Compulsory Attendance

In Texas, children who are 6, or who are younger than 6, but have previously been enrolled in 1^st grade, and not yet 18, are required to attend school, unless exempted by law.  School employees investigate and report violations of the state compulsory attendance laws.  Education Code Sections 25.085 and 25.087 require a person who is 18 or older, and is enrolled in public school, to attend school each day.  If a person who is 18 or older and is enrolled in public school has more than five consecutive unexcused absences in one semester, the school district may revoke the person’s enrollment for the remainder of the year.

Any student that has been absent for 20 consecutive unexcused school days may be withdrawn from school.

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Promotion/Credit Rule

In order to receive credit in a class, students must be in attendance for not fewer than 90% of the days the class is offered. (Texas Education Code Section 25.092)

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Students who are not in compliance with the 90% attendance rule, as required by law, at the end of the current semester, may petition the school attendance committee to grant full credit.  The student’s grade will be based upon their academic performance in the classroom as documented and determined by the individual classroom teacher.. 

The attendance committee members will base their decision on the criteria established in FEC (LOCAL).

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Appeal 

A parent or student may appeal the decision of the attendance committee in accordance with FNG (LOCAL), beginning at Level Three.

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Alternative Ways to Regain Credit 

The District shall provide alternative ways for students to make up work or regain credit lost because of absences.  This includes, but is not limited to:

• Completing additional assignments as specified by the attendance committee or the teacher.

• Satisfying time-on-task requirements before and/or after school.

• Attending tutorial sessions as scheduled.

• Attending Friday School or Saturday School.

• Maintaining the attendance standards for the rest of the semester.

• Taking an examination to earn credit. 

(MISD Board Policy, FEC (LOCAL))

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Types of Absences

Excused Absences and Extenuating Circumstances

The District will evaluate the following as extenuating circumstances for the purpose of granting credit for a class in accordance with the guidelines outlined in FEC (LOCAL):

• Personal illness, illness or death in the family, quarantine.

• Severe weather or poor road conditions making travel dangerous, as recognized and allowed by the District.

• Absence as a result of a field trip or extracurricular activity.

• Day(s) of suspension.

• Participation in court proceedings or investigation of child abuse/neglect.

• A migrant student’s late enrollment or early withdrawal.

• Days missed as a runaway.

• Completion of a competency-based program for at-risk students.

• Late enrollment or early withdrawal or a student placed in, or having resided in a community care home by the Texas Youth Commission.

• Teen parent absence to care for his or her child.

• Participation in a substance abuse rehabilitation program.

• Religious holy day activities and travel time, as provided by state law.

• Homelessness, as defined in federal law.

Unexcused Absences 

• Absence(s) not identified as “excused”, whether or not the parents have authorized the absence.

• Absence(s) from school or from any class without permission.

• Absence(s) not documented with a note from the parent, a doctor note, or a dentist note.

Part Day Absences 

• Students, who must leave school during the school day, must bring a note from their parent that morning and sign out of school through the attendance office.

• Students who become ill or are injured during the school day should, with permission, report to the school nurse.  The nurse will decide whether or not the student should be sent home and will notify the parent.  Upon returning to school, the student must present to the attendance office a note, signed by a parent, that describes the reason for the absence.

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Regaining Credit Due to Absence

Students must complete all of the school and class work that they missed because of an absence.  Teacher(s) may assign additional work to ensure students who have been absent have sufficient opportunity to master the essential knowledge and skills or to meet subject or course requirements. The assignments shall be based on the instructional objectives for the subject or course and may provide greater depth of subject matter than routine make-up work.

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Make-up Work

The time lost by absences may be made up by attending before or after school detentions and/or tutorials.  This will be determined by the student’s individual principal, and it will not eliminate the need for the student to complete all written work that is required by the individual teacher.  All make-up work and detention or tutorial time must be completed by the end of the nine-week grading period in which the absence(s) occurred.

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