Attendance

REPORTING AN ABSENCE

Email:

 Send to the appropriate Sub School Secretary or upload the note in Skyward with:

• Student Name
• ID#
• Date and periods missed
• Reason for absence
• Sent a doctor or parent note within 3 days of student’s return to school.

Submitting Excuse Notes for Absences:

Students can also bring in a note signed by the parents/guardians to the appropriate office secretary located in the cafeteria.

Questions or concerns regarding your student’s attendance?

For questions about Attendance Policies, please see the PISD Attendance Policy link above.

For questions about your student's absence, please contact the corresponding student services secretary for your student by alpha below.

Checking In/Out

Students are NOT allowed to leave class without a permission slip from their sub-school (parent notes should be turned in in the morning, during lunch, or between classes; a parent note is NOT a permission slip out of class)

If parents/guardians know in advance that they are going to take their student out of school, it is best practice to: 

• Write a note and send that note to the school with the student
  • Have your student turn in the note to their sub-school in the morning 
    • The sub-school secretary will write them a pass to leave at the appropriate time
    • At designated time to leave, the student will show their teacher the pass from sub-school  to leave class
  • Student must go to their sub-school  and sign out
    • The student is then free to leave
  • Upon return to campus, the student should bring in the doctor’s note/college visit form/etc. to submit to excuse their absence 
• Parents can also email the sub-school secretary in the morning letting them know about a planned appointment. As long as there is adequate time, the secretary will make sure the student gets the pass that allows them to leave class. 

As long as the sub-school has a note or an email from the students’ parents or guardian in advance, the student will receive a pass from their sub-school that allows them to leave class. The student is able to sign themselves out and meet their parents outside. Parents do not need to come inside to sign out their child. 

• Parents are welcome to sign their child out of school, however:
  • but without prior notice, parents should expect to wait up to 20 to 25 minutes for their student to be notified with a permission slip to leave class.
  • The student will then sign out and then be allowed to leave.

(Again, students are not allowed to leave class because their parent is here. The student may only leave class with a note from their sub-school.)

If a student returns during the same school day, he/she should sign themselves back in and turn in their excuse note at that time. If a student returns the next day, he/she should make sure to submit their excuse note to their sub-school at that time. 

In all cases, the student MUST sign out with their sub-school before leaving campus.

College Visits

A college visit will be an excused absence if, when students return, they provide the sub-school office a document issued by the college on college letterhead with the student's name and date on it as proof of their visit. Absences related to college visits will not be counted towards final exam exemptions.

Excused Absences

Absences due to acceptable reasons are considered excused. Acceptable reasons include personal illness, death or illness in the immediate family, entire school day medical/dental appointments, quarantine, weather or road conditions making travel dangerous or other causes approved one week in advance by the principal. All other absences are considered unexcused. After the seventh absence medical notes may be required for all subsequent absences.

Field Trip Late Work Policy

Many Plano West Senior High School students participate in school-sponsored activities that will result in excused absences from school for competitions and field trips. While such absences are excused, students are expected to be aware of a few important points:

Ultimately, it is the student’s responsibility to contact the teacher prior to the scheduled absence in order to obtain assignments. A field trip form is an important document that must be completed one week prior to the field trip to ensure communication between the student and the teacher. Every student knows that he/she will be missing in advance, so he/she should plan ahead.

Loss of Credit and Appeals

Loss of credit for any class occurs when the number of absences violates the state requirement. This number varies by semester. Loss of credit may be appealed at the end of the semester, and each appeal will be judged individually based on circumstances, make-up time served, and documentation. All unexcused time for the semester must be made up before credit can be regained for any class. Continued attendance, with or without credit, will be required.

Make-up Hours

Non-disciplinary make-up time will be assigned in Saturday School sessions and/or detentions. Failure to serve make-up time will have a negative impact on any appeal to have credit reinstated. Tutorials are also an option for making up time.

All make-up hours are pre-approved and coordinated by the student's alpha Assistant Principal.

Medical/Dental Appointments

Appointments that require a student to miss only part of a school day will not count as absences if students check out with parent permission and provide proper documentation from medical offices on their return.

Religious Holidays

Religious holidays will not be considered absences based on the district approved religious holiday calendar.

Attendance Requirements

State law requires that a student must attend class 90% of the scheduled school days per semester to receive credit and to receive a TEA form required for driver's license.

Truancy Discipline

Skipping school will result in disciplinary consequences in addition to make-up hours being assigned. Truancy warning letters may be issued for students with questionable attendance, and referrals to Plano Attendance Review Board. Truancy Court may result from subsequent unexcused absences.

Unexcused Absences

Students receive a zero on all assignments and tests missed.

Unexcused with Permission

Absences, which are not excused but are unavoidable, may be classified as unexcused with permission. While these count against loss of credit and senior exemption, 100% may be earned on makeup work. In order to make up and receive credit for work missed because of a planned unexcused absence, a student must submit a written notice from a parent to his/her subschool one-week in advance of the planned absence. When no prior notification is given, students will receive a zero for work or tests due to the absence.