanation from the parent/guardian (a written note or verbal justification) regarding all absences within ten (10) days. The student may be classified as a truant (refer to Truancy section) and this could be grounds for referral to the Student Attendance Review Board (SARB) and to the City or District Attorney‘s Office. 

Pupils, with the written consent of their parents or guardians, may be excused from school in order to participate in religious exercises with prior approval by the school principal [Education Code Section 46014]. Additionally, students may be absent to attend a religious retreat [Education Code Section 48205(a) (7)], not to exceed four hours per semester. Such absences are considered excused absences, and pupils are responsible for making up missed work. 

Pupils in grades 3-5 (K-5 configuration) or 4-6 (K-6 configuration), with the written consent of their parents/guardians, may be excused from school in order to receive moral and religious instruction away from school property under the following conditions, pursuant to Board Rule 2125 and Education Code Section 46014:

• The school is participating in the Religious Release Time Program.
• Each pupil shall be released for no more than 40 minutes, once during the school week. 
• No pupil shall be excused from school for such purposes on more than four days per school month. 
•  Each pupil shall attend school at least the minimum school day for his or her grade. 
• The time of day for the release shall be determined by the principal, and be at the same time in the school day each week for any one classroom to avoid repeated classroom interruptions. 

Any pupil subject to compulsory full-time education or to compulsory continuation education who is absent from school without valid excuse three full days or tardy/absent for 30 or more minutes during the school day, or any combination thereof in one school year, is a truant and shall be reported to the attendance supervisor or to the superintendent of the school district [Education Code 48260 (a)]. Upon a pupil‘s initial classification as a truant, the school district shall utilize the Notification of Truancy Letter to notify the pupil‘s parent/guardian [Education Code 48260.5], by mail or other reasonable means of the following: 

• The pupil is truant. 
• That the parent or guardian is obligated to compel the attendance of the pupil at school.
• That parents or guardians who fail to meet this obligation may be guilty of an infraction and subject to prosecution. 
• That alternative educational programs are available in the district. 
• That the parent or guardian has the right to meet with appropriate school personnel to discuss solutions to the pupil‘s truancy. That the pupil may be subject to prosecution. 
• That the pupil may be subject to suspension, restriction or delay of the pupil‘s driving privilege. 
• That it is recommended that the parent or guardian accompany the pupil to school and attend classes with the pupil for one day. 

Any pupil is deemed a habitual truant who has been reported as a truant (three unexcused full day absences or tardy/absent for 30 or more minutes per school year) and an appropriate district officer or employee has made a conscientious effort to hold at least one conference with the parent or guardian of the pupil and the pupil himself [Education Code 48262]. 

Any pupil who is deemed a habitual truant or is irregular in attendance in school or is habitually insubordinate or disorderly during attendance at school may be referred to a School Attendance Review Board (SARB). The SARB Representative will send a notice to parents/guardians, informing them of the date, time and location of the SARB Hearing. The notice shall indicate that the pupil and parents or guardians of the pupil will be required to meet with the School Attendance Review Board (SARB) [Education Code 48263]. 

In the event that any parent, guardian, student, or other person continually and willfully fails to respond to directives of the SARB or services provided, the SARB shall direct the school district to make and file in the proper court a criminal complaint against the parent, guardian, student, or other person charging the violation and shall see that the charge is prosecuted by the proper authority [Education Code 48263.5]. 

The District partners with the Los Angeles County Office of the District Attorney and the Los Angeles Office of the City Attorney in providing services to truant students.