Attendance

There is a very strong connection between student attendance and academic performance in school.  Therefore, when students miss class, they miss out on learning. While we want all students to aim for perfect attendance, Cypress-Fairbanks I.S.D. recognizes there are times when students must miss school. When families and students partner with CFISD to bring out the best, they commit to limiting absences during the instructional day. Our instructional calendar has several days through the school year that allow students to take care of routine appointments with doctors, dentists, etc. and still maintain a pattern of "great attendance." We believe that our students can do it!

The Texas State Compulsory Attendance Law requires students aged 6 through 19 to attend school.  Section 25.085 requires students to go to school each school day for the entire school day unless exempted by law.  This requirement includes students who have voluntarily enrolled in prekindergarten or kindergarten and students who are nineteen years old or older.

Students are required to attend school from the time the school day begins until the time the school day ends. A partial day absence occurs when a student is not present for part of the school day.

Students who violate this law may get referral(s) for court proceedings against the parent, guardian or student to enforce the law.

Violation of the law occurs when students get unexcused absences for 10 or more days or parts of days within a six-month period.

In addition to the Compulsory Attendance Law, there is the “90% Rule,” which states that in order to receive credit for a final grade for a class, a student is required to attend class 90 percent of the days a class is offered regardless of whether the student’s absences are excused or unexcused. When students do not meet the 90% attendance rate in a class, CFISD provides written notification to the parent/guardian in the form of an Excessive Absence Letter. The loss of credit is also reflected on a student’s report card. If the student does not meet the 90% requirement in a class, the student must go through the Attendance Recovery Process outlined in the CFISD Student Handbook, which denotes that:

• If a student drops below 90% but attends class at least at 75% of the days the class is offered, the student may earn credit for the class by completing a plan approved by the principal.
• If the student drops below 75% of the days the class is offered, the student may earn credit for the class by completing a plan approved by the Campus Attendance Committee.

Both the Principal Plan and Campus Attendance Committee Plan are initiated with the parent/guardian/student submission of an attendance appeal. The appeal must occur within 30 school days of the end of the semester in which the credit was denied. The campus attendance committee then meets and renders a decision based on the circumstances as presented by the student and parent within 30 school days of the end of the semester in which the credit was denied. See CFISD Board Policies FEC (LEGAL) and FEC (LOCAL).

• Keep Reviewing Your Child's Attendance Records

It is important to monitor your child’s attendance and stay in communication with the school to ensure that you are informed about your child’s attendance history. Parents/Guardians can review their child’s attendance record at any time via the Parent Portal.

• Minimize Lost Instructional Time

Schedule any appointments (doctor, dentist, etc.) outside of school hours. Take advantage of the Teacher Work Days built into the instructional calendar to schedule appointments, trips and/or vacations.

• Send a Note

For an excused absence, you must send a note to the campus that describes the reason for the absence within three school days of your child returning to school.

• Make-Up Work and Passing Grades

If your child is absent for any reason, including extracurricular activities, be sure the assigned make-up work is completed. Submitting missed assignments due to absences will help maintain eligibility for extracurricular activities as well as a student’s GPA.

It is important to monitor your child’s attendance and stay in communication with the school to ensure that you are informed about your child’s attendance history. Click here for instructions on setting up/accessing your Parent Portal.

According to Cypress-Fairbanks I.S.D. Policy, parents should turn in an excuse note to the school attendance office within three days of returning to school.

Excuse notes must include:

• Student Name
• Student I.D. number
• A written statement giving the date and reason for the absence(s)
• Parent/guardian signature
• Parent/guardian phone number

The district cannot accept emails to excuse absences. However, notes with a parent/guardian’s signature may be scanned and emailed to the campus. View a blank excuse/absence note in English and Spanish.

• Child’s illness or injury;
• Family emergency with administrator approval;
• Death of a family member;
• Appointments with healthcare professionals licensed in the United States (doctors, dentists, etc.) that cannot be scheduled before or after school hours;
• Religious holy days;
• Required court appearances—defined as response to a jury summons, subpoena or traffic ticket in the name of a student. Additional examples would be a student’s appearance in court as a plaintiff or defendant or as the subject of a court proceeding, such as an adoption or custody proceeding;
• Playing “Taps” at a military honors funeral held in Texas for a deceased veteran (grades 6-12 only);
• serving as a student early voting clerk, an election clerk or student election clerk (Note: the student must be at least 16 years of age; have the consent of the principal of the school the student attends; be a US citizen; and have completed any training course required by the entity holding the election.);
• taking part in the student’s own US naturalization oath ceremony;
• visiting an institution of higher education accredited by a generally recognized accrediting organization to determine the student’s interest in attending the institution (grade 11 and 12 only);
• pursuing enlistment in a branch of the US uniformed services or the Texas Army National Guard (students 17 years old or older);
• visiting with a parent, stepparent, or legal guardian who is an active duty member of the uniformed services and has been called to duty for, is on leave from, or is immediately returned from continuous deployment of at least four months outside the locality where the parent, stepparent, or guardian regularly resides.
• visiting a driver’s license office to obtain a driver’s license or learner permit. (Note: Students must be enrolled in high school and 15 years of age or older.
  
  

*Please note: This list is not exhaustive, but rather a starting point for the types of absences that may be excused. It is important to note that numerous absences, whether excused or unexcused, may jeopardize a student’s ability to receive credit or final grades for classes (see the TEC, §25.092, for requirements related to minimum attendance for class credit or a final grade).

If a student is absent, parents/guardians should always submit an excuse note to the main office when the student returns to school. Excuse notes should have student name, student ID number, grade, date of absence, reason, parent signature and contact number.

Parents and guardians are notified of absences through:

• school progress reports
• report cards
• warning letters
• School Messenger phone calls