Tardy:
A student is considered TARDY if he/she is not in line at morning assembly when the school bell rings at 7:50 a.m. Teachers will record daily attendance before morning prayer. Students must check in with the office and get a tardy slip if they arrive after morning assembly or when attendance has been taken in classes on Mass days. Tardiness is recorded daily by teachers at 7:50 am and then recorded on Gradelink on a student’s official attendance register, which is a legal document.
Teachers will record attendance by 8:30am daily. If tardies are excessive (over 14 excused OR unexcused absences) in a school year, it could lead to a registration hold in February, suspension, or dismissal, since low attendance is disruptive and directly affects a child's learning and teaching. Excessive tardies can affect a child's Work Habits Grade, and will also affect the ability to earn the Citizenship Award at the trimester Awards Ceremonies. Parents will be notified of a possible truancy violation and the school will follow all CA compulsory laws and CA truancy laws by contacting the local authorities.
A family will be notified for excessive tardies, as it could affect their good standing at the school. Excessive tardies is a poor work habit and will be reflected in the Work Habits grade on the report card, which affects earning the Citizenship Award. Families should also be aware of the ADLA Administrative Handbook Truancy policy that all Catholic school principals must follow, when it comes to tardies, early pick ups and unexcused absences. Teachers can also let families know their rubric or grade level policy on how many unexcused tardies or absences will result in a lower grade in Work Habits and disqualify a child from receiving the Citizenship award. Even if the principal approves an excused absence, a child may not exceed 14 total excused or unexcused absences in a year without consequence.
Important: Both excused and unexcused absences count toward your student's absence rate.
Important: Both excused and unexcused absences count toward your student’s absence rate. Absences cleared in Saturday School count as days present in school, and do not contribute to individual student absence rates.
***Regarding after school dismissal, the children have a 15 minute (3:00-3:15 pm) grace period from their allotted pick-up time before being sent to Daycare and being charged $20 a day per child.
https://handbook.la-archdiocese.org/chapter-13/section-13-2/topic-13-2-7Truancy
A student is considered truant when he or she is absent from school without a valid excuse for three full days in one school year or is tardy or absent for more than any 30-minute period during the school day on three occasions in one school year, or any combination thereof. The school shall report the student to the local public school district's attendance office or the public school district's superintendent.
In the event that a school suspects that a student is truant (absent from school without a valid excuse), the school administration should first contact the parents/guardians. If the school suspects that the student is a habitual truant(absent three times in a school year without a valid excuse) and all resources at the school level have been exhausted, the school principal should notify the local Child Welfare and Attendance authorities.
If a student has been reported once as a truant and then is absent again for one or more days without a valid excuse or tardy on one or more days without a valid excuse, the school should again report the student as truant to the local public school district's attendance office or the public school district's superintendent. A student who has been reported as truantthree or more times is considered a habitual truant and is subject to dismissal.
If a student has been absent without excuse, and it is impossible to contact the parents/guardians or designated emergency contacts within 4 hours and after repeated attempts, the school should notify the attendance office of the local public school district, the local police department, Child Protective Services, or all of those agencies.
Valid Excused Absences Under California State Law
Excused absences are ones that occurs for reasons which are considered valid under California state law.
Care must be taken to monitor how many excused absences your student has accumulated. Excused absences contribute to excessive absenteeism, as do unexcused absences. Having more than 14 excused absences is considered excessive, following district guidelines.
Excusable Absences
Under state law, Education Code Section 48205 allows absences to be excused for the following reasons:
Student illness, including an absence for the benefit of the pupil’s mental or behavioral health.
Quarantine under the direction of a county or city health officer
Receiving medical, dental, optometrical, or chiropractic services.
Attending funeral services of a member of the student’s immediate family, for no longer than one day if services take place in California, and three days if services are held out of state.
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)
Student’s jury duty service in the manner provided for by law.
Illness or medical appointment during school hours of a child of whom the student is the custodial parent, including absences to care for a sick child.
Upon advance written request by the parent/guardian and the approval of the principal or designee, justifiable personal reasons including but not limited to:
Appearance in court
Attendance at a funeral service
Bereavement for an immediate family member
Observation of a holiday or ceremony of his/her religion
Attendance at religious retreats not to exceed four hours per semester
Attendance at an employment conference
Attendance at an educational conference offered by a nonprofit organization on the legislative or judicial process
Other reasons requested in writing by the parent/guardian and considered legitimate by the principal or his/her designee
Such absences shall have prior approval of the principal or his/her designee. Students who contemplate absence for reasons other than those listed above, should request projected absence be excused by presenting a note from their parent/guardian to indicate approval or disapproval or disapproval with reasons for disapproval if the request is denied.
A request from a parent/guardian that a student’s absence be excused shall not be granted if the principal or his/her designee believe that such approval would be educationally harmful to the student or set a poor example in matters of school attendance for the student or other students.
Serving as a member of a precinct board for an election pursuant to Education Code Section 12302.
Spending time with a member of the student’s immediate family who is an active duty member of the uniformed services, as defined in Education Code Section 49701, and has been called to duty for, is on leave from, or has immediately returned from, deployment to a combat zone or combat support position. Absences granted pursuant to this paragraph shall be granted for a period of time to be determined at the discretion of the superintendent of the school district.
Attending the student’s naturalization ceremony to become a United States citizen.
Participating in a cultural ceremony or event.
The student’s engagement in a civic or political event, provided that the the school is notified ahead of the absence.
Absences authorized at the discretion of a school administrator, as described in subdivision (c) of Section 48260.
Education Code Section 46014 allows absences to be excused for the following:
Participation in religious exercises or to receive moral and religious instruction in accordance with district policy.
- In such instances, the student shall attend at least the minimum school day.
- The student shall be excused for this purpose on no more than four days per school month.
