Westside High School Attendance Policies

Credit where credit is due
Attendance is a minefield and you can destroy the credit you’ve earned in a course simply by accumulating too many absences. The state requires you to be here 90% of the time, so read on to avoid a costly mistake.

If You are Absent
Students must bring a note from a parent/guardian to the Attendance Office (A119) explaining the absence. Do NOT give the note to your teacher, dean, coach, bus driver, friend or anyone else you cross paths with. You have 3 days to bring in the note upon returning to school. The note needs to include the student’s first and last name, grade, date(s) of absence and reason for absence. The note must also be dated with a parent/guardian signature and a phone number for verification. The Attendance Office will maintain a sign in sheet when students drop off notes and provide a receipt acknowledging that the note was turned in. Receipt of a note, does not reflect the absence as excused or unexcused.  If at all possible, we will attempt to make parent contact if the absence is inexcusable. Students will be allowed one day per each day of absence to make up work once returning to school. 

WORD TO THE WISE
Many parents assume that if their child leaves early for an appointment/illness with a parent note or permission, that the absence will be excused.  In fact, we must have appropriate documentation upon the student’s return back to school!

Excused Absences
Absences are excused for personal illness, sickness or death in the family, quarantine, weather or road conditions making travel dangerous as publicized by HISD, participation in school activities with permission of the principal, juvenile court proceeding documented by a probation officer, approved college visitation, HISD recognized religious holy days, and doctor or therapy appointment (a doctor’s note is required). Please note that any absence for personal illness for 3 or more days requires a doctor’s note to be considered excused.  All other absences are unexcused.

Common Unexcused Absences
Car trouble, oversleeping, traffic, metro bus issues, being out of town, and trips not sponsored by HISD/Westside are all examples of unexcused absences. We realize some circumstances are beyond your control but the district does permit 5 unexcused absences in the Fall 2007 semester and 7 in the Spring 2008 semester (per semester course) to allow for occurrences such as these. Extreme bad luck not withstanding, this should keep you out of serious trouble.

Why You Need to Know This
Now to the heart of the matter; here’s the attendance policy you must be aware of or risk losing credit for a course, regardless of grade!

If a student exceeds the allowable number of unexcused absencesin a semester high school course (that would be 6 or more in the fall and 8 or more in the spring as noted above), credit will be denied as designated by an asterisk (*) on the grade report.

The good news: there are some exemptions which are not recorded as absences, e.g. school approved activities (maximum 5 per course per semester) and pre-approved college visits, observance of religious holy days and documented doctor’s appointments if the student commences class or returns to school on the same day. (TEC § 25.087) 

WARNING
TEC §25.092 states, “a student may not be given credit for a class unless the student is in attendance 90% of the semester days.” Do not risk losing credit due to excessive absences!

Credit Appeal Policy
Credit Appeal is not a quick fix for students who fail to follow procedure (I needed a note?) or didn’t realize the consequences of hitting the snooze button one too many times. There are, however, legitimate extenuating circumstances and this policy is designed to reinstate credit in those instances. Suffice it to say that you don’t want to go down this road if you can avoid it!

The credit appeal process is initiated by the student/parent and requires a formal written petition requesting credit be awarded in spite of excessive unexcused absences. The Faculty Council for Student Standards oversees the credit appeal process and approves/denies submitted credit appeals. We cannot stress enough the importance of parents/guardians being aware of grade and attendance reporting which are distributed every three weeks.  The Credit Appeal Form is available from the deans and the current form will be posted online at www.westsidewolves.org each semester when available.

Credit Appeal Form
The Form includes student and course information. Parent/guardian signature is required, and this form must be submitted to the main office within 2 weeks of the report card distribution or as publicized by administration.

Forms will not be processed without a copy of the report card.  Completion of service hours must be accurately documented and submitted to main office within 6 weeks of report card distribution for the current semester.  A letterhead from the organization must be attached to the form as well.  Incomplete forms or unverifiable service hours will not be approved.  No photocopies or faxes will be accepted.

An important goal for Westside High School is to attain an exemplary attendance rate among our student body as it is directly tied to increased student accountability, student achievement, and state funding. To that end, we have employed a precise credit appeal policy.  The intent of the policy is to encourage students who exceed the absence limit and are in position to be denied credit stay in school while maintaining high standards among our student body.

If you are Tardy/Late
First of all, you must understand the definition of “tardy.” If you arrive in class after the bell rings but within the first 10 minutes, you are tardy. If you are more than 10 minutes late to class, you are considered absent.  Therefore, the procedure you must follow differs accordingly.

If a student does not make it to class by the time the bell rings (but within 10 minutes), report to your dean’s office. You will receive a detention notice and a permit to class. One tardy equals one detention.
If you are more than 10 minutes late arriving to class, you must report to the Attendance Office (A119), NOT your dean’s office, as you have already been marked “absent.”  If your tardiness is due to any of the excused absences above, bring a note. The Attendance Office will issue a permit to class. While transportation problems are NOT considered excused absences, if an HISD bus is late to school an excused pass will be issued.

Leaving School Early
If you have an appointment, submit a note to the Attendance Office before 1st period on the day of the request. The note needs to include the student’s first and last name, grade, date of the early dismissal request, time the student is to be released and reason. The note must also include a parent/guardian signature and phone number which we will call to verify the note before the student is released. All students must sign out in the Attendance Office and receive a permit prior to leaving campus.

STUDENTS
Be aware that if you leave campus without signing out, even if a parent has given permission, you will be subject to disciplinary action.

If you feel ill during school, ask your teacher for a permit and report to the Nurse’s Clinic (A121). The nurse will determine if you should be released and will contact your parent or guardian. If need be, your parent may authorize a relative to pick you up; the person must be listed on your records or written authorization must be provided. This can be faxed to 281-920-8198. Please note that if a student leaves the school without first going to the nurse, classes missed for the remainder of the day will be unexcused even if they return to school with a valid excuse.

No student (including those 18 years old) may leave school without parental consent.

Campus Visits
If you need to leave school early or will be absent because you are visiting a college or university, you must complete a Campus Visit Release Form (available in your dean’s office). Several signatures are required on this form so please plan ahead. Forms must be completed and submitted to the Attendance Office 48 hours in advance of the absence.

Verification of Enrollment (VOE)
You will need this form to acquire a driver’s permit or license. You may request a VOE form in the Attendance Office (A119); approved requests are filled in 24 hours. You will NOT be approved if you have more than 10 unexcused absences during the last school semester and can reapply at the end of the next semester. (You’ve got bigger problems if this is the case; better go back and read about loss of credit!) Unexcused absences for the VOE are counted using ADA data, school attendance taken during second period.

WORD TO THE WISE
The state mandates the requirements for issuing a VOE.  Unlike our credit appeal policy, the school does not have flexibility or discretion where the VOE is concerned.  A student will have to wait until the next semester to demonstrate an attendance record that meets the requirements for the issuance of a VOE.