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District

Attendance

Attend Today

 

Attendance Office Contact:
Amber Luna
(626) 396-5820 Ext: 80107
garcia.amber@pusd.us

Blair Attendance Procedures 

Excused Absences:  

  • Illness/ injury (*10 illness days per school year. After exceeding the 10 days, absences can only be excused with a medical note
  • Medical/dental appointment (*Documentation is required)
  • Religious instruction/ Holiday 
  • Bereavemnt/ Funeral
  • Attorney/ court hearing (*Documentation is required)  

Unexcused Absences:

  • Oversleeping/alarm failure
  • Family Vacation/Going out of town 
  • Skipping class/leaving class without following proper procedure
  • Family Emergency 
  • Personal 
  • Transportation issues
Fyler

 

Attendance and Punctuality

Attendance at school is the law in the state of California. Students attending school on a regular basis derive the maximum benefit from the instructional program. Students with good attendance records achieve higher grades and are more successful in their pursuit of higher education. Students who are frequently absent from school without sufficient cause may be transferred to an alternative school setting and/or they may be referred to the District Attorney's office for follow up with the parents.

To clear an absence – PUSD Board of Education policy states that parents/guardians have up to five (5) school days to provide the school with documentation to excuse a student’s absence. After five days all unverified absences will be changed to unexcused. No exceptions.

Students who have been absent must bring a signed note* to the attendance office from a parent/guardian which contains the information listed below.  

  • Student name and ID number
  • Reason for absence
  • Day(s) of absence
  • Accurate contact number to verify note with parent/guardian

*A note may be sent through e-mail as long as it contains the above information and can be verified.

Tardies

Excessive tardies will be dealt with first by individual teachers, and then by administrators. The latter will lead to after school detention, suspension, and/or transfer to Rose City Continuation High School. 

All students are expected to be in class on time, and ready to begin the learning process when the tardy bell rings. A student is considered tardy when the tardy bell rings. Work missed as a result of unexcused tardies cannot be made up, and will ultimately affect the student's academic grade.

After posting 5 unexcused tardies, students will receive a "U" for class citizenship in that grading period. The cycle will repeat every (5 weeks) grading period. Students' citizenship grade at the end of semester will be a cumulative grade reflecting the entire semester's citizenship.

Teachers will not hold students over without notification to the instructor of the following class.

Tardiness Consequences

  • 1-2 tardies student will be counseled by teacher
  • 3 tardies to any single class within a one week period may result in ONE hour detention assigned by a school administrator.
  • 15 total tardies within a single grading period may result in ineligibility for school activities. 

California Laws about School Attendance

Attending school is compulsory for children between the ages of 5 – 18. Per California Education Code §48260, any student who is absent from school without a valid excuse for three full days is truant. Any student who is tardy or absent for any 30-minute period during the school day, without a valid excuse on three occasions during one school year, is classified as truant. 

Students who become truant are subject to penalties that can include suspension of driving privileges, arrest, and even prosecution. Penalties against parents apply when any parent or guardian fails to compel the student to attend school. The penalties against parents in Education Code §48293 become progressively severe. Parents can be prosecuted, fined, and even imprisoned. 

While legal penalties can apply to the parents of chronically truant students, PUSD’s approach is to first help and support the family. PUSD offers alternative educational programs and support for students and families who are having trouble getting to school.  

Truants may be referred to the School Attendance Review Board (SARB), a district and juvenile court entity that can mandate intensive guidance to meet the special needs of students with school attendance problems. These interventions are designed to divert students with serious attendance and behavioral problems from the juvenile justice system and to reduce the number of students who drop out of school.

You may call the attendance office between 7:30 AM and 3:30 PM, Monday through Friday by calling (626) 396-5820 ext. 80079.

Absence Definitions

Excused Absence
Dentist, doctor, funeral in immediate family, illness,  suspension, and documented court appearance.

Unexcused Absence, Explained
Missed bus, car trouble, needed at home due to illness, going out of town, vacations, and some other absence not specified.

Cuts
Cutting indicates truancy, and absence without acceptable reason with or without parent consent. Cuts will be given if student leaves school without obtaining an off-campus permit. 

Off Campus Permit
Students are not to leave campus from the time they arrive at school until the school day is over, unless they have an off-campus permit.

Attendance Consequences

1-2 unexcused absences: Verbal warning

3 unexcused absences of 30 minutes or more: first Truancy notification

4 unexcused absences and recipients of first Truancy notification:
     i. second Truancy notification
    ii. SST/SART meeting

5 unexcused absences and recipients of Truancy notifications 1 and 2:
     i. third Truancy notification
    ii. Possible referral to District School Attendance Review Board (SARB)