ATTENDANCE

A major goal of the Menifee Union School District (MUSD) is to improve student attendance. When students miss school, they miss direct instruction and learning activities necessary to master proficiency of the California State Standards. Research has shown a strong correlation exists between regular attendance and levels of student achievement.

Each person between the ages of 6 and 18 years of age in California is subject to compulsory school attendance. Each parent or guardian has the responsibility to send their child to school for the full time of the school day as designated by the Board of Education (Education Code 48200).

When students are absent from school, parents need to contact the school attendance clerk to provide verification of absence. You may call our 24-hour attendance hotline at (951) 672-3819, send an email to our attendance clerk, Ms. Rogers, at malissa.rogers@menifeeusd.org, or send a note to the school for each day the student is absent.

We will need the following information:

• Your name
• Student’s first and last name
• Date(s) of absence(s); if student is absent only part of the day, the periods from which your student is excused
• Reason for absence

*We request that parents make every effort to schedule medical appointments after school hours. If your medical appointment needs to be during school hours, it would be best practice to have your child attend school both before and after the appointment time to minimize the amount of instructional time being missed.

Absences – Excused/Unexcused

Excused: California State Law and District Policy define an excused absence. Absences are excused only for illness (longer than three days must be excused by a doctor’s note), medical professional services (doctor, dental, etc.), quarantine by public health officer, funeral services for a student’s immediate family, exclusion from school for insufficient immunization, or court required appearance. Teachers will provide a reasonable amount of time for assignments to be made up for excused absences. If a student is expecting to be absent for health reasons for more than one week, please notify the attendance clerk, Ms. Rogers.

Unexcused: Any absence not described above is an unexcused absence. Common examples are: family travel, travel for competitions, or staying home to be with visiting relatives. A student who fails to attend school, or is absent for more than any 30 minute period during the school day without a valid excuse on three occasions in one semester, is considered truant. It is the responsibility of the Parent/Guardian to report all absences. Parents/Guardians are allowed three days to clear any absences, by providing a note or by having their parent phone the school. Continued abuse of the attendance laws will result in a referral to the Child Welfare and Attendance Officer and a possible Student Attendance Review Board (SARB) hearing.

Tardies – Excused/Unexcused

Students are expected to be in their seats and ready to work when the school bell rings. Students arriving after the beginning of school bell are considered tardy. If your child must late for any reason, please send a note explaining the reason, or come in with your child to the attendance window. If we notice a pattern of your student being tardy, we may ask to meet with you to brainstorm how we can work together to have your child at school on time each and every day. NOTE: When arriving late to school due to a doctor, dentist, or orthodontist appointment, please bring verification from the doctor’s office in order to excuse these tardies.

At Bell Mountain Middle School, we believe attendance is key to academic success; as such, we have a variety of positive rewards for those who regularly arrive to class on time. These rewards could include, but are not limited to:

• Front of the Line Passes
• Extended lunch period (5 minutes)
• Admission to cell phone area
• Points to use for rewards store purchases

However, if a student is tardy to class, the following consequences will occur:

• Period 1 Tardies:

  • 1st and 2nd Tardies: reminder by Attendance Clerk
  • 3rd Tardy: Parent/Guardian contacted by a member of the Staff (Teacher, Clerk, Administrator)
  • 4th Tardy: Loss of privileges (i.e. points, lunchtime social privileges, etc.)
  • **A student late by 30 minutes or more, on more than three occasions in one semester, will be considered truant.

• Period 2-6 Tardies:

  • 1st and 2nd Tardies: warning by Teacher
  • 3rd Tardy: Parent/Guardian contacted by the Teacher
  • 4th Tardy: Loss of privileges (i.e. points, lunchtime social privileges, etc.)

The Governing Board believes that regular attendance plays an important role in student achievement. The Board shall work with parents/guardians and students to ensure their compliance with all state attendance laws and may use appropriate legal means to correct problems of chronic absence or truancy.

