Attendance at School

Regular school attendance is essential for students to maximize their learning opportunities. Absences from class may result in serious disruption in the mastery of the knowledge and skills needed to progress to the next grade. It is crucial that students and parents make every effort to avoid unnecessary absences.

A student can be considered absent if he or she misses all or part of the school day, including late arrival and early pick up.

Under Texas law, a student must be present for at least 90% of the time a class is offered.  Students who don’t meet this requirement, regardless of the reason for the absence, will lose credit in the class.  Completion of a plan determined by the campus principal or attendance committee will be required to restore credit and avoid retention.

Under Texas law, a student who experiences more than 3 unexcused absences (full or partial day) in a four week period or 10 unexcused absences (full or partial day) in a 6 month period, may be referred to the court for truancy.  This includes unexcused late arrivals and early pick up. Charges may also be filed against the parent in these circumstances.

Texas law allows students to miss school and still be considered present for several specific events.  For more information about absences related to religious holy days, obtaining a driver's license, participating in a college visit, participating in career exploration, court appearances, and other allowable absences in the Texas Education Code, please see the LISD Student Handbook.

What steps do I take if my child is absent?

Communication with the school each time your child is absent is critical or the absence may be unexcused. Unexcused absences are considered truancy.  The grade for makeup work after an unexcused absence will be a zero. [See Board Policy EIA Local]. Contact your child’s attendance clerk to report an absence: https://www.lisd.net/attendanceclerks.

Parents should provide a note, documenting the reason for the absence, to the school immediately upon the child’s return, and not later than three days after the absence. If the child was seen by a health care provider, a note from that provider is always preferred.  If the student was present PART of the school day and missed the remainder for a health care appointment, a note from that provider should be given to the school within 3 days.  In this circumstance, the time away from school is NOT considered an absence.

SUBMIT A NOTE

The district will excuse up to 10 full or partial days during the school year. Each unexcused absence will reduce the number of absences that may be excused by parent notes. Any additional absences beyond the allowable parent notes will require a note from a health care provider or documentation of an absence exempt from compulsory attendance, in order to be excused.

VIEW ABSENCE PROCESS

If you plan to have your child leave early for an appointment, send a note with your child to give to their attendance clerk in the morning so they can be given their Off-Campus pass in advance. If you plan to remove your child during Athletics, PE, or lunch, please allow enough time for the student to change clothes and sign out so they are not late for the appointment.  It can be extremely difficult to locate students during these times because their location varies.
 

If you forget a note or have an unexpected need to remove your child from school, you will be required to come in and sign out your student from the front office.  The clerk will need time to send for your child.  If you call us when you realize this, we can locate your child and speed up the process.
 

If your child becomes ill during the school day, they can get a pass from their teacher to go see the nurse.  They should not text a parent.  The nurse will assess and contact the parent.