Attendance

Students must be in their assigned classroom when the bell rings to begin each period. If a student arrives within the first 10 minutes of the school-day, for reasons other than medical, s/he should go directly to class and receive a tardy. If a student arrives after the first 10 minutes of the day, s/he must come to the attendance office for an admit slip.

Call the attendance line the morning of the absence. Be prepared to give your child’s:

• Name
• Grade
• Student ID
• Date of absence
• Your relationship to the student

If your child will be late to school in the morning, please do one of the following to excuse him/her when checking in at the attendance office window:

• Call before your student arrives (put attendance line number in your cell phone)
• Send a signed and dated note with your student
• Come to the attendance window with your student to sign in

Send a signed and dated note with your child stating:

• Time of departure
• Reason for departure
• Time of return, if your student will be returning to school later that same day
• Your child will show the note to the teacher during class and then will take the note to the attendance office window to get a pass to leave campus. If a note is not provided, please be prepared to show your identification.

Student attendance is vital to a student's success, so we strongly discourage parents/guardians from taking students out of class during the school year. If a pre-approved absence form or independent study contract is not on file before your child's absence, you may receive a truancy letter. In the unlikely event that a student must be out of town when school is in session, the student should obtain and complete a pre-approved absence form or independent study contract.

• Our school policy is to not interrupt classes.
• We are unable to deliver messages and forgotten items to your child during school hours.
• If your child has forgotten items at home, items may be left in the attendance office with the student's name and student ID number clearly marked.
• It is up to your child to pick up these items.
• Students may check for their items between classes, at lunch or after school.
• We do not deliver messages or forgotten items to students.

An important part of academic success is good attendance. The school district has an attendance protocol to track truancy and excessive absences. Parents will be notified if students have a certain number of unexcused absences or an excessive number of excused absences.

Please remember: Parents/guardians must also come to the attendance office to sign out the student.

In Pleasanton Unified we believe it is imperative that your student attends school regularly. Lost classroom instructional time is difficult, if not impossible to replace. However, if you find that you need an extended absence of 5 or more school-days during the school year, you should request an Independent Study Contract.

The contract assists in preventing your child from falling behind and gives your child attendance credit. Below are the procedures for requesting an Independent Study Contract.

• Parents/Guardians notify school administration at least 10 school-days prior to the absence. School Administrators have the final decision to approve or not approve a request for a student to leave school on an independent study contract.
• Per California Education Code, Independent Study Contracts are only issued to students who will be absent for a minimum of 5 school-days. The maximum number of school-days the contract will be approved for cannot exceed 20 school-days. After 21 school-days, due to our impacted schools, PUSD cannot guarantee your child will return to the same classroom or the same school.
• If an emergency situation occurs while the student is on an approved Independent Study contract, please understand that we are unable to approve an extension to the existing contract. All efforts to notify the school, submit and return the work to the teachers should be made in accordance with the existing contract. The additional days of absence will be marked according to our District attendance policy. School and classroom placement will be discussed upon return to PUSD.
• Students must turn in work on, or before, the agreed contract date. If the student is on an Independent Study Contract that occurs during the end of a grading period, the student needs to submit the assignments to the teachers 3 days before the end of the grading period. Students may receive an incomplete on their report card or a lower grade in the class, if the assigned course work is not completed or returned on time.
• A student with disabilities, as defined in Ed Code 56026, is not eligible for an Independent Study Contract unless his/her Individualized Education Program (IEP) specifically provides for such participation (Ed Code 51745). Please discuss this with your child’s case manager.
• Students whose achievement level is below grade level standards may not be eligible.
• Students who have had an Independent Study Contract in the past and did not successfully complete the work or terms of the contract are not eligible for a new contract during the same school year.

There are no Independent Study agreements issued the first twenty (20) school-days of the year. If a student anticipates being absent for the first day or week of school, the school administrator should be informed prior to the first day of school. If you do not inform the school administrator of your child’s anticipated absence, school staff will likely assume that you have moved and will drop your student from enrollment within PUSD.

Please understand, in order to guarantee a space for your child at your school of residence, your child must return to school prior to or no later than Monday of the second week of school.

Also understand, if  your child is absent, our truancy letter notification and follow-up procedures will apply and may initiate the Student Attendance Review Team (SART) and/or Student Attendance Review Board (SARB) process.

There are no Independent Study agreements issued the last twenty (20) school-days of the year. PUSD will not approve Independent Study requests during the last 20 school-days of the school year. Existing policies related to assignments and grading will be upheld for excused and unexcused absences if taken during the final 20 days of the school year. If your child is absent the last twenty days, due to our impacted schools, we cannot guarantee your child will return to the same school the following school year.