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

Please refer to the Attendance Section of the online Student Handbook for complete rules and guidelines. The Student Handbook can be found by visiting Marcus 9 website, mhs9.lisd.net, under the “Resources”, "For Parents & Students".

Absences

If your child is absent from school, a parent should call the morning of the absence. A parent must follow up by sending a signed note no later than the third day after the absence to get it excused. Unexcused absences will result in a “zero” for that day in each missed class. Faxed parent notes may be accepted to excuse an absence.

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. 

Please note that more than 5 absences in a 9 week period, excused or unexcused, may result in loss of credit.

If the student visited a medical professional (doctor/dentist, etc.) while out, the doctor’s note should be provided to the clerk upon their return or within 3 days of the absence at the latest. By presenting this medical note, it may help keep a student from loss of credit for too many absences. All-day medical absences DO NOT automatically exempt a student from loss of credit; a partial-day absence—with a medical note—will not count towards loss of credit.

PLEASE NOTE: Students arriving more than 20 minutes after class has started are considered absent and must have a
medical or parent note to excuse. If a note is not received within 3 days, the absence will be unexcused.

Homework Requests

Most assignments can be found on the teacher’s Canvas sites, which are located under the staff directory on our website. Instructions are given out the first day of class in most cases. You are welcome to email the teachers directly for the quickest response time. All email addresses are listed on the MHS 9 website. 

Late Arrival/Early Release

Any time a student comes in late or leaves early, they MUST sign-in/out with the attendance clerk. Failure to do so will result in disciplinary action. Students are NOT ALLOWED TO USE THEIR CELL PHONES TO CONTACT A PARENT IF THEY ARE ILL. STUDENTS MUST GO THROUGH THE NURSE IF THEY BECOME ILL AT SCHOOL. Failure to do so could result in disciplinary action.

Appointments/Parent Note

When your child has an appointment, send a parent note that morning. Upon receiving the parent note, a pass will be issued to the student for leaving at the designated time meeting you in front of the school or driving to the appointment. If you did not send a note with your child, come into the Front Office to sign them out. Allow plenty of time before your appointment to give us time to get the student out of class.   Calls will be accepted for appointments made the same day. It is extremely difficult to get students once they have gone to an athletic class that may be at another location off-campus. PLANNING AHEAD IS CRUCIAL TO HELP YOU MAKE YOUR APPOINTMENT ON TIME! 

Parent/Guardian Sign Out Form

ACCORDING TO STATE LAW, WE ARE REQUIRED TO HAVE A NOTE ON FILE SIGNED BY A PARENT/GUARDIAN WHENEVER A STUDENT LEAVES THE CAMPUS FOR ANY REASON. THE REASON MUST MEET STATE GUIDELINES FOR IT TO BE EXCUSED. Email or call the front office for form

Verification of Enrollment (V.O.E. Form)

The student should sign up for the V.O.E. form in the front office in the morning.  Attendance clerk researches student’s attendance (must be in compliance with the 90% T.E.A. guidelines).  Student picks up the form after school from attendance clerk – student must sign the form in front of the attendance clerk.