Absence from school shall be excused only for health reasons, family emergencies, and justifiable personal reasons, as permitted by law, Board policy, and administrative regulation. (Education Code 48205)

Student absence for religious instruction or participation in religious exercises away from school property may be considered excused subject to law and administrative regulation. (Education Code 46014)

Inasmuch as school attendance and class participation are integral to students' learning experiences, parents/guardians and students shall be encouraged to schedule medical and other appointments during non-school hours.

Students shall not be absent from school without their parents/guardians' knowledge or consent, except in cases of medical emergency or, as authorized pursuant to Education Code 46010.1, for a confidential medical appointment.

The Board shall, by resolution entered into its minutes, approve reasonable methods that may be used to verify student absences due to illness or quarantine. (5 CCR 421)

(Menifee USD BP 5113: Absences and Excuses)

Students are required by state law to attend school punctually and regularly. The following information is provided to help you understand Bell Mountain’s attendance policies.

Excused Absences

Subject to any applicable limitation, condition, or other requirement specified in law, a student's absence shall be excused for any of the following reasons:

1. Personal illness, including absence for the benefit of the student's mental or behavioral health (Education Code 48205)

2. Quarantine under the direction of a county or city health officer (Education Code 48205)

3. Medical, dental, optometrical, or chiropractic service or appointment (Education Code 48205) 

4. Attendance at funeral services for a member of the student's immediate family (Education Code 48205)

Such absence shall be limited to one day if the service is conducted in California or three days if the service is conducted out of state. (Education Code 48205)

5. Jury duty in the manner provided for by law (Education Code 48205)

6. Illness or medical appointment of a child to whom the student is the custodial parent (Education Code 48205)

7.  Upon advance written request by the parent/guardian and the approval of the principal or designee, justifiable personal reasons including, but not limited to: (Education Code 48205)

• Appearance in court
• Attendance at a funeral service
• Observance of a religious holiday or ceremony
• Attendance at religious retreats for no more than four hours per semester
• Attendance at an employment conference
• Attendance at an educational conference on the legislative or judicial process offered by a nonprofit organization

8. Service as a member of a precinct board for an election pursuant to Elections Code 12302 (Education Code 48205)

9. To spend time with an immediate family member who is an active duty member of the uniformed services, as defined in Education Code 49701, and has been called to duty for deployment to a combat zone or a combat support position or is on leave from or has immediately returned from such deployment (Education Code 48205)

• Such absence shall be granted for a period of time to be determined at the discretion of the Superintendent or designee. (Education Code 48205)

10. Attendance at the student's naturalization ceremony to become a United States citizen (Education Code 48205)

11. Participation in a cultural ceremony or event which relates to the habits, practices, beliefs, and traditions of a certain group of people (Education Code 48205)

12. Participation in religious exercises or to receive moral and religious instruction at the student's place of worship or other suitable place away from school (Education Code 46014)

Absence for student participation in religious exercises or instruction shall not be considered an absence for the purpose of computing average daily attendance if the student attends at least the minimum school day as specified in AR 6112 - School Day, and is not excused from school for this purpose on more than four days per school month. (Education Code 46014)

13. Work in the entertainment or allied industry (Education Code 48225.5)

Work for a student who holds a work permit authorizing work in the entertainment or allied industries for a period of not more than five consecutive days. For this purpose, student absence shall be excused for a maximum of up to five absences per school year. (Education Code 48225.5)

14, Participation with a nonprofit performing arts organization in a performance for a public school audience (Education Code 48225.5)

A student may be excused for up to five such absences per school year provided that the student's parent/guardian provides a written explanation of such absence to the school. (Education Code 48225.5)

15. Other reasons authorized at the discretion of the principal or designee based on the student's specific circumstances (Education Code 48205, 48260)

For the purpose of the absences described above, immediate family means the student's parent/guardian, brother or sister, grandparent, or any other relative living in the student's household. (Education Code 48205)

(Menifee USD AR 5113: Absences and Excuses)