IF YOUR STUDENT IS ABSENT
If your student is absent from one or more classes in a given day, you will receive an automated telephone call noting the absence.
Please make sure that your student brings a written note to the Attendance Secretary, Roberta Estrada, in the LASA office the day your student returns to school. (It is not necessary to contact the school the day the student is absent.) Notes excusing your student's absence may also be emailed to roestrada[at]austinisd.org or FAXED to the attention of the Attendance Secretary at 512-414-6050.
Once your student receives five or more unexcused absences in a class within a semester, he/she will no longer receive credit for that course. Please refer to the document below to determine what is considered an excused absence by AISD.
PICKING UP YOUR STUDENT EARLY FOR AN APPOINTMENT?
If you know you will be picking up your student early on a given day for an appointment (ie. medical or family need), you may send a note with your student to deliver to the Attendance Secretary first thing in the morning or email or FAX a note to the same contact information above. Ms. Estrada will then provide your student with a pass to leave his/her respective classroom at a set time and meet you in the LASA office. This saves you time from having to have your student called out from class after your arrival. You must still sign your student out in person.
Like a general absence, please have your student bring a written excuse-note upon their return to campus and deliver it, email or FAX to Ms. Estrada.
IF YOUR STUDENT IS TARDY
If you know your student will be tardy to school, you may send a note with the student explaining the tardiness. If the reason is classifiable as excused (refer to document below), then the tardy will be excused if he/she delivers the note to Ms. Estrada before attending his/her first class. Otherwise, the tardy will be unexcused and your student may report straight to his/her first class.
If you have any questions or concerns about LASA's absence or tardy policies, please contact Ms. Estrada at roestrada[at]austinisd.org or 841-4027..
AISD attendance classifying process
General Attendance Posting Procedures - Secondary Schools
| Title |
Abbr. |
Description |
Type (Used in determining class credit) |
| Field Trip |
FLD |
Present. A student list that has a field trip date and teacher signature must be on file to support the field trip absence reason. The teacher should take attendance on the list just before leaving and mark as absent any student on the list who is not present for the field trip. A copy of the list should be given to the attendance specialist before the group leaves the school. The teacher should retain the list to take attendance before returning back to school. |
School Activity |
| UIL |
UIL |
Use same documentation requirements as Field Trip above in addition to UIL eligibility requirement. |
School Activity |
| Board Ap. |
BA |
Present – board approval – do not use this reason unless the board approves a special activity during the school year. |
School Activity |
| EPSDT(MedA) |
MDC |
Present – Medicaid – eligible for Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment Programs. Note from medical appointment will have EPSDT on the documentation. The attendance requirements are the same as MED below. |
School Activity |
| Holy Day |
HD |
Present – absence may be excused as a holy day with a note signed and dated by the parent explaining the religious observance with the dates involved. Religious holy days (including travel limited to not more than one day of travel to and one day of travel from the observance site.) |
School Activity |
| ISS |
ISS |
Present – In School Suspension Attendance Specialist must have an attendance slip from the ISS monitor every period listing those present in ISS. In addition, the Attendance Specialist should receive a copy of the ISS referral for each student for the attendance file. |
School Activity |
| Med Appt |
MED |
Present – student must be in school for some portion of the day (either before or after the appointment) and bring documentation from the medical professional. In addition to the medical note, there must be proof the student was in attendance at he some point during the day. Using a sign-in/sign-out log (signed by parents or student) and/ or permit to enter and permit to leave slips. The permits can be stapled to the medical notes for efficiency. |
School Activity |
| Mentorship |
MNT |
The student may be in mentorship as part of the requirement of the Distinguished Achievement Program. |
School Activity |
| School Office |
SCH |
Present – student in office/other campus location with a responsible campus official. Each school office should have a sign-in log in the office to track students as they enter and leave. The documentation supports the SCH absence reason that is used whenever the classroom teacher posts students who are present in the building as absent or tardy. |
School Activity |
| Testing |
TST |
Present – group testing Attendance Specialists must be given attendance student lists from each testing proctor. The attendance taken by the test proctor is posted in SASI. If a group of students is sent to an area to finish the test after the main group has finished, there should be an attendance roster for the late finishing group. Roster should contain name, student number, time in, time out and signature of test proctor in room. The attendance on this roster can be used to correct the attendance posted by teachers. |
School Activity |
| College Visit |
VST |
Invitation Letter (on school Letterhead) or signed confirmation on school Letterhead that student visited the campus with dates included. Submit within (2) days of each college visit. College visits will be limited to three days per school year. |
Excused |
| Court |
CRT |
Required court appearance, including travel days limited to not more than one day for travel to and one day for travel from the site where students is required to appear in court. Documentation from court must be retained to verify whereabouts of student. |
Excused |
| Documented Illness |
DI |
Documented illness (note from parent, guardian, physician that the child was ill or copy of nurse’s log) This absence reason is used if a student is absent for the day and has a doctor’s note or a parent’s note. The note must specify the student’s full name and date of birth (require enough information to ensure the note is accredited to the correct student,) the exact day or days the student has been ill, the type of illness, the signature of the parent. |
Excused |
| Home Supervised Study |
HSS |
This is used during home suspension. A signed and dated copy of the referral must be given to the Attendance Specialist for the student’s attendance file. The referral should include the number of days suspended and the date the suspension begins. |
Excused |
| Made Up |
MU |
Students attend Saturday School, do community service assigned by an administrator, etc., to make up days lost due to unexcused absences. The proportion of make-up time to equal unexcused absences is a site-based decision. MU changes an unexcused absence to an excused absence. This helps with compulsory attendance. The student may still need to appeal to the campus attendance committee to receive credit for classes. |
Excused |
| Other Circumstances |
OTH |
Any other absences the school administration chooses to excuse. This may include but not be limited to funerals and family emergencies. |
Excused |
|