School Attendance Procedures
GALILEO ACADEMY of SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Welcome Parents and Guardians:
The following attendance procedures are provided for your information to assist Galileo Academy in achieving the highest level of service for students, parents/guardians and faculty.
- Arrive to school and class on time.
- Notify attendance office of student’s absence in a timely manner.
- Plan family vacations during non-school days.
- Try to schedule doctor appointments for your child after school hours.
- Allow your child to stay home only when he/she has a contagious illness or is too sick to be comfortable at school.
- Help prevent child illnesses from spreading at our school by getting your child vaccinated against flu and chicken pox.
- When your child has a doctor’s appointment in the middle of the school day, bring him/her to school before the appointment. The district receives full funding if a student attends for part of the day.
Good attendance benefits your child’s education. Every day a student misses school, he/she gets more than two days behind his/her peers, because he/she must make up missed learning and catch up with new learning at the same time.
Good attendance raises your child’s chance to score well on tests.
Your child learns more about responsibility each day he/she attends school.
Compulsory Education
The State of California Education Code requires that every person between the ages of 6 and 18 attend school full-time, unless exempted. Therefore, schools are required to have written documentation for student absences and to record such absences as excused or unexcused.
Excused Absences
The State of California Education Code defines excused absences. For further information see pgs. 87 & 88 of the SFUSD Student Handbook 2008-2009. The following reasons are accepted as valid excuses:
1. illness
2. quarantine
3. medical appointment
4. funeral
5. immunization exclusions
6. jury duty
7. court appearance
8. observances of religious holiday or ceremony
9. detainment at Juvenile Hall, the Children’s Center, or other shelter care or other custodial facilities
10. appointments with attorneys, law enforcement officers, probation officers, or immigrant officials
11. when the pupil’s absence (due to personal or family emergency) has been requested in writing, and the reason is stated in the note by the parent/guardian and approved by the principal. Note: personal and family emergency alone are not sufficient as reasons, examples are grandmother or other family member ill, in court, etc.
12. administrative summons or when detained by other classified or certificated personnel
13. employment conferences or appointments (students may be excused to leave school early to obtain a work permit no earlier than 2:30 pm on school days ending at 3:05.)
14. absences for Religious Purposes. A pupil, with the written consent of a parent or guardian, may be excused from school in order to participate in religious exercises or receive moral or religious instruction for four or fewer days per month, provided the pupil attends school at least the minimum days for his/her grade. (Ed. Code 46014)
15. Absences for Obtaining Confidential Medical Services without Parental or Guardian Consent. The governing board shall notify pupils in grades 7 to 12, and the parents or guardians of all pupils, that school authorities may excuse any pupil from the school for the purpose of obtaining confidential medical services without the consent of the pupil’s parent or guardian. (Ed. Code 46010.1)
16. Unexcused Absence. Students will not be excused for vacation. Notes that state “personal reasons” or “family emergency” will be rejected unless the note also states a specific reason as allowed above.
Attendance Excuse Notes:
Because written documentation is required to excuse an absence, parents must provide a note to the school. Send an e-mail to attendance@galileoweb.org or your child may turn in their written note to the Attendance Office in Room 209 or you may fax the note to 415-771-2322. An absence is considered to be one or more periods in a school day, or a full day absence or consecutive days absence.
Notes: Attendance Excuse & Permit to Leave Required Information
The note must contain the following information:
1. Student Name (first and last name)
2. Student Grade (9, 10, 11, or 12)
3. The actual date(s) of absence e.g. 9/18/0#. Do not use “yesterday” or days of week, ie. Monday.
4. Student ID number (optional, but it helps to correctly identify the student)
5. Reason for absence (a student will only be excused for an absence reason as stated above.)
6. Notes must be written in pen. Notes written in pencil can be altered, and will not be accepted.
7. Parent’s home, cell, or work telephone number is required.
8. Permit to Leave: include time student must leave school.
Auto-Dialer – Galileo calls the Parent/Guardian of Absent Students
Parents of absent students may be notified of the student’s absence by telephone. Each evening, the Attendance Auto-Dialer calls the home of students who have been reported absent in one or more classes. Whether a parent receives a call depends on the attendance data provided by the teacher on the attendance strips. A parent may not receive a call if the student’s teacher has not reported attendance for the day, or if the school computer is experiencing technical difficulties. Additionally, because the auto-dialer is an automatic call generated by computer, parents will receive this call even if they have called or sent in a note. In order to be advised of your child’s absence, the parent/guardian must immediately advise the school of any change in telephone number and or address.
If you received the auto-dialer call, and your child says they were not absent: the student must get a copy of their attendance report from Rm. 209 or the counselor, take the report to the teacher to get a correction, and then return the corrected report to Rm. 209. Corrections can only be made by the teacher’s signature verifying that the student was present.
Parents Calling the Attendance Office
Parents may call the Attendance Office to to release a student from school for an appointment or emergency or to check the student’s attendance. The number to call is 749-3430, extension 3231 or 3209. If your call is answered by a recording, please leave a message. If there is an emergency, and you are unable to reach the Attendance Office, you may call the Deans at ext. 3263 or Counseling at ext. 3258 or 3239.
Part Day absences & Permit to Leave
Students and parents should make every attempt to ensure that the student does not miss important classroom time and risk falling behind in their learning. Please try and schedule your student’s absence for doctor or dental appointments as close to the beginning or end of the school day as possible. We suggest that appointments be scheduled for early release days. If scheduling an appointment during the school day is unavoidable, the student who is not ill must attend classes for a partial day. The student may not be excused for a full day’s absence for an appointment unