Elementary Attendance Policy

Coronado Unified School District Elementary School Attendance Policy

The Coronado Unified School District (CUSD) recognizes that there is no substitute for having students at school to receive instruction. We believe that parents, students, and all school personnel must be involved in pupil attendance. We strive to maximize students' instructional time in school, as such, students are expected to arrive at school on time, every day.

We are required by law to have school attendance procedures as well as consequences for school non-attendance. The following attendance policy is in effect at Silver Strand and Village Elementary Schools. It is important that students and parents understand and adhere to the elements in this policy. State law requires that all children ages 6 -18 shall attend school full-time and for the full-time designated as the length of the school day (EC 48200).

Each student and parent is responsible for understanding and complying with the policy. Any questions about this policy should be directed to Site Principal, Assistant Principal or Attendance Clerk.

Reporting/Verifying Absences

If your student is absent (or tardy beyond 30 minutes) from school, the parent or guardian is obligated to report the absence or tardy to the school site. In order to ensure the safety of your child, we are asking parents and guardians to report all absences immediately - this will support our efforts in reporting timely and accurate information back to you regarding your child’s whereabouts.

Please report absences immediately by calling our attendance line the morning of the absence. All absences must be verified within 24 hours by direct phone call or note signed by a parent/guardian and delivered to the attendance clerk, (CCR 5, 306). After 24 hours, all absences will be coded as unexcused. EACH day of absence must be called in and verified.

Silver Strand Elementary (619) 522-8934, ext 2

Excused Absences

Our attendance policy (in accordance with Ed. Code48205) stipulates that absences can only be excused for the following reasons:

Personal illness or injury
Quarantine under the direction of a county or city health official
Medical, dental, optometric or chiropractic services in which student can present a note from parent/guardian or evidence of appointment.
Attendance of funeral service for a member of the IMMEDIATE family.
Jury duty in the manner provided by law.
Pupil is custodial parent of a child who is ill or has a medical appointment.
Exclusion for failure to present evidence of immunization.
Exclusion from school because student is either the carrier of a contagious disease or not immunized from a contagious disease.
Pupils in Grade 7 to 12 who leave school with prior approval of the principal or designee to obtain confidential medical services. The pupil is to return a copy of the medical professional’s appointment verification form.
Upon written request of the Parent/Guardian, prior approval of the Principal or designee and pursuant to Board policy, a student’s absence may be excused for additional reasons

Our attendance policy (in accordance with Ed. Code48205) stipulates that tardies can only be excused for the reasons listed in #1 above. Therefore, an unexcused tardy is the same as an unexcused absence.

Students who plan to leave campus for a medical or court appointment must follow proper procedures or risk being marked truant. Students are required to bring a note signed by a parent to the attendance office. A pass will be issued to the student’s classroom before their leave time. They may then be signed out by the parent, someone on their emergency card or someone with written permission. Any student leaving campus must report to the office FIRST.

When a student has had more than 5 consecutive days or 14 total EXCUSED absences in a school year, any further absences for illness must be verified by a physician with a doctor’s note or they will be unexcused (CCR 5, 421).

Unexcused Absences

Any absence, for any reason other than those listed above in #1 under Excused Absences, is considered unexcused. An excused absence that is not properly reported (or verified by doctor’s note if needed) within 24 hours will be considered unexcused.

Unexcused Absences/Truancy: Education Code Section 48260 states “Any pupil subject to full time education who is absent from school without a valid excuse three (3) days or tardy without a valid excuse in excess of 30 minutes on each of more than three (3) days in any one school year is a truant and shall be reported to the attendance supervisor or the superintendent of the district.”

This classification and referral helps emphasize the importance of school attendance and is intended to minimize interference with instruction.

An excused absence that is not properly reported or verified within 24 hours will be marked unexcused. A student’s grade may be negatively affected by unexcused absences (BP 5113, 5121).

Parents are expected to schedule medical and court appointments outside the instructional day. When scheduling an appointment during school hours is unavoidable, students must follow proper procedures or risk being marked truant. Any student leaving campus must report to the office FIRST. Students are required to be signed out by the parent when being picked up for outside appointments.

Tardies

Students are considered to be present and not tardy when they are physically inside their classroom. Parents should be aware that by law, students are considered truant when they have any combination of 3 unexcused absences or tardies over 30 minutes (EC 48260).

Elementary School Start Times: Silver Strand & Village Elementary start at 8:10am

Independent Contracts for Study

Parents should be aware that five or more absences in a grading period may have a significant negative effect on a student’s academic progress. Therefore, students who will miss five or more consecutive days for reasons other than illness are encouraged to complete Independent Contract for Study in lieu of attending school.

To be eligible for independent study, parents must send a written request to the school site administration at least 5 days prior to the planned absence outlining the dates and reasons for the request. If approved, the student must have each teacher sign the appropriate documentation, prior to leaving for independent study.

All work must be submitted on or by the return date on the Independent Study contract. It is extremely important that students have regular attendance until the end of the school year. This is particularly so during the last few weeks of the final semester when end-year assessments are administered, the results of which are critical to completing student report cards and in ascertaining progress on Strategic Planning SMART goals. No independent contracts will be issued after May 31.

Please give administration and classroom teachers as much notice as possible to prepare work for the Independent Contract for Study.

Truancy/School Attendance Review

The San Diego County Office of Child Welfare and Human Services describes “Soft Truancy” as an attendance pattern that includes any combination of the following that exceed 10% of instructional days: tardies, absences, incomplete Independent Contract for Study, withdrawing a student prior to the conclusion of the school day, etc. “Soft Truancies” often lead to more serious attendance problems if not addressed. By law, students are considered truant when they have any combination of 3 unexcused absences or tardies over 30 minutes (EC 48260).

In addition to the reporting requirement, the law states that the school district must notify the parent or guardian of a truancy by the most cost-effective method possible, and that the notification must include specific information related to the student's unexcused absence.

Please review this sample letter (First Letter)

If the attendance pattern continues and after a student has been reported as a truant three or more times, he/she will be referred to the Student Attendance Review Team regarding the excessive absences and/or tardies. In addition, the school district must attempt to meet with the student and a parent or guardian.
Please review this sample letter (Second Letter)

The law further requires that after a student has been reported as a truant three or more times in one school year and after an appropriate school employee has made a conscientious effort to hold at least one meeting with the parent and the student, the student is deemed a habitual truant. Please review the sample letter (Third Letter/Habitual Truant)

The CA Child Welfare and Attendance service have revised the reporting and recording of student attendance in an attempt to prevent chronic absenteeism. A "chronic absentee" has been defined in California Education Code (EC) Section 60901(c)(1) as "a pupil who is absent on 10 percent or more of the school days in the school year when the total number of days a pupil is absent is divided by the total number of days the pupil is enrolled.”

We believe that parents, students, and all school personnel must be involved in the consistent, timely, and accurate reporting of pupil attendance. We strive to maximize students’ instructional time in school, as such, our students are expected to arrive at school on time, every day.

See individual school sites regarding:

Tardy Policy
Detention
Saturday School
Weekend Make-up Days