Attendance Policy

Attendance

Absence from school, regardless of the reason limits your child’s educational opportunities and can negatively affect his/ her grades and academic achievement. Children cannot learn when they are not here.

Notification of Absences  ​If your child is absent please call 626.396.5650 ext. 14001 or provide a written excuse from home when returning to school.

Excused absences include: illness, quarantine, doctor’s appointment, attending a funeral, religious holiday/ exercises, and others per EC 46014 and 48205. Per EC 48260, EC 48261, & EC 48263 a student is considered truant after three tardies of more than 30 minutes each time or after three absences without valid excuses.

Extended Absence: ​If you know that your child will be absent for 5 or more consecutive days, please contact the office so we can arrange an Independent Study Agreement.

Tardies​: Students arriving after the tardy bell are tardy. Each tardy means valuable instructional time is lost. If your child is tardy he or she should report to the office for a tardy slip.

 

PUSD Board Policy

Attendance

COMPULSORY ATTENDANCE—EC 48200

A minor between the ages of 6 and 18 years is subject to compulsory education and unless exempted, must enroll in the school district in which the residence of either the parent or legal guardian is located. 

EXCUSED ABSENCES—EC 48205

(a) Notwithstanding Section 48200, a pupil shall be excused from school when the absence is 

(1) Due to his or her illness. 

(2) Due to quarantine under the direction of a county or city health officer.

 (3) For the purpose of having medical, dental, optometrical, or chiropractic services rendered. 

(4) For the purpose of attending the funeral of a member of his or her immediate family, so long as the absence is not more than one day if the service is conducted in California and not more than three days if the service is conducted outside of California.

(5) For the purpose of jury duty in the manner provided by law. 

(6) Due to illness or medical appointment during school hours of a child of whom the pupil is the custodial parent. 

(7) For justifiable personal reasons, including, but not limited to, an appearance in court, attendance at a funeral service, observance of a holiday or ceremony of his or her religion, attendance at religious retreats, attendance at an employment conference, or attendance at an educational conference on the legislative or judicial process offered by a nonprofit organization when the pupil’s absence is requested in writing by the parent or guardian and approved by the principal or a designated representative pursuant to uniform standards established by the governing board. 

(8) For the purpose of serving as a member of a precinct board for an election pursuant to Section 12302 of the Elections Code.

(b) A pupil absent from school under this section shall be allowed to complete all assignments and tests missed during the absence that can be reasonably provided and, upon satisfactory completion within a reasonable period of time, shall be given full credit therefore. The teacher of the class from which a pupil is absent shall determine which tests and assignments shall be reasonably equivalent to, but not necessarily identical to, the tests and assignments that the pupil missed during the absence.

(c) For purposes of this section, attendance at religious retreats shall not exceed four hours per semester.

(d) Absences pursuant to this section are deemed to be absences in computing average daily attendance and shall not generate state apportionment payments.

(e) “Immediate family,” as used in this section, has the same meaning as that set forth in Section 45194, except that references therein to “employee” shall be deemed to be references to “pupil.” 

CONFIDENTIAL MEDICAL SERVICES—EC 46010.1

School authorities may excuse any pupil in grades 7-12 from school for the purpose of obtaining confidential medical services without the consent of the pupil's parent or guardian. 

ABSENCE FOR RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION—EC 46014

With the written consent of a parent or guardian, a student may be excused from school in order to participate in religious exercises or to receive moral or religious instruction in accordance with the School District regulations.

TRUANCY—EC 48260(a), 48261, 48262 & 48263

Any student subject to compulsory full-time education or to compulsory continuation education who is absent from school without valid excuse three full days in one school year or tardy or absent for more than any 30-minute period during the schoolday without a valid excuse on three occasions in one school year, or any combination thereof, is a truant and shall be reported to the attendance supervisor or to the superintendent of the school district.
Any student who has once been reported as a truant and who is again absent from school without a valid excuse one or more days, or tardy on one or more days, shall again be reported as a truant to the attendance supervisor or to the superintendent of the district.
Any student is deemed an habitual truant who has been reported as a truant three or more times per school year, provided that no pupil shall be
deemed an habitual truant unless an appropriate district officer or employee has made a conscientious effort to hold at least one conference with a parent or guardian of the student and the student himself/herself after the filing of either of the reports required by Section 48260 or Section 48261.
If any minor pupil in any district of a county is an habitual truant, or is irregular in attendance at school, as defined in this article, or is habitually insubordinate or disorderly during attendance at school, the student may be referred to a school attendance review board or to the probation department for services if the probation department has elected to receive these referrals. 

GRADE REDUCTION/LOSS OF ACADEMIC CREDIT— EC 48980(j)

No pupil shall have a grade reduced or lose academic credit for any excused absence or absences pursuant to E.C. 48205 if missed assignments and tests that can reasonably be provided are satisfactorily completed within a reasonable amount of time.

AVOIDING ABSENCES

The Pasadena Unified School District urges parents to make sure that their children attend school regularly and to schedule medical and other appointments so that a student misses none or only a small portion of the day. The district also asks that travel or other absences be avoided during the time school is in session. The higher the district’s daily attendance rate, the more a student will learn and the greater the amount of funding that the district will receive from the state for classroom instruction and academic programs. The school calendar is designed to minimize problems for families that plan vacations around traditional holiday periods, and thereby minimize student absences. 

TARDINESS

Students should be encouraged to be prompt as part of their training. They are expected to be at school on time. If students are late, they should bring an excuse from home to the school office. Frequent tardiness without a valid excuse is considered truancy under state law.