Students who need to leave campus during the school day must notify the Main Office by 7:50 a.m. of their scheduled early leave with a note from their parent/guardian which must include a telephone number where the parent or guardian may be contacted, and the reason for the early leave. If a note is not available, parents call the school at least 2 hours in advance before the scheduled early leave, to obtain permission for the student to leave. Students who leave campus without authorization are considered truant, and may also face possible disciplinary action from the school. There is also the possibility they may be picked up by the police or receive a citation.

When a student returns from an absence, he/she must bring a note signed by the parent/guardian explaining the reason for the absence. The student should report to the Main Office before school starts to turn in their absence notes. Reporting to the Main Office after an absence is not an excuse for reporting to class late. You can clear your absence(s) during nutrition, lunch, or passing periods.

We will continue to enforce our Tardy Policy. All students must be inside their classrooms when the tardy bell rings. Any student who is tardy should be sent to the office for a late pass and not allowed in class without one. Students who are tardy more than 5 times will serve detention during lunch to make up for lost instructional time. After the 5th incident, student will be sent to detention every time he/she is tardy.

Students who will serve detention will receive their summons during Period 4. They will be given five (5) minutes after the lunch bell rings to get to the designated location. Students who do not report to detention when summoned, or are late to report to the designated location, will have their detention time doubled. Excessive tardiness may also lead to other disciplinary action, including conference with parents.

Absences and Tardies should be cleared within a week of the incident, otherwise the student will be considered truant. Truants will be subject to the provisions of California Education Code Section 48260, which states: “Any pupil subject to compulsory full-time education or to compulsory continuation education who is absent from school without valid excuse on three occasions or tardy for more than 30 minutes in a school day on three occasions in one school year is a truant and will be reported to the attendance supervisor or the superintendent of the school district.”

Truancy letters are being mailed to the homes of students with uncleared absences and/or tardies. These letters will explain the gravity of the truancy policy and a conference with parents/guardians is being requested to try to avert any negative impact that these absences and tardies may cause the students.