• ATTENDANCE POLICY 

    Our goal is to strive for 5 or less absences and tardies per school year.  We want all students to be successful at school. Research tells us that the most successful students are those with good attendance. State law dictates that children must attend school regularly and on time. Schools only receive funding for the actual time students are at school, regardless of the reason for absence. Doctor’s and other appointments should be scheduled outside of school hours. Student absences are very disruptive to the learning process and to the child’s classroom. Please do not schedule family vacations and other trips on school days. By law, the school is unable to mark absences due to vacations/trips as an excused absence. (see “Extended Absences” below). 

    Reporting an Absence or Tardies (Late Arrivals) 

    We ask that parents/guardians call the Attendance Line (818-597-4209) before 9:00 am each morning that their student is going to be absent from school. Messages can be recorded 24 hours a day. Report the absence, explain the reason, include the child's name, the caller's name and relationship to the child, and the teacher's name. Homework/Classwork is not provided on the first day of an absence. On or after the second day of an absence, you may email the teacher regarding school work (see “Requesting School Work” below). The teacher will respond within 48 hours. 

    If your student is going to be late to school due to an appointment or other reason, please call the attendance line and let us know when the student will arrive, reason for late arrival and if the student will be requiring a hot lunch for the day. Tardy students are to come to the office to get a blue slip before entering the classroom. TK begins at 8:00 am, K begins at 8:15 am and grades 1-5 start at 8:20 am. 

    Excessive Absences 

    The law dictates that students must attend school regularly and on time. Three or more unexcused absences during the school year constitute excessive absences. Our district attendance system counts the number of days that students miss school whether excused or unexcused. Excused absences include illness or injury to the child, quarantine of the home by county health officials, a medical/dental appointment that can only be scheduled during school hours, or attendance at funeral services for immediate family. Absences for holidays will be granted upon written request of a parent/guardian, in advance of the holiday. Parents are required by law to send their children to school from ages 6-18. Please honor the school calendar when planning vacations. Letters are automatically sent home to advise of poor attendance after 6 absences or 5 tardies. Students who demonstrate continued poor attendance or tardiness will be reported to the Ventura County School Attendance Review Board. Please see the full policy on Chronic Absence and Truancy at this link BP5113.1 

     

    Independent Study

    Independent Study - Contracts may be requested a minimum of seven school days in advance of the absence. Independent Study Contracts shall be requested by parents in person at the school office and can be for no less than five school days. Independent Study Contracts cannot be made directly to the teacher. 

    The Independent Study Contract has been formulated to provide the students and teachers with specific educational guidelines when a child is away from school due to extenuating circumstances. The school principal must approve the request. The contract will be utilized to provide an on-going instructional program. By developing an individual contract, the student is able to keep pace academically with their class, while the school is able to count this time as instructional time for attendance purposes.

    • The child's classroom teacher(s) will determine appropriate assignments and will confer with the parent and child. Parents can help by setting aside some study time each day so that work can be accomplished in a calm and suitable environment. We hope that this contract helps both parent and child.
    • All contracts shall be signed and dated by the student, parent, and teacher before being turned into the office.
    • A clear and definite homework assignment shall be given to the student, which will substitute for at least a minimum day's worth of work for each day of absence from school.
    • The contract and all accompanying homework shall be turned in to the teacher the day the student returns to school. The work should be treated as any other assignment and will be marked accordingly.
    • If the work is not turned in upon the student’s return to school, the student's absences will be recorded as unexcused. At that time the Independent Study Contract will be canceled.
    • If a student returns to school early (is absent less than 5 days) then the absences shall be recorded as unexcused. 

