ATTENDANCE PROCEDURES
High School Credit
Student's must be in class 90% of the time the class is in session. (Seat Time)
Student's cannot have more than 17 absences in a full year course to receive credit.
If a student exceeds the 17 absences in a High School Credited course:
Whether an absence is Excused or Unexcused does NOT waive the 90% seat time requirement with accordance to "The Minimum Attendance for Class Credit Law" (section 25.092).
Attendance Recovery (A.R.), students may attend attendance recovery upon scheduling with the teacher of record. A.R. is offered at the discretion of the teacher of record, SSF, or Academic Dean.
Students must attend A.R. for absences which exceed 17, the allotted amount. Please note: if a student does not complete the attendance recovery in its entirety, credit will be denied regardless of a passing grade for the course.
The student must make arrangements for transportation, (buses will not be available for these circumstances). To assist in the monitoring of student attendance you may want to check your child's report card at the end of each grading period to view the total amount of absences in their HS Credit Courses. Also, HAC is a valuable online resource to review attendance and grades.
What To Do When Absent
- How can I get the absence coded other than Unexcused Absence?
- Send a parent or doctor note (or other approved documentation) upon students return to campus. Attendance notes can also be emailed to bernal.attendance@nisd.net.
- How do I contact the teacher if I believe the incorrect attendance code was used?
- You can always email! The typical email format for NISD employees is firstname.lastname@nisd.net (John Smith's would be john.smith@nisd.net). Contact the teacher to discuss the absence; the teacher has up to 5 days to edit attendance errors. The Attendance Office will not remove a teacher attendance code without the proper paperwork submitted by the teacher.
- What if I was at a school event, but was marked absent?
- Contact the teacher sponsor or coach of the organization you were with on that day. The coach/sponsor can verify your attendance and notify the Attendance Office.
- Why is the school calling parents/guardians and saying that I'm absent when I'm with my organization or team at an event?
- Teachers are directed to mark a student absent if the student is not in the classroom. If a student is attending an event (field trip, athletic game, etc), the student will be marked absent by the teacher, which prompts an automatic call-out to the parent. Once the Attendance Office receives documentation of student attendance for the event, student attendance will be updated with a School Business, SB, code. This typically takes 1-2 school days.
- What if I was marked absent on a testing day?
- You will be marked absent by your teacher, but the Attendance Office will update the attendance code to TST once testing rosters are received (usually 1-2 days)
Tardy Policy
- First bell rings at 8:35 a.m. Tardy bell rings at 8:40 a.m., all students should be in their classes by this time.
- Reporting to class late without an excused pass:
- If a student misses instruction due to an unexcused late arrival or early removal from campus, it may be considered a partial day absence and a violation of the compulsory attendance law.Arriving late to school.
- Continuous tardies After the 3rd tardy in any class, the appropriate disciplinary actions will be taken based on the Student Code of conduct.
Truancy
Student is absent from one or more classes without a valid excuse, as defined by Texas law; i.e. unexcused absence. An Attendance Warning Notice (AWN) can be issued as soon as a student has 3 unexcused absences in one or more classes (TEC Sec 25.087), within a four-week period. Once a warning notice is issued, all absences must be accompanied by a doctor's note or excused by the campus school administrator (TEC Sec 25.086). Pursuant to TEC Sec. 21.0915, school officials will initiate the development of an individualized attendance plan or behavior improvement plan to address student conduct related to truancy or non-attendance. The continued absence of the student without a doctor's written excuse or an absence excused by the campus school administrator may result in a referral to truancy court for the student and/or the parent/guardian (TEC Sec 25.093 & TFC 65.003).