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Attendance Line

Is Your Child Absent?

 

A parent or guardian must clear all absences with a note or a telephone call to the  Attendance Office within 72 hours of the initial absence.

 

Ms. Karimah Clark 
Attendance Clerk

Phone: (510)-723-3925 Ext. 35101

 

Please provide the following information:

  1. Student's full name
  2. Room Number
  3. Date(s) of absence
  4. Reason for absence
  5. Your name and relationship to the student
  6. Phone number where you may be reached

When a student has 10 absences in a school year for medical reasons, schools may require that any further absences for illness be verified by a certified healthcare professional or authorized school personnel such as a school nurse.

Excessive absences will require proof from a doctor saying that the student has a health problem and should be absent or late so frequently.

 

Parents or Guardians:  If you are sick, your child still needs to attend school. Your illness does not excuse your child from attending. We are all sick at times so plan ahead for these days. Get a neighbor, relative, or spouse to take your child to school and pick him or her up. 

 

Attendance

 

School district policy and state law require daily on-time school attendance for students between the ages of 6 and 18 or until high school graduation or equivalent. 

Students are expected to arrive at school on time. Students who are repeatedly absent or tardy to school will be referred to the school district's Child Welfare and Attendance Office.

For information on student truancy and attendance letters, please read the section "Truancy".

Excused Absences

The ONLY valid excuses for student absences from school are defined by state law as:

  • Student illness or quarantine
  • Student at medical/dental appt. for him/her (Bring a note from the doctor's office)
  • Student at funeral for immediate family (mother, father, sister, brother, grandparents) living in the student's household, so long as the absence is not more than 1 day if the service is conducted in California and not more than 3 days if the service is conducted outside California
  • Court appearances (Need documentation showing that the student was required to be present on a specific day and time)

All other absences are UNEXCUSED.

General excuses for students will not be accepted: e.g. "Any days my student is/was out are all because of illness."

Late Arrival

Students who are not in class before the 8:15 bell are considered late. They must report to the office. We cannot excuse tardies for oversleeping, car troubles, heavy traffic, etc.

Early Student Pick-Up

If you are picking up your child early from school, the only valid excuses are if your child has a medical or dental appointment. You must bring a note from the doctor's office the following school day. When picking up students, please plan your time to comply with these requirements. Anyone picking up students must:

  • be on the emergency card
  • have photo identification
  • enter the office and personally sign out each student

When at all possible we take the parent/guardian's word for the student's absence. When absences are too frequent and they interfere with the education of the student, then documentation will be required for further absences.

Exceptions are made on occasion, but these need to be brought to the attention of the principal and authorized by the principal.

Truancy & Attendance Letters

Truancy is a serious offense at Treeview and will be dealt with severely. Parents may be fined and referred to the District Attorney for serious truancy offenses.

Hayward Unified School District uses an automated program to monitor attendance and notify parents/legal guardians when students are considered truant.

  • First Notification Letter: To be classified as a truant, a student has had three (3) unexcused absences or three (3) tardies of 30 minutes or more. Education Code Section 48260.5 requires that the parent/guardian be notified by a letter informing them of what can occur if their child is not in school.
  • Second Notification Letter: Truancy Meeting. If improvements in attendance have not been made, then a 2nd letter will be generated. The 2nd letter will have a time and date that you will need to meet with the Principal or Assistant Principal and Child Welfare and Attendance Outreach Worker to discuss why your student has been absent without valid reason.
  • School Attendance Review Board (SARB): If all of the above has failed and your child is still not attending school, then your child will be referred for a School Attendance Review Board (SARB) hearing at Hayward Unified School District.
  • Truancy Court: Parents or legal guardians may be referred to the Alameda County District Attorney's Office if the  student's attendance does not improve after the SARB hearing. By state law, if a child is truant, a parent or guardian can be held legally responsible.

 

Short Term Independent Study

Short Term Independent Study (IS) needs to be a minimum of 5 days.

Short Term Independent Study (IS) can be a maximum of:

  • Grades K-3: One Week (5 days)

  • Grades 4-6: Two Weeks (10 days)

When a family knows in advance that a child will miss more than 5 consecutive days due to bereavement, family responsibilities, a long-term illness, or vacation/travel, parents and guardians have the option of requesting a Voluntary Independent Study packet to help students keep up with class work and avoid truancy penalties.

 

  • Independent Study is voluntary, it cannot be required.
  • To be eligible, a student must have satisfactory academic progress and attendance.
  • Independent Study may be denied if:
    • Student has 5 or more unexcused absences
    • Student has missed more than 10% of school and is Chronically Absent ( Federal)
  • Independent Study may not be approved the first and the last week of school.
  • Independent Study requests must be made at least 1 week in advance to allow the teacher time to prepare the homework packet.
  • Students, parents/guardians, teacher, and principal all must sign the Independent Study Contract in person in advance for the contract to be valid.
  • If extra days are requested, then an extension must be completed before the Independent Study is to begin. Hayward District-Student and Family Services must approve all extensions; Principal and Assistant Principal may not authorize extensions.
  • Independent Study packets are designed by your student's teacher; it may contain reading assignments, worksheets, and/or writing assignments.
  • All assigned work will be turned in on the first day of the student's return to school. There is no makeup time allowed. No attendance credit may be given for late or missed assignments.
  • Failure to complete this contract may result in unexcused absences and may be referred to the Student Attendance Review Board.