Page contents:
  Reporting Absences
  Students Leaving Campus for Medical Appointments or Illness
  Planned Absences, Family Vacations, and Recreational Activities
  Correcting Errors in Attendance Records
  Homework During Absence
  Definition of Terms
    Excused Absence
    Unexcused Absence
    Tardies
    Truant
  Responding To Warnings
  Involuntary Transfers to Alternative Programs/Sites

Reporting Absences 

Parents are required to call the attendance office the day their student is absent.  Failure to call within 2 school days results in an unexcused absence. The school will not accept late phone calls or notes.  Parents must call the attendance office.  Messages may also be left in Spanish and Vietnamese.  They will be asked the following questions:

• Parent’s name
• Student’s name (Please spell last name)
• Grade
• I.D. number
• Date of Absence
• Partial Day Absence: list specific period/s
• Reason for Absence

Students Leaving Campus for Medical Appointments or Illness 

Students leaving campus for illness or medical appointments during their regular class periods must check out through the attendance office. Parents may call in advance to excuse these appointments. Students who do not check out will receive unexcused absences for the classes they miss that day.

It is essential for the protection of students that an up-to-date emergency form be completed and turned in to the counseling clerk. It must provide emergency numbers where parents or another responsible adult can be reached at all times. You will receive a form to update in August.

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. Exceptions that can be made in advance cannot be made after the fact. Visits to colleges by juniors and seniors are considered educational trips. Students must complete an  Independent Study Contract available from the assistant principal and have it signed and approved well in advance of the trip.

Correcting Errors in Attendance Records 

The attendance office handles over 10,000 separate records of attendance and tardiness each day. 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.

Homework During Absence 

Homework assignments can be requested by parents or students for any excused absences or suspension. This is done by contacting the counseling secretary at 650-940-4614 or Rose.Russo@mvla.net.

Definition of Terms 

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 are also considered “excused absences.” 

Unexcused Absence 

“Cuts” or other absences not classified as excused in the paragraph above are designated as “unexcused absences.”  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 an absence in excess of a 30-minute period occurring in a given class.  Parents can check their student’s attendance online.  To receive an account on our student data base, submit the form on Page 27 or on our website.

1. Unexcused absences will be counted across a student’s entire schedule. A full day of unexcused absences counts as 5, 6, or 7 absences (depending on how many classes a student carries).  On the 15^th unexcused absence, students may be referred to an alternative educational program/site pursuant to the District’s involuntary transfer policy (AR/OP 5113).
2. Parents and students will receive telephone calls and mailed warnings as absences accumulate.
3. At the 10^th unexcused period absence, there will be a parent conference with the Assistant Principal. 
4. At the student/parent conference, consequences for continued unexcused absences are discussed and the student is assigned Saturday School.  An attendance contract will also be signed.  Failure to attend Saturday School may result in transfer to an alternative educational program/site and in other consequences.
5. Unexcused absences in a given class may result in an “F” grade in that class.
6. Students are not entitled to make up assignments and tests missed due to unexcused absences or to receive credit for such work.

Tardies 

An “unexcused tardy” is defined as absence from the time the bell rings until up to 30 minutes of a class period.  On the 20th unexcused tardy, students may be assigned after school service, suspended from school, and/or referred to an alternative educational program/site pursuant to the District’s involuntary transfer policy.

1. Unexcused tardies will be counted across a student’s entire schedule. 
2. At the 15^th unexcused tardy, there will be a mandatory parent/student conference with the Assistant Principal.  
3. Consequences for continued tardiness are discussed and the student is assigned to Saturday School.  (See reason #4 under Absences)

Truant 

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 in charge of Educational Services. 

Any student is deemed a habitual truant who has been reported as a truant three or more times per school year.   A conscientious effort to hold at least one conference with a parent or guardian or the student and the student himself, after the filing of each report.

Parents will be notified of the following:

1. Their student is truant
2. Parent or guardian is obligated to compel the attendance of the student at school
3. Parents or guardians who fail to meet this obligation may be guilty of an infraction and subject to prosecution
4. Alternative educational programs are available in the District
5. Students may receive a failing grade in a class if they accumulate 6 or more unexcused absences in that class
6. Parent or guardian has the right to meet with appropriate school personnel to discuss solutions to the student’s truancy
7. Student will be reported to the District Attorney and may be subject to prosecution
8. Student may be subject to suspension, restriction or delay of driving privileges

It is recommended that the parent or guardian accompany the student to the school and attend classes with the student.

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 

A student may be transferred to an alternative program for any one of the following reasons:

1. Credit deficiency
2. Truancy
3. Violations of the attendance policy
4. Violations of Ed Code 48900

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 me the stipulated conditions.