Attendance Information

In an effort to increase the safety and health of our staff and students, please call or email the attendance office in order to clear your student’s absence(s) or submit any clearance documents such as medical notes.  This will help reduce in person contact and traffic to the attendance office. Please email the attendance office within 5 days of your student’s absence at attendanceoffice@berkeley.net or call according to the following chart:

NOTE: Please do not call the Dean of Attendance to excuse your student’s absence(s).

 

Expectations – We understand that in many cases, absences from school are unavoidable due to health problems or other circumstances. However, chronic absenteeism can have a drastic impact on your child’s education.  At Berkeley High, all students are expected to attend all classes daily and they are expected to arrive on time except for excused absences.  We define “on time” as being inside the classroom when the bell rings. Attendance will be taken during each class period.   Students and guardians should monitor their attendance on Infinite Campus. If you need help with infinite campus, please contact leticiaamezcua@berkeley.net

What if my child has an appointment? If your child is coming to school late or leaving early, please contact the main office, attendance office or the classroom teacher to consent to the child leaving early.  In this case, the student will receive a pass granting them permission to leave school early. Please note that this alone does not excuse the absence and the guardian must inform the attendance office as to the reason for the student leaving early, providing a copy of a note in event of an appointment.  

How to CLEAR an Absence: The easiest and most effective way to clear your child’s attendance is by sending an email to attendanceoffice@berkeley.net

• Make sure you include your child’s full name, grade, dates and reason of absence
• Parents have a maximum of 5 days to excuse an absence. We will, however, ask for verification on the first day a student is absent. In case of an absence, please let us know as soon as possible.
• Attach a picture of any notes to the email – no need to drop off paper copies. 

What is an EXCUSABLE Absence? When a student is absent from school, their guardian should verify the reason for the absence by explaining the reason for the absence. This is required from California Education Code Section 46012.

California Education Code is explicit in differentiating between what is an excused absence and what is an unexcused absence. According to Education Code Section 48205, the following types of absences are either excusable as long as guardians notify attendance office within 5 days:

1. Illness 
2. Mandatory quarantine under the direction of a county or city health officer.
3. Medical appointments 
4. For the purpose of attending funeral services 
5. For the purpose of jury duty in the manner provided for by law for students 18 and over.
6.  For justifiable personal reasons, including, but not limited to, an appearance in court, attendance at a funeral service, observance of a holiday or ceremony of the pupil’s religion, attendance at a religious retreat, attendance at an employment conference, or attendance at an educational conference on the legislative or judicial process offered by a nonprofit organization, when the pupil’s absence is requested in writing by the parent or guardian and approved by the principal or a designated representative pursuant to uniform standards established by the governing board of the school district.
7. For the purpose of spending time with a member of the pupil’s immediate family who is an active duty member of the uniformed services, as defined in Section 49701, and has been called to duty for, is on leave from, or has immediately returned from, deployment to a combat zone or combat support position. Absences granted pursuant to this paragraph shall be granted for a period of time to be determined at the discretion of the superintendent of the school district.

 

What is NOT an excusable absence?

• Vacation
• Family emergencies that do not include the elements list above
• Any other message to the attendance office that doesn’t clearly give a reason listed above

Is there any way to clear an absence that hasn’t been excused? YES, students can clear absences through our Attendance Intervention Program here. 

Can I clear a Tardy?  We legally have to record student attendance, and “tardy” is a label we use to document when students arrive after the bell has rung.  The only way to make a change from tardy to present is if the student was with another adult on campus for an appointment. 

What is Truancy?  The California Legislature defines truancy in very precise language. In summary, it states that a student missing more than 30 minutes of instruction without an excuse three times during the school year must be classified as a truant and reported to the proper school authority.  At Berkeley high, once a student has 3 unexcused absences, the student is considered to be truant.  We mail truancy letters to families to inform them.  Once a student has 30 or more unexcused absences, we recommend them for a SARB meeting, which is a Student Attendance Review Board.  

Other consequences to truancy –  Students with 30+ unexcused absences may be put on the no-go list for schoolwide activities like homecoming, prom, athletics and work-permits.  

Dean of Attendance supported improvement plans – Students who do have 30+ unexcused absences and want to improve their attendance can meet with the Dean of Attendance to create an improvement plan to earn back their privileges to participate in school wide activities.  We offer a menu of options for making up unexcused absences via after school tutorials and Saturday School. 

What if my child will need to miss up to 20 days of school for any particular reason? Unless in cases of emergencies, we encourage families to plan trips during our school holidays. If this is unavoidable, students in good academic standing can go to the Attendance Office in D1 and meet with our attendance team to discuss a “Planned absence” contract.  Students must provide at least 1 week advanced notice to qualify and must have at least a 2.0 GPA to get approved for a planned absence. 

What if my child is in the hospital and will need to be out for more than 20 days?  Students who are hospitalized for more than 20 days qualify for a type of Independent Studies called “Home and Hospital Instruction”.  HHI is provided by the district where the hospital is located, which means that it is possible to receive HHI from other districts during time of treatment. Questions about HHI can be directed to cassandratesch@berkeley.net

What if my child says the teacher made an error in the attendance?  If a student feels a teacher made an error, the student should write to the teacher and ask for the teacher to fix the error. The teacher must communicate directly to  attendanceoffice@berkeley.net in order to make the change, as the attendance office will not make changes to teacher attendance unless the teacher makes the request. 

If you have further questions not related to excusing an absence, you can contact the Dean of Attendance, CassandraTesch@Berkeley.net