To verify a student's absence, a parent or guardian must call the attendance voicemail line at 760-290-2211 - Option 1 or 760-290-2223 for Spanish.
When leaving a voice message, please include the following:
- Name of student (with spelling of the last name)
- Student ID number
- Date(s) of absence
- Specific reason of absence
- Name of person calling and relationship to student
* Students who turn 18 during their time at school are NOT allowed to excuse their absences, tardies, or release themselves from school. If you are interested in allowing your 18 year old to assume this responsibility, please have your student pick up an Eighteen-Year-Old Attendance Agreement form from the Attendance Office. This form must be completed by the student, the parent/guardian, and the Assistant Principal’s Office.
Per CA Dept. of Ed Code 48205, Excused absences are those due to an illness, a medical appointment, a court appearance, a death in the family, DMV/Passport Appointment or a religious holiday/event. All other reasons will be unexcused. We request a doctor's note for an illness lasting 3 or more days. Please email medical notes to [email protected].
Please notify us each day that your student is absent! Each absence from school must be reported to the Attendance Office by a parent/guardian within 72 hours, as required by California State law. All unverified absences are considered unexcused and will be marked as truancies until we hear from a parent/guardian.
Note: All messages regarding your student's attendance must be directed to the Attendance Office rather than your student's teacher(s). You may certainly take the extra step to notify the teacher(s), but it is in the Attendance Office that all records-keeping takes place.
Repeated unexcused absences for all or part of the school day, including absences from school without knowledge or consent of parents and/or unexcused tardiness, constitutes truancy under CA State Education Codes 48260-48273. Students who have 3 or more unexcused absences, tardies, or truancies from school may be referred to the School Attendance Review Board (SARB) for official and/or legal intervention.
Attendance is important!! Regular attendance and promptness is one of the most important requirements for success in high school. Students preparing themselves for their life work need to regard punctuality and attendance as fundamental for later success. Irregular attendance is a handicap in school and on the job. California State law requires pupils to attend their assigned classes every day school is in session. Education Code 49067 and SMUSD Board Policy 5113 “Absences and Excuses” authorize teachers to assign a failing grade to any student with more than 10 days of unexcused absences in a semester. Any student missing more than 30 days for any one class in a semester, whether excused or unexcused, will not receive credit for that class. All students are expected to be in class for final exams and state testing.
Send your student to school-- on time--every day!