Attendance

Texas Attendance Policy

The state compulsory attendance law requires that a student between the ages of 6 and 18 attend school each day for the entire period that a school’s program of instruction is provided. School employees must investigate, report, and if necessary, prosecute violations of the state compulsory attendance law.

Denial of Credit Due to Absences

The Texas Education Code 25.092 requires all students to be in attendance 90% of the time in a school year in order to receive credit in a class. Any student who is absent (excused & unexcused) more than 10% of the class days, for anything other than a school related absence, will automatically be denied credit. For further questions please contact the WHS attendance office.

Exemptions to Compulsory Attendance

Observing a religious holiday.
Attending a required court appearance.
Appearance at a governmental office to complete paperwork in connection with the student’s application for U.S. citizenship.
Serving as an election clerk.
A U.S. Naturalization Ceremony for the student.

For more details, see the following topics.

Acceptable Excuse Notes

Students who have been absent for any reason (other than school-related) and for any portion of the day, must bring a doctor or parent note to the Attendance Office, in the black mailbox outside of room 202, within three school days of returning to class. A parent notes may also be submitted through Skyward under Family Access and the Attendance tab.

*Note: the school reserves the right to refuse any documentation that is deemed unacceptable*

Doctor’s note - faxed or submitted to the attendance office.
Documentation from a court of law or other government entity that student was required to be present for - faxed or submitted to the attendance office.
A handwritten note with a parent signature, submitted within three days of absence.
Only seven notes will be accepted per semester.
Skyward Family Access - parent note(s) only.

No phone calls or emails can be accepted in order to excuse a student absence. Notes may be verified for authenticity. Any note that is found to be forged may result in disciplinary action.

All notes must include:

Reason for the absence
Date(s) of absence
The phone number for verification
Student’s school ID number
Name and contact information of doctor or court (for doctor and court visits)

**If a student leaves early for any reason, they must still bring a note to get the absence excused. This includes if the parent checked them out in the front office.

***Wylie High may refuse to accept parent notes as excused absences if absences are excessive as determined by the school administration.

Adding Notes into Skyward

College Visits

Visits to colleges or universities are permitted for juniors and seniors and will be classified as excused absences under the following guidelines:

Students are only allowed up to two days excused absence per school year for college visits.
The student must provide an official document for verification of the visit from the college or university to the attendance office within three days of the student’s return to school. Examples of this document include but are not limited to something on letterhead from the accredited institution of higher learning confirming the student’s attendance at the visit, an email confirmation of meeting with school personnel from the college or university, or an official agenda of the orientation.

Please contact the attendance clerk with any questions PRIOR to your visit.

Partial Day Absence

A temporary absence from an appointment with a health care professional for the student or the student’s child will be excused if the student commences or returns to school on the same day of the appointment. To be eligible for a medical excuse:

Student must attend at least one class on the day of the appointment.
Turn in documentation from the health care facility to the attendance office within 3 school days of returning to school.
If you have been absent for any reason, not including school-related, and for any portion** of the day you must bring a note to the Attendance Office (room 305) within 3 school days of returning to class.

Returning to School After an Absence

Upon returning to school after an absence, students must bring an acceptable excuse note (please see above), giving the reason for the absence, date(s) of the absence(s), and a telephone number for verification.

A student who is absent and does not provide proper documentation within 72 hours upon his/her return to school will have the absence recorded as unexcused.

When a student’s absence for personal illness exceeds five (5) consecutive days, the student shall present a statement from a doctor or health clinic verifying the illness or condition that caused the student’s extended absence from school. (District Local Code).

For general questions or concerns, please contact WHS.Attendance@wylieisd.net.

Melissa Sellers

School: 972.429.3123

Jason Falco

School: 972.429.3104

Check Out Procedures

When students first arrive on the school campus, they are considered in attendance for the day and may not leave the campus without authorization. No student may leave the campus without signing out and receiving a permit from the attendance office. As an exception, juniors and seniors have the privilege of leaving campus during lunch period.

School officials have supervisory authority of all students while on school property (including school transportation). To ensure the safety of all students, it is necessary they remain on campus all day, with the exception of certain circumstances that are listed below. Should an emergency arise requiring the student to leave the campus, he/she must have a pass from an authorized administrator or the Attendance Office.

