Attendance

How to handle absences, tardies, and half-day absences/early dismissals:

• Please notify the Attendance Office for absences via phone, email, or online EACH day of an absence, preferably before 11 am.  
  You are welcome to contact the teachers, but the attendance clerk must be notified as well.
• All tardies /absences are unexcused unless accompanied by:
  1. A doctor's note for a healthcare appointment.
  2. A parent's note and/or a phone call explaining the reason the student is tardy/absent (reason must be in accordance with District Policy for excused reasons).
• You MUST present a picture ID when checking out your student.
• Student drivers still need to sign in/out with attendance if they arrive late or depart early from campus. 
  ALL (including 18-year-old) students must have parent permission (email and phone call) to leave campus. 
• If someone other than the parent/guardian needs to check out your student, the Attendance Office MUST receive written permission for early dismissal (whether they are on the contact list or not).  Please include the student's name, grade, the legal name of the person picking up the student and their relationship with the student, the reason for leaving, and the specific date and time the student is being picked up.  This note needs to be emailed to the attendance clerk and include the parent/guardian picture ID. 
• Half-day absence/Early Dismissal – Generally, please allow 10 minutes for us to pull your student from class.  
• Notes are due the day the student returns to school.
• If your student attends Miller Career Center, please contact the attendance clerk at Miller to report the absence. MCTCattendance@katyisd.org  

How to Handle an Attendance Correction:

• Please contact the teacher as the first point of contact regarding a student's presence/absence/tardiness in class, especially if you have received an automated call from the District.  
  Contact the teacher on the same day if possible.
• For healthcare appointments and teacher corrections, please allow 24-48 hours to update the system.  Parents can access their student's attendance history on the Home Access Center to verify corrections.

Exemptions

• All absences count toward exemptions except for school-sponsored activity or UIL competitive activity.

Compulsory Attendance Notifications (CAN letters):

• A CAN letter will be mailed/emailed when your student has one or more of the following, including full or partial days (which include individual class periods):
  1. A student has three (3) or more unexcused absences in a four-week period.
  2. A student has ten (10) or more unexcused absences in a six-month period.
• If you receive a CAN letter you have only five (5) school days to resolve it with the school Attendance Clerk.

Failure to Attend School Notifications:

• A Failure to Attend School letter will be mailed/emailed when your student has excessive absences for personal illness for one or more of the following, including full or partial days:
  1. A student exceeds five (5) consecutive personal illness days
  2. A student has eight (8) cumulative personal illness days in a six-month period
• All future absences will require a statement from a physician or health clinic to be excused.
• Send a doctor's note when possible to avoid having too many personal illness absences.  Also, if your student has scheduled appointments, try not to make the appointment during the same class period each time.

Ways to contact the Attendance Office

For more details concerning attendance laws and violation consequences, please refer to the Discipline Management Plan and Student Code of Conduct booklet from the district.