Attendance

Dear PAAL Community,

We want each student to succeed, and we plan to meet their needs onsite every day. PAAL is an in-person school system. Students must attend PAAL daily to earn credit. We do not offer virtual or asynchronous learning opportunities. Please see the PAAL counselor for details if you need a virtual learning site. Please see below for information related to student attendance and what to do in case of an absence, were one to occur. 

Importance of Attendance

• Positive attendance supports your student’s achievement.
• Every day a student attends school is also a lesson in responsibility and commitment.
• PAAL grades are every 4 1/2 weeks, and credit is earned every 9 weeks; it is crucial to attend every day not to fall behind.

Habitual Truancy/Chronic Absenteeism Explained

• A student becomes a habitual truant once they are truant from a class three times. Truancy may result in a referral to the Student Attendance Review Board (SARB).
• Every day a student misses school, they risk falling behind academically. The missed day is lost, and they spend the return day catching up.
• Chronic absenteeism is missing 10 percent or more of the school year, equivalent to 18 days out of a 180-day school year, regardless of whether absences are excused or unexcused.
• Chronic truancy refers to unverified absences. Students must maintain satisfactory attendance (over 90%) to participate in school activities, including senior activities.

Impact

• Absences may adversely affect class grades and participation in school activities and keep students out of certain activities.
• Seniors will receive Senior Letter notifications related to prom and Grad Night eligibility.
• Receiving truancy notices because of unverified absences denies juniors from activities related to dances, athletics, and extra-curricular participation.
• Possible referral to SARB for continued absences

PAAL procedures for Absence Notification

• When a teacher marks a student absent from school for one or more periods within the instructional day, our automated phone messaging system notifies parents via the primary phone number on file by School from Parent Vue. 

How Parents/Guardians May Review Attendance Activity

• Log onto ParentVue
• Or, request a print-out of your student’s “Period Student Attendance Profile” from the office.

How to Clear an Absence

Students/Parents/Guardians must communicate with the attendance office immediately following the absence to clear the absence. Per LBUSD School Board Policy, a verification must be received and recorded within five (5) days (s) of the student returning to school after the absence. Otherwise, the absence will remain unverified. 

Send your student to school with a legible note regarding their absence. The note must contain the following information:

1. Student name
2. Student ID number
3. Date/s of Absence
4. Reason for absence (see CA Ed Code 48205* below for excusable absences)
5. Period/s of absence
6. Signature of parent

How to Clear an Absence – after the 5-day Board Policy for an Excusable Note

PAAL will either have Saturday School and/or Community Service opportunities to clear unverified absences

CA Education Code 48205 for Excused Absences*

1. Illness (note from parent or doctor) (per LBUSD, after three days of illness, a doctor’s note is required) (District Policy of a maximum of 10 illness absences per year)
2. Quarantine under the direction of a county or city health officer (letter from county or city health officer)
3. Medical, dental, optometric, or chiropractic services rendered (doctor’s note)
4. Attending the funeral services of an immediate family member (one day if service is in CA, three days if service is outside of CA)
5. Jury duty (documentation from court officer)
6. Illness or medical appointment during school hours of a child of whom the pupil is the custodial parent (doctor’s note)
7. Appearance in court, observance of a holiday or ceremony of their religion, attendance at religious retreats, or attendance at an employment conference (documentation from court, documentation from employer)
8. Immediate military family on leave

Please Note: California Education requires that absences for reasons not listed above are considered unexcused and include, but are not limited to: parent request, vacation, car broke down, overslept, a family member is ill, babysitting, funeral services for a friend or non-immediate family member (aunt, uncle, cousin, etc.)

Extenuating Circumstances for Extended Absences

Please speak to the administrator for extended absences. Rarely granted, extended absences require administrator approval due to adherence to the Education Code.

LBUSD Truancy Notification Process

The district generates truancy letters monthly for students not attending class/school. For an understanding of what truancy is, here is information from LBUSD:  

Truant = 3 or more unexcused/unverified absences, late, or early outs of 30+ minutes in a school year

Example: Student A is unexcused for period 5 Monday, unverified all day absence Tuesday, and late 30+ minutes on Thursday. These are considered three truancies and would qualify for a letter.

Example: Student B is unverified for periods 1, 2, and 5 on Monday and has an unexcused all-day absence on Tuesday. These are considered two truancies, and there is no letter generated.

Letter generation: letters from LBUSD will trigger with accrued truancies of three or more.

Example: Student A has three truancies for the third school month three and zero truancies for school months 4 and 5. Then six truancies for the seventh school month. Parent/Guardian of Student A would receive two letters, one for the third month of the year and a second letter for the seventh month of the year.t