In the event that a parent needs to take his/her child off-campus, the parent needs to sign the student out through the front office.
Students leaving school during school hours must have a written note from their parents, which must be turned into the attendance office within three days. The students must obtain permission to leave from the front office and a record of their leaving will be recorded in that office.
Students who leave campus without school permission may face disciplinary action and possible suspension of parking privileges for a specified time.
All visitors are required to report to the main office and obtain a visitor’s pass. No one without authorized business is allowed to remain in the building or on the school campus.

Students who know in advance that they will need to leave campus during the school day (doctor’s appointments, etc.) must obtain an early dismissal slip from the front office before first period begins. The school nurse will clear students who are injured or who become ill during the day for early dismissal. Leaving for any other reason requires the permission of the campus administration. Students who leave for any reason without the proper authorization and without signing out in the attendance office will be considered truant.

Regaining Attendance Credit

NOTE: In the Fall or Spring Semester of the school year, a student will be denied credit based on attendance if he/she accumulates 10 or more absences in one or more of his/her classes.

Students may appeal the denial of credit. An appeal form may be obtained from the Assistant Principal’s office (240). The petitions for regaining credit are made to the Attendance Committee of Wylie High School and may be filed at any time the student receives notice of credit loss, but must be made no later than the specific date outlined on the Attendance Failure notification.

A student that attended at least 75% of class time but less than 90% and who has been denied credit will be able to make-up the time missed and regain the credit that was denied by completing any or all of the following tasks until all time has been satisfactorily completed:

Attend Tuesday/Thursday Night school from 4:30pm-6:30pm.
Attend a morning or afternoon tutorial with a teacher.
Attend summer school.

The deadline to makeup time will be indicated on the student notification of Attendance Failure. No hours will be accepted after the deadline has passed. Failure to makeup hours prior to the deadline will result in a permanent loss of credit.

School-Related Absences/Extra-Curricular-Activities Absences

Students are encouraged to participate in school-sponsored or school-sanctioned extracurricular activities. Occasionally these activities require that students be absent from class. These absences are considered excused (school-related) and do not require any additional documentation from the student or parent.

Students who are absent from school will not be allowed to participate in any school-related activities on the day or evening of the absence.

TRUANCY

Failure to attend school (truancy)

Any absence from a scheduled class without prior administrative approval, or proper documentation on file, will be recorded as unexcused.
Students who are absent from school for the entire day, or any portion of the day without permission from a parent or school official will be considered truant and will be subject to disciplinary and possible legal action.
Students who leave campus and fail to sign out and receive proper authorization to leave campus will be considered truant. Absences that occur in conjunction with unauthorized departure from campus will be counted as unexcused.
If a student accumulates unexcused absences that total ten (10) days or parts of days in a six (6) month period, the student and the parent or guardian may be prosecuted for violation of the Compulsory Attendance Law. Please note that truancy will be filed on a student’s twelfth (12th) tardy in a semester of a school year.

Tardy Violation Consequences

Prior to having truancy filed the school uses the following schedule for consequences based on tardies, which reset each semester.

Students are expected to be in their designated classrooms when the tardy bell rings. The passing periods are five to seven minutes, depending on the location of the classroom. Once the tardy bell rings, teachers will close and lock their doors. Students who are tardy should report to room 216 to receive a tardy pass before returning to class. Students who accumulate their fifth tardy will receive a discipline referral. Discipline will be administered and discipline will escalate with each subsequent tardy. Persistent violations may result in more serious disciplinary actions and/or truancy being filed on their twelfth tardy in a semester. Please note that a tardy of more than ten minutes will be considered an absence. Tardy count resets at the semester.

1st-4th Tardy- Warnings and Documentation in Skyward
5th Tardy – Office Referral and Parent Notification
6th-10th Tardy – Loss of Privilege (30 Minute Lunch Detention)
11th Tardy – Half-Day ISS
12th Tardy – Full-Day ISS and Possible Truancy Filing

Verification of Enrollment

Verification of Enrollment Form is needed to obtain a learner’s permit, a driver’s license, to renew a driver’s license, and for driver’s education courses. To qualify for the VOE form, a student must be in compliance with the 90% attendance rule during the fall or spring semesters immediately preceding the date of application for the form.

Please understand that it can take up to 3 school days to honor your request.
Please only submit one request.
The VOE is valid for 30 days from date of issue.
This is for Wylie High School students only.
You must be at least 15 years old to request this for your driver's permit/ driver's license.
Credit Recovery hours MUST be completed before a VOE will be issued.
VOE's will need to be picked up from the Attendance Office.

Verification of Enrollment Form