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.

*Section 48260 of the Educational Code states:

(a) A pupil subject to compulsory full-time education or to compulsory continuation education who is absent from school without a valid excuse three full days in one school year or tardy or absent for more than a 30-minute period during the school day without a valid excuse on three occasions in one school year, or any combination thereof, shall be classified as a truant and shall be reported to the attendance supervisor or to the superintendent of the school district.

(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), it is the intent of the Legislature that school districts shall not change the method of attendance accounting provided for in existing law and shall not be required to employ period-by-period attendance accounting.

(c) For purposes of this article, a valid excuse includes, but is not limited to, the reasons for which a pupil shall be excused from school pursuant to Sections 48205 and 48225.5 and may include other reasons that are within the discretion of school administrators and, based on the facts of the pupil's circumstances, are deemed to constitute a valid excuse. Ca. Educ. Code § 48260Amended by Stats 2012 ch 432 (AB 2616),s 1, eff. 1/1/2013.