Texas Compulsory Attendance Law (The 90% Attendance Rule)

At Boyd, we call this “Loss of Credit.”

To receive credit for a course, a student must attend at least 90 percent of the days the class is offered each semester.  For Boyd students, this means that a student is only allowed 9 absences per semester.

On the day of the 10th absence in any single class period, the student begins to lose credit for that course. Even if the student receives a passing grade for the course, he/she will not receive credit for the course due to attendance.

A student who has placed himself/herself in this position can request a plan, approved by the principal, that allows the student to make up the hours in violation of the compulsory attendance law, as well as fulfill the instructional requirements for the class.

• This request can only be made if the student has attended at least 75% of the days the class if offered each semester, which equates to no more than 22 absences in any single course per semester.

• If the student successfully completes the plan, the attendance committee shall review the student’s entire attendance record and the reasons for absences and shall determine whether to award credit or a final grade.

• In reviewing the absences, the attendance committee will use the following guidelines:

  • The committee will consider extenuating circumstances.

  • The committee will consider the acceptability and authenticity of documented reasons for the student’s absences.

  • The committee will consider whether the absences were for reasons over which the student or the student’s parent could exercise any control.

  • The committee will consider the extent to which the student has completed all assignments, mastered the essential knowledge and skills, and maintained passing grades in the course or subject.

If the student fails to successfully complete the plan, or when a student’s attendance drops below 75 percent of the days the class is offered, the student will not receive credit for the course and must retake the course. At this point, the student/parent/guardian need to reach out to his/her house counselor to see how to get signed up to retake the course.

An Example of this particular scenario could be:

A student has missed 1st period 15 times in the fall semester. The student is only allowed 9 absences, and on the 10th has violated the state compulsory attendance law. The student can request a plan with a campus administrator to make up the 6 hours he/she is deficient (15 absences – 9 allowed = 6 hours owed). In most circumstances, a student will be allowed to attend tutorials, study hall/detentions, credit recovery, etc. to make up minute-for-minute each hour owed. This particular student will document the 6 hours made up on a Credit Recovery Log and turn into the campus administrator the plan was created with. If the student fails to make up the 6 hours or continues to have absences following the creation of the plan, he or she will not receive credit for the course.

Students will be offered the opportunity to Make Up Hours in the following ways:

1. During tutorials with any of their assigned teachers before or after school (not during lunch or during the instructional day).

2. During After School Detention (ASD) on Tuesdays & Thursdays from 2:45-3:45 in Room H100. There is a late bus for students who need to stay on these two days. Please see your house principal for details on riding the late bus.

3. During Friday Night Live (FNL) on Fridays from 2:45-6:45 in Room H100.

4. During Saturday School on Saturday mornings from 8 a.m.-12 p.m. in Room H100.

VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: It is possible for a student to lose credit in one or more courses because attendance for Loss of Credit does not require a full day absence, it is determined by single period absences in individual courses.

In high school, courses are credit-bearing and needed for graduation. A student must attend 90% of the class in order to get credit for the course. If the credit is denied, this will also likely impact the ability to graduate if the course is not made up.

When a student is denied credit for a course, an Asterisk (*) is placed next to that particular course on a student’s final transcript indicating loss of credit.

VERIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT REQUESTS: Please also note the campus may not issue a Verification of Enrollment to a student to secure a Driver License/Learner Permit, if the student has not attended school 90% of the time.

Information cited directly from the VOE form/Texas DPS website: