Attendance Procedures

Attendance

State law requires the regular school attendance of a child of school age. The parent or guardian is responsible by law for making sure that the child attends school regularly.

Why must my child go to school regularly?

• Having a good education will help to give your child the best possible start in life.
• Attending school every day makes learning easier for your child. If a student misses basic skills in the early years of school, they may have problems later on. If a child is absent for even one class period, they will have missed out on integral learning opportunities and may feel behind once they return.
• Employers will want to be sure that the people they are employing are reliable. So children who have not attended school regularly have less chance of getting a good job.
• Young people who are absent from school for no good reason are at risk of crime or abuse. They may also be drawn into anti-social or criminal behavior.

What can I do to help?

• Make sure that your child goes to school regularly and arrives on time.
• Please DO NOT keep your child away from school for:
      • Birthdays
      • Haircuts
      • Babysitting other children
      • Interpreting for other family members
      • Missing the bus
      • Waking up late
• Take an interest in your child’s schoolwork.
• Schedule family vacations during school vacation or intersession periods.
• Try to make children’s appointments with dentists or doctors before or after school or on Flex Fridays.

Tardies and Absences

4 Tardies at El Dorado high School equals to one absence. Once a student has accrued an absence they are required to flex their time on Friday or during 4th hour with a flex teacher to make up the time and work owed. The tardies and absences that are flexed will show as flexed on the student's attendance report. 5 absences or more in a class period also may result in failure of a class for the student.

Chronic Absenteeism

A student who accrues 10 or more absences – even though they may be excused – will result in notification to the district truancy officer who may require that all future absences be validated by a doctor’s excuse. Pursuant to Arizona Revised Statute - ARS 15-802/15-803, students who exceed an absentee rate of 10% are considered truant, even if the absences are excused.

Flex Time

In order to receive credits for a course, a student must be present for 90% of the class in order to receive credit. El Dorado High School offers a beneficial structure to accommodate students that have are absent by giving them Fridays to flex the time they have missed. Students can come to school on a flex Friday and after signing in and completing all missing work, can receive credit for the class period they missed in order to achieve the 90% attendance rate.

What do I do when my child is absent from school?

State law mandates that the school record all reasons for all student absences. Therefore, when a student is absent, a parent must call the school on or before the day of absence in order to advise the school as to the reason for the absence. All absences not verified will remain unexcused. For absences greater than one day in length, the school should be notified each day of the absence.

District Attendance Procedures:

Unauthorized absence from school is considered truancy and will be treated as such. A child with:

• 3 unexcused absences - A staff member confers with student and parent/guardian.

• 5 unexcused absences - Principal sends letter to the address on record warning parent/guardian of possible court proceedings if student’s absences continue. Possible home visit by school staff. Students may receive an F in a course if the absences are not flexed by the end of the grading period.

• 10 consecutive unexcused absences - A staff member makes a personal contact with parent/guardian and following no call/no show will be no longer enrolled in the school per A.R.S. §15-803B.

• 12 unexcused absences - District staff hand-delivers or sends letter to parent/guardian. The parent/guardian and/or student may be issued a citation for violation of Arizona Revised Statute A.R.S. §15-802. A citation would require that the parent/guardian appear in court and consequences may include participation in a Parent Truancy Class and program fees to attend the class. If convicted, it is a Class 3 Misdemeanor punishable by jail time and/or fine.

• 15 unexcused absences - Principal sends letter to the address on record warning parent/guardian of possible court proceedings if student’s absences continue. The parent/guardian and/or student may be issued a citation for violation of Arizona Revised Statute A.R.S. §15-802. A citation would require that the parent/guardian appear in court and consequences may include participation in a Parent Truancy Class and program fees to attend the class. If convicted, it is a Class 3 Misdemeanor punishable by jail time and/or fine.

• 18 unexcused absences - District staff hand-delivers or sends letter to parent/guardian. The parent/guardian and/or student may be issued a citation for violation of Arizona Revised Statute A.R.S. §15-802. A citation would require that the parent/guardian appear in court and consequences may include participation in a Parent Truancy Class and program fees to attend the class. If convicted, it is a Class 3 Misdemeanor punishable by jail time and/or fine.

Additional citations and/or letters may be sent to parents to address attendance. Good attendance is vital for success in school. It is important that parents and the school work together to ensure good attendance.