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Attendance » Attendance Procedures

Attendance Procedures

Contacting the Attendance Office

  • Availability:
    • During tutorial, break, and lunch, the attendance staff may be unavailable by phone as they assist students and parents.
  • Voicemail:
    • If you cannot reach the staff by phone, please leave a voicemail. They will return your call as soon as possible.
  • Contact Numbers:
    • Phone: (714) 962-1356
    • Jen Lujan Extension 55428
    • Carrie Schmitz Extension 55427

Attendance Policy

Permit for Early Dismissal (Student Leaving Campus Early):

  • Due to Illness or Injury:
    • Students must report to the Health Office in room 320 if they need to leave early due to illness or injury.
    • The Health Office will call the parent/guardian to confirm approval for early dismissal.
    • Note: The attendance office cannot dismiss students for illness or injury; all such cases are handled by the Health Office.
  • For Reasons Other Than Illness:
    • Parents/guardians must submit a request to the attendance office before the student leaves campus.
    • The attendance office will issue an off-campus pass, which will be delivered to the student in their classroom.
    • Any student who leaves campus without a permit to leave early pass will be marked truant for any missed classes, so it is essential to follow this procedure to avoid truancy penalties.         
    •         Permit for Early Dismissal Form  (to be completed by parent/guardian)
  • Medical Appointments:
    • If your student is absent due to a medical appointment, a doctor's note or appointment confirmation should be submitted to the attendance or health office within 5 days.

Late Arrival:

  • Students more than 30 Minutes Late:
    • The policy requires that students who are not on time for their first class of the day must check in at the attendance office. This procedure ensures that their late arrival is documented and the school is aware of their arrival. It's important for students to follow this rule to avoid being marked absent for the entire period.
  • Parents/guardians must verify the late arrival(absence) within 5 days only by calling the attendance office at (714) 962-1356 ext. 55428 or 55427.
  • The late arrival (absence) cannot be verified online. 

Less than 30 Minutes Late:

  • Students who are not on time for their first class of the day must check in at the attendance office. This procedure ensures that their late arrival is documented and the school is aware of their arrival. It's important for students to follow this rule to avoid being marked absent for the entire period.
  • The teacher may issue a tardy. (for more information on the tardy policy, please continue to scroll down)

Verification of Absences:

  • The Attendance Office will only accept notes from a doctor's or dentist's office as valid verification for absences.
  • Full Day Absence Form (to be completed by parent/guardian)
  • Parent/Guardian calls the attendance office at (714) 962-1356 ext. 55428 or 55427.
  • Parent Square application 
  • Any absence not cleared within 5 days is automatically marked as TRUANT. 

Excused Absences

The following are the only legally excused reasons for a student to be absent from school, and students are allowed to make up work for these absences:

  • Illness (once 14 day threshold is met, verification from Doctor office required)
  • Medical Appointments (with verification from the Doctor’s office)
  • College Visit (with verification from educational institution)
  • Funeral (Bereavement 1 Day for immediate family member)
  • School-Related Activities (Approved by Administrator) 
  • Court Appearance (with verification from the court)
  • Jury Duty (with verification)
  • Religious Observance (are limited based upon the nature (retreat, ceremony, holiday) of the absence)

Unexcused/Verified Absences

  • Any absence not cleared  within 5 days through the attendance office by a parent/ guardian, or Doctor office is considered unexcused.
  • A student missing any class without parental knowledge is also marked as unexcused.

Consequences:

  • Students will not be allowed to make up missed assignments, quizzes, tests, or exams for classes where they have an unexcused absence.
  • Unexcused/Verified Absences include reasons like oversleeping, car trouble, baby-sitting, vacation, etc.
  • By law, teachers are not obligated to accept make-up work due to truancies and unexcused absences.

Disciplinary Action:

  • Unexcused absences may result in disciplinary actions, up to and including referral to the School Attendance Review Board (SARB)

Consequences for Failing to Clear Absences

  • Uncleared Absences:
    • Any absence not cleared within 5 days is automatically marked as TRUANT. 
  • Truancy Penalties:
    • All-Day Truancy or 5 Single Period Truancies will result in an assignment to Saturday School.
    • Note: Saturday School is a disciplinary measure only; it does not clear the truancy from the student's record.
    • Failure to Attend Saturday School: Students who do not attend their assigned Saturday School will face suspension.

Tardy Policy

Classroom Tardiness:

  • Teachers may use their discretion in implementation of this policy; these should serve as a guide for the school wide tardy policy. 
  • Excessive Tardies:
    • Referred to the Assistant Principal of Supervision 
    • Consequences may include lunch detention, parent contact, in-house suspension, and/or assignment to Saturday School.

Truancy Policy

  • Truancy Consequences:
    • 1 All-Day Truancy:
      • Results in 1 Saturday School assignment.
    • 5 Period Truancies:
      • Also result in 1 Saturday School assignment.
  • Persistent Truancy:
    • If truancies continue, the student and their parent/guardian will be required to attend a meeting with the Orange County District Attorney's office.
    • If behavior does not improve after this meeting, a SARB (School Attendance Review Board) Hearing will be scheduled.
    • Failure to comply with SARB directives may lead to the assignment of a Probation Officer.

Procedure for Student Requesting Period Absence Corrections

Steps for student to Follow:

  1. Email Your Teacher:
    • From: Your school email account.
    • Subject Line: Include your Name and ID Number.
    • Body: Provide the Period and Date of the period absence, along with the Reason for the absence.
  2. Follow Up In Person:
    • Visit your teacher during your tutorial to confirm the absence and discuss the correction.

Important Notes:

  • After you’ve emailed your teacher and followed up in person, please allow up to 72 hours for the correction to appear in Aries.
  • Your teacher will forward the correction to the Attendance Office.
  • You may visit the Attendance Office to check which period is affected.

Note: The “pink slip” process is no longer in use; this procedure replaces it.

Auto-Dialer Notifications: The district uses an auto-dialer to notify parents of any absences or tardies not cleared.. Parents must contact the attendance office to clear these absences within 5 days of the absence to avoid a truant. 

Extended Absences: For extended or infectious illnesses, parents must contact the Health Office immediately via email ([email protected] or [email protected]).  Students must be cleared to return to school by the Health Office if 3 or more consecutive days are missed due to illness by providing a Doctor note upon their return. 

Family Vacations: Family vacations should be scheduled during non-school days. Absences for vacations are unexcused, and teachers are not required to provide makeup work.

Excessive Health Absence Notification: After 14 health-related absences, any further absences must be verified with a Doctor note and provided to the health office within 5 days. An official letter will be sent home if this threshold is reached by the Health Office.

Makeup of Missed Work: Students are allowed to make up work for excused absences within a reasonable time frame. No makeup work is provided for unexcused absences, which may negatively impact grades.