Attendance Policy
Ariadne Howard
PEIMS/Attendance Clerk
Fax: (956) 585-6648
Excused Absences
The following are the only reasons for an excused absence:
- illness of a student or severe/critical illness of an immediate
family member.
- death of a member of the immediate family.
- medical or dental attention,
- religious holy day (must be pre-approved).
- absences which the principal judges as an emergency
beyond the control of the student or parent.
- absences described in Policy FDD(LEGAL) COURT
PROCEEDINGS OR HUMAN SERVICE ACTIVITIES.
Unexcused Absences
At
the secondary level, when an absence is unexcused, the student may not
make up missed work and could be subject to discipline and legal action for truancy. Some
examples of unexcused absences are:
- staying home to study or to write a report;
- going shopping, looking for a prom dress, or returning a tuxedo;
- going fishing, hunting, or skiing.
- oversleeping or missing the bus,
- skipping, or
- failing to follow your campus' admit to class procedure.
If
the reason is deemed unacceptable by the administrator, the absence
will be unexcused. However, if the administrator determines that the
unexcused absence is due to extenuating circumstances, make-up work will
be allowed.
THE FACT THAT PARENTS KNOW AND APPROVE OF AN ABSENCE WILL NOT ALTER THE FACT THAT IT CAN BE UNEXCUSED OR CONSIDERED TRUANCY.
Pre-Arranged Absence
- The student must be absent with the parent's knowledge and consent and arrangements have to be made with the Principal prior to the absence.
- This
type of absence is one that does not meet the criteria of the legally
excused absence, but one the principal may believe to be acceptable.
Some of the absences may qualify for extracurricular status.
- The method for requesting a pre-arranged absence is:
- Take a note with a brief description of the absence to the principal for evaluation to determine whether the time and reason is acceptable or not.
- If
the absence is acceptable, then the student is to take a note to each
of his teachers and obtain the assignments for the particular time he
will be absent.
- For such a request to be considered, the student must have satisfactory scholastic, attendance, and behavior records.
- Pre-approval request will need to be done at least 2 school days prior to the absence occurring to be considered.