     

    California’s Compulsory Education Law 

    Under state law, a pupil who, without a valid excuse (see below for “valid” excuses), is absent from school for three full days in one school year, or is tardy or absent for more than 30 minutes during the school day on three occasions in one school year, is considered truant. Once a student is designated a truant, state law requires schools, districts, counties, and courts to intervene to ensure that parents and pupils receive certain services to assist them in complying with attendance laws. When these various interventions fail—meaning parents or guardians still do not send a child to school or a student misses an unlawful amount of school—the matter is referred to the courts. Courts can then use penalties or other measures to seek compliance. Essentially, these various interventions exist to ensure that pupils remain in school and that a pattern is not established that could lead to their dropping out of school later in their educational career. In an effort to avoid the above, the district has instituted a series of attendance letters designed to highlight the total number of absences of a student regardless of the reason. These letters are sent to highlight patterns of attendance. 

    A student's absence shall be excused for any of the following reasons: 

    1. Personal illness, including absence for the benefit of the student’s mental or behavioral health (Education Code 48205)
    2. Quarantine under the direction of a county or city health officer (Education Code 48205)
    3. Medical, dental, optometrical, or chiropractic appointment (Education Code 48205)
    4. Attendance at funeral services for a member of the immediate family, which shall be limited to one day if the service is conducted in California or three days if the service is conducted out of state (Education Code 48205)
      1. Immediate family shall be defined as mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, spouse, son/son-in-law, daughter/daughter-in-law, brother, sister, or any relative living in the student's immediate household. (Education Code 45194, 48205)
    5. Jury duty in the manner provided by law (Education Code 48205)
    6. The illness or medical appointment of a child to whom the student is the custodial parent (Education Code 48205)
    7. Upon advance written request by the parent/guardian and the approval of the principal or designee, justifiable personal reasons including, but not limited to: (Education Code 48205)
      1. Appearance in court
      2. Attendance at a funeral service
      3. Observation of a holiday or ceremony of his/her religion
      4. Attendance at religious retreats for no more than four hours per semester
      5. Attendance at an employment conference
      6. Attendance at an educational conference offered by a nonprofit organization on the legislative or judicial process 
    8. Service as a member of a precinct board for an election pursuant to Elections Code 12302 (Education Code 48205)
    9. To spend time with an immediate family member who is an active duty member of the uniformed services, as defined in Education Code 49701, and has been called to duty for deployment to a combat zone or a combat support position or is on leave from or has immediately returned from such deployment (Education Code 48205)
      1. Such absence shall be granted for a period of time to be determined at the discretion of the Superintendent or designee.  (Education Code 48205)
    10. To attend his/her naturalization ceremony to become a United States citizen. (Education Code 48205)
    11. Participation in a cultural ceremony or event which relates to the habits, practices, beliefs, and traditions of a certain group of people  (Education Code 48205)
    12. Participation in religious exercises or to receive moral or religious instruction in accordance with district policy, subject to the following conditions: (Education Code 46014)
      1. The student's parent/guardian shall provide written consent for the absence.
      2. Absence for student participation in religious exercises or instruction shall not be considered an absence for the purpose of computing average daily attendance if the student attends at least the minimum school day as specified in AR 6112 - School Day
      3. The student shall be excused from school for this purpose on no more than four days per school month.  
    13. Work in the entertainment or allied industry  (Education Code 48225.5)
      1. Work for a student who holds a work permit authorizing work in the entertainment or allied industries for a period of not more than five consecutive days. For this purpose, student absence shall be excused for a maximum of up to five absences per school year.  (Education Code 48225.5)
    14. Participation with a nonprofit performing arts organization in a performance for a public school audience  (Education Code 48225.5)
      1. A student may be excused for up to five such absences per school year provided that the student's parent/guardian provides a written explanation of such absence to the school.  (Education Code 48225.5)
    15. Other reasons authorized at the discretion of the principal or designee based on the student's specific circumstances  (Education Code 48205, 48260)

    For the purpose of the absences described above, immediate family means the student's parent/guardian, brother or sister, grandparent, or any other relative living in the student's household.  (Education Code 48205)

    **Please note that absences due to vacation are not valid excuses as per California Education Code. 

    updated August 2023