High School Semester Exam Exemptions

On Monday, Nov.9, 2020, the Board of Trustees voted to waive the provisions of EIA (LOCAL) that require students who take a high school course to take the final exam during the fall semester.

2020-21 Semester Exam Exemption Guidelines

In CFISD, Semester Exam Exemptions are offered as an attendance incentive for students.  To qualify for a Semester Exam Exemption in a class, a student must have three or less absences AND at least an 80 average for the semester. The number of available exemptions per grade level are as follows:

Grade Level Available Exemptions (Fall) Available Exemptions (Spring)
9th 1 1
10th 2 2
11th 3 3
12th 4 7

The only absences that do not count against exemptions are designated below:

  • School-Sanctioned Field Trips,
    • No more than 10 per student in any one school year.
    • This includes instructor-supervised field trips that are a part of the coursework for Off-Campus Physical Education.
  • Documented College Visits,
    • The District cannot excuse more than two days during a student’s junior year and two day during a student’s senior year of high school. A travel day may be included for a College Visitation Day.
    • Upon their return to school, the student must present a completed College Visit Verification Form from the institution of higher learning.
  • Documented Military Branch Visits, AND
    • Students must be 17 years of age or older to exercise this benefit and the District cannot excuse more than four days of school during a student’s high school career for this reason.
    • Upon their return to school, the student must present a completed Military Visit Verification Form from a branch of the armed services or the Texas National Guard.
  • Class absences resulting from a meeting initiated by an administrator or counselor shall not count against the student.

Please Note: All other absences will count against a student seeking a Semester Exam Exemption.

Immediate Loss of Exemption occurs if the student:

  • fails to clear fees or costs of textbooks OR
  • receives:
    • an U (Unsatisfactory) in conduct,
    • an Out of School Suspension, OR
    • a DAEP Placement at ALC/SAC/JJAEP

For more information regarding Semester Exam Exemptions please refer to the Attendance Information section in the CFISD Student Handbook. Students and guardians may also visit their child’s campus and/or contact the Office of Student Services for a hard copy of the handbook.

Parents & Students

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