Allowed Absences:
A pupil shall be excused from school when the absence is:
• Due to his or her illness.
• Due to quarantine under the direction of a county of city health officer.
• For the purpose of having medical, dental, optometric, or chiropractic services rendered.
• For the purpose of attending the funeral services of a member of his or her immediate family, so long as the absence is not more than one day if the service is conducted in California and not more than three days if the service is conducted outside California.
• For the purpose of jury duty in the manner provided by law.
• Due to illness or medical appointment during school hours of a child of whom the pupil is the custodial parent.
• For justifiable, personal reasons, including, but not limited to, an appearance in court, attendance at a funeral services, observance of a holiday or ceremony of his or her religion, attendance at religious retreats, or attendance at an employment conference, when the pupil’s absence has been requested in writing by the parent or guardian and approved by the principal or a designated representative pursuant to uniform standards established by the governing board.
• For the purpose of serving as a member of a precinct board for an election pursuant to Section 12302 of the Elections Code.
• For the purpose of spending time with a member of the pupil’s immediate family, who is an active duty member of the uniformed services, as defined in EC 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.
• For the purpose of attending the pupil’s naturalization ceremony to become a U.S. citizen.
School authorities may excuse any students in grades 7—12 from school to obtain confidential medical services without the consent of the student’s parent/ guardian. (EC 46010.1, EC49091.12)
A pupil absent from school under this section shall be allowed to complete all assignments and tests missed during the absence that can be reasonably provided and, upon satisfactory completion within a reasonable period of time, shall be given full credit therefore, the teacher of any class from which a pupil is absent shall determine the tests and assignments shall be reasonably equivalent to, but not necessarily identical to, the tests and assignments that the pupil missed during the absence. (EC48200, EC48205)
Chronic Absence:
Chronic absentee means a student who is absent for any reason on 10 15 percent or more of the school days in the school year, when the total number of days the student is absent is divided by the total number of days the student is enrolled and school was actually taught in the regular school days in the district, exclusive Saturdays and Sundays.
When a student has had 14 absences in the school year for illness, quarantine, or medical treatment, any further absences for such reasons shall be verified by a physician.
Truant means a student who is absent from school without a valid excuse three full days, or class periods equaling three full days, in one school year, or tardy or absent for more than any 30-minute period during the school day without a valid excuse on three occasions in one school year, or any combination thereof.
REMINDER: Following an absence, a student is required to bring a written excuse from home when returning to school. Illnesses, and doctor and dental appointments are considered excused absences. Absences without a written excuse are recorded an unexcused.