Class attendance critical for local students
By Sandy Morris
As AISD students have begun their second semester of the 2020-2021 school year, students and parents are being reminded of the importance of school attendance due to the Texas Compulsory Attendance Law which mandates that students attend a minimum number of minutes each semester to receive credit for courses taken.
Even with various learning options due to COVID and the surge of the illness after the holiday season, students are still required by state law to be in attendance at least 90 percent of all planned days per school year to receive credit.
AISD recently released an attendance announcement to all parents and students in the district reminding them of the importance of daily school attendance, as it is vital to academic success.
Attendance is taken each period, and a student is required to be in each class a certain number of minutes in order to be counted present and receive credit for that particular course.
In an effort to be more accurate with attendance codes, the district has made adjustments for the remainder of the school year.
Students will be given a deadline of seven days following an absence to turn in any notes, such as a parent note or doctor’s note, in order to have their absence excused.
In order for students to be exempt from their final exam, they cannot have any unexcused absences/absences without notes.
Parents and students are reminded to regularly check attendance in the gradebook to ensure there are no errors.
New absence codes also have been added to help communicate more accurately between the school and the student/parents.
Codes include the following: A=Excused/note from parent, C=Court Appearance, D=Driver’s License, E=Extracurricular, H=Higher Education-limited to two days, J=ISS or DAEP, M=Medical Absence, N=Excused-Doctor’s note to stay home, T=Tardy, and U=Unexcused Absence.
Students or parents with questions about the adjustments to the attendance codes should contact their appropriate school campus.
