PLEASE NOTE: These attendance policies and procedures apply to the FUHSD Middle College classes only (12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday). De Anza classes have their own attendance policies and requirements.
Attendance Matters!
Students who attend school regularly are more likely to meet their academic goals, graduate, and go on to college. We want you here!
Students are expected to:
- Attend class every day, every period, whenever possible.
- Attend each class period on time.
- Make up missed assignments promptly.
Parents/guardians are expected to:
- Ensure your student attends school every day
- Report all absences to the school within 2 school days (48 hours)
- Provide a doctor’s note for absences related to medical appointments whenever possible, and for illnesses lasting longer than 3 school days
- Reach out to an assistant principal or counselor if you need support getting your student to school
Reporting an Absence
The best way to report an absence is online via Reach My Teach!
Absences must be reported by a parent/guardian, within 2 school days (48 hours). (Note that 18-year-old students may not excuse their own absences unless they have an Adult Status form approved by the Assistant Principal.)
Report full day absences 24 hours in advance or as soon as possible via Reach My Teach.
If you are unable to report your student’s absence online, you may call the EdOps Support Specialist at 408-522-2244. When reporting an absence by phone, be sure to provide the following information:
- Spell the student’s first and last name
- Student ID number
- Grade
- Date(s) of absence
- Reason for the absence (if no reason is provided or the type of appointment is not specified, the absence will be marked unexcused)
- Your name, phone number, and relationship to the student
Partial Day Absence
Arriving on campus after school has started or leaving school prior to the end of the school day requires parent/guardian permission. If your student needs to arrive late to campus or leave school early, report the partial day absence 24 hours in advance or as soon as possible. See below for details.
Arriving Late (after school has started)
Students should only arrive late for legitimate, excusable reasons. It is recommended that students provide a doctor’s note for all medical appointments.
Leaving Early (before the end of the school day)
Students leaving school during class for any reason must be excused by a parent/guardian.
Tardiness
Students are expected to be on time to class. Students with excessive tardies (10+ per month) may receive interventions including, but not limited to, detention, Saturday School, and/or meeting with the Assistant Principal.
Illness or Injury at School
If a student becomes ill or is injured at school and needs to go home, they must be excused by a parent/guardian. If we cannot reach a parent/guardian or one of the student’s emergency contacts, the student will have to wait in the class until we make contact.
Excused vs. Unexcused Absences
While there are many reasons why a parent/guardian may choose to have their student miss school, California law (CA Ed Code Section 48205) provides guidance to schools as to which absences we may excuse.
Common excused absences include:
- Illness
- After 3 consecutive days of illness, a doctor’s note is recommended to excuse continued absences
- Medical appointment (including dental, chiropractic, mental health appointments)
- It is recommended that students provide a doctor’s note whenever missing school for a medical appointment
- Attendance at the funeral services of an immediate family member
- School activity (such as a sports game)
- Court or probation appointments
- Religious/cultural activities
Common unexcused absences include:
- Caring for a younger sibling or other family member
- College visit
- DMV appointment
- Non-FUHSD extracurricular activity
- Senior “Ditch Day”
- Vacation, travel for other reasons (including visa renewal)
If a student misses class and there is no contact with the attendance office, then the absence will be marked “UKA” (unknown absence). This is an unexcused absence.
Absence Notifications and Attendance Reports
If a student is absent from school for one or more periods in a school day without any contact from a parent/guardian, our system will notify the parent(s)/guardian(s) by email and text. These notifications will include a link to report the absence immediately online via Reach My Teach so that it can be cleared. Please be sure to keep parent/guardian phone numbers and email addresses updated with the school office so we can reach you with these important attendance notifications.
Parents/guardians may also view their students’ full attendance report via the Infinite Campus Portal.
Attendance, truancy, and chronic absenteeism are NOT reported on transcripts or to colleges, jobs, etc.
Attendance Errors/Discrepancies
If a student is marked absent by mistake, it is the student’s responsibility to contact the teacher to correct the error. The student should email the teacher and CC the EdOps Support Specialist at amanda_evans@fuhsd.org. That way the teacher can ‘reply all’ to correct the attendance. Only the teacher can verify a student’s attendance and allow the attendance office to mark the student present.
Extended Absences
FUHSD strongly encourages families to make their plans for extended travel during school breaks. Extended absences during class days negatively impact the student, the teacher, and the class environment as a whole. Vacation/travel for any reason (including visa renewal) is considered an unexcused absence. Teachers are not obligated to provide makeup work for unexcused absences.
FUHSD does not offer an independent study program for extended absences.
An absence of 30 days or more will result in the student being disenrolled from school. Families may of course re-enroll when they return to the area. This can, however, have a significant impact on student academic success.
Making Up Work
It is the student’s responsibility to contact each teacher whose class they missed, and/or review Schoology, to get the work they need to make up for a missed class or arrange a time to make up a missed test or quiz.
Teachers are not required to provide make-up work for unexcused absences.
School Activities and Privileges
Participation in sports, school activities, extracurriculars, and other school privileges may be tied to attendance. FUHSD Board Policy states that students must be in attendance at school on the day of the activity in order to participate.
Chronic Absenteeism
Students who miss 10% or more of the schooldays in a given school year are considered chronically absent and will receive interventions to help return them to attending school regularly. These include:
- A letter notifying the parent(s)/guardian(s) of the student’s status as chronically absent
- A second letter notifying the student and family of their chronic absences
- An attendance check-in with the student by a caring adult at school (Administrator, counselor, teacher, etc.)
- Referral to the District Attendance Meeting
- Referral to the School Attendance Review Team
- Referral to the District School Attendance Review Board
If you have questions or concerns about the Chronic Absenteeism Intervention program, feel free to contact your EdOps attendance team (below), Alison Coy, Director of Educational Options, at alison_coy@fuhsd.org or Amanda Evans, Educational Options Support Specialist, at amanda_evans@fuhsd.org.
Need More Information?
Attendance Office: Amanda Evans, EdOps Support Specialist, 408-522-2244 or amanda_evans@fuhsd.org
Attendance Administrator: Assistant Principal Laura Gonzales, 408-522-2292 or laura_gonzales@fuhsd.org