Attendance
ATTENDANCE
Absences:
You may report a student's absence by contacting the main office at
(323) 248-2500, or email the attendance clerk
on the 1st day of absence and provide the following:
- Student's name and ID number
- Date(s) of absence
- Reason for the absence
- Parent/Guardian's name and contact number
If you cannot call the school on the first day of the absence, please send us a note upon the students' return to school with:
- Student’s name and ID number
- Date(s)of absence
- Reason for the absence
- Parent/Guardian's name, signature and contact number.
If your child will be out 3 days or more without a medical note, the parent/guardian will need to contact the school and speak with an administrator to allow for the days of absences.
Many parents are unaware that going “out of town” with their children during school is an unexcused absence, as are “family emergencies.” In both cases, planning ahead can avoid unexcused absences and possible prosecution by the District Attorney’s Office. It is Montebello Unified School District’s policy that we require a doctor’s note for three consecutive days of absence. [If we feel that your child is absent excessively (over 10%), we can require a doctor’s note for every absence.*]
State law states that absences are excused only if the child is ill or there is a death in the immediate family (1–3 day limit). All other absences are unexcused. Any tardy over 30 minutes, except for medical reasons, is also unexcused and will be marked as a truancy.
Excused Absences:
Students residing in California are required to attend school from age 6 to age 17 (EC 48200). The valid reasons that students may be excused from school attendance include the following:
- Personal illness (w/ a medical/dental note)
- Observing a religious holiday
- Court appearance for self
- Attending funerals for immediate family
In addition, regular full-time school attendance is a requirement for public assistance through the Cal-WORKS program and benefits may be reduced or stopped for student(s) non-attendance.
Truancy
If your child has 3 unexcused absences and/or tardies, he or she will be considered truant. After four or more unexcused absences or tardies, you could find yourself before a judge and paying a fine.
Early Release
If a student is being picked up early from school, the person:
- must come in to the office
- show their photo identification card
- be on the student’s emergency card
- sign the student out and complete the Student Release Log in its entirety.
Students will not be released 15 minutes before the end of the school day.