Attendance/Tardy Policies

Students who need to be excused from school early, must obtain a pass to leave campus. Parents should send a note or an email to: vandenattendance@travisusd.org, stating the date, time and reason for the student leaving campus.

Students should bring the note (or parents may email) to the attendance office before school or during lunch to receive a pass to leave. Parents must come to the Attendance window on the north side of the Administration building to show their I.D. before students are released. If a student has parent/guardian permission to drive to their appointment, they must give written notification to the attendance office.

Upon return to school, students should check in through the attendance office window (located on the north side of the Administration building) before going to class.

When students are absent, their education suffers and our schools suffer.  Each student generates average daily attendance (ADA) funding.  Our district creates a budget based on the number of students expected in class each day.  When a student is absent, for any reason, the district/school does not receive ADA funds. 

Personal reasons for missing school are generally unexcused.  Only those reasons specified in EC 48205 (below) are excused.  Call the Attendance Office in advance to discuss any reasons not listed below in EC 48205. Administrative permission, in advance, is required for all absences not listed below, otherwise the absence will not be excused. Absences MUST be verified within 2 days of return to school.

Attendance Office: 437-7333 x 8011 Email: vandenattendance@travisusd.org

Vanden High School uses an automated attendance notification system that contacts the home number on the day the student has missed one or more periods or is tardy to class.

A student's absence shall be excused for the following reasons:

1. Personal illness (EC 48205)

2. Quarantine under the direction of a county or city health officer (EC 48205)

3. Medical, dental, optometric, or chiropractic appointments (EC 48205)

4. Attendance at funeral services for a member of the immediate family (EC 48205)

• Excused absence in this instance shall be limited to one day if the service is conducted in California or three days if the service is conducted out of state. (EC 48205)
• Immediate family" shall be defined as mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, spouse, son/son-in-law, daughter/ daughter-in-law, brother, sister or any relative living in the student's immediate household. (EC 45194, 48205)

5. Jury duty in the manner provided by law (EC 48205)

6. The illness or medical appointment during school hours of a child to whom the student is the custodial parent (EC 48205)

7. Upon advance written request by the parent/guardian and the approval of the principal or designee, justifiable personal reasons including but not limited to: (EC 48205)

• Appearance in Court
• Attendance at a funeral service
• Observation of a holiday or ceremony of his/her religion
• Attendance at religious retreats not to exceed four hours per semester
• Attendance at an employment conference

8. Service as a member of a precinct board for an election pursuant to Elections Code 12302 (EC 48205)

9. Participation in religious instruction or exercises in accordance with district policy: ( EC 46014)

• In such instances, the student shall attend at least the minimum school day

10. The student shall be excused for this purpose on no more than four days per school month.

When a student returns to school after an absence, he/she MUST present a satisfactory explanation verifying the reason for the absence within 2 days.  After 2 days without verification of an excused reason, the absence will be considered unexcused and the student will be considered truant. (see Truancy section below). The following may be used to verify absences:

1. Written note from parent/guardian, parent representative, or student if 18 or older. (EC 46012)
2. Conversation, in person or by telephone, between the verifying employee and the student's parent/guardian or parent representative. The employee shall subsequently record the following:
   • Name of student
   • Name of parent/guardian or parent representative
   • Name of verifying employee
   • Date(s) of absence and reason for absence
3. Visit to the student's home by the verifying employee, or any other reasonable method which establishes the fact that the student was absent for the reasons stated. A written recording shall be made, including information outlined above.
4. Physician's verification
   • When excusing students for confidential medical services or verifying such appointments, district staff shall not ask the purpose of such appointments but may contact a medical office to confirm the time of the appointment.
   • When a student has had 10 absences in the school year for illness verified by methods listed in #1-3 above, any further absences for illness must be verified by a physician.
5. Any other reasonable method that establishes the fact that the student was actually absent for the reasons stated. A written record shall be made, including information outlined above.

A student with an excused absence from school shall be allowed to complete all assignments missed during the absence and, upon satisfactory completion, be given full credit. The minimum number of days allowed for such make-up is equivalent to the number of days the student has been absent. Students must contact teachers to obtain make up work. Teachers can be contacted via email or voice mail. The assignments shall be reasonably equivalent to, but not necessarily identical to, the tests and assignments that the student missed during the absence. A student may not have his or her grade reduced or lose academic credit for any excused absence when missed assignments and tests are satisfactorily completed within a reasonable period of time. (EC 48205, BP 5113)

Students with unexcused absences should not expect to receive credit for missed work.

Students are encouraged to take traffic patterns into consideration as they plan for travel to the school.

• Students who arrive to class after the bell has rung will be marked tardy.
• Students arriving to school more than 10 minutes late must report to the Attendance Office before going to class to have their arrival time documented.
• Students who arrive 20 or more minutes late will also be marked Z for late and will face the same consequences as a tardy.
• Consequences for tardies:

3 Total Unexcused Tardies	1 Detention
6 Total Unexcused Tardies	2 Detention
9 Total Unexcused Tardies	1 Saturday School
10 or More Total Unexcused Tardies	1 Saturday School & Student Enters into a Tardy Contract

• Students may, from time to time, feel ill in the morning. Parents should call the school in the event their student is late due to illness. After the third such time, the student will be marked as tardy, and an administrative conference and/or doctor's notes may be required.

Students absent without a valid excuse for more than 18 periods in one school year shall be classified as truant and a truancy letter will be sent home.  After the first truancy, a student will receive an additional truancy letter for each additional 6 periods of absence.  If a student receives 3 truancy letters, he/she is referred to the Student Attendance Review Board (SARB) for appropriate legal action.  Inter-district Agreements may be revoked if standard attendance guidelines are not maintained.  At this SARB hearing, students will enter into a SARB contract.

Because attendance is so important to success, letters are also sent home when students miss school and return with a valid excuse. A letter is sent home when a student misses 42 periods in one school year for reasons we can excuse. A second letter is sent home when a student misses an additional 18 periods. After that second letter, parents or guardians will no longer be able to excuse absences for health reasons. Students will be required to come to school and have an illness verified by the nurse or present a note from a doctor to excuse their absences. Without this additional documentation of illness absences will be marked as unexcused and may lead to Truancy.

A student will be referred to the Student Attendance Review Board (SARB) when he/she has been suspended three times in one calendar year, four times in two years, receives three truancy letters, or has had other discipline problems. Parents will receive written notification of the SARB hearing and are expected to attend with their student.  SARB reviews each student’s case and may recommend a change of placement, a student contract, or other means of intervention. It is the student’s responsibility to make certain that all absences have been verified (by their parent/guardian) in the Attendance Office to avoid being considered truant.  Absences MUST be verified within 2 days of return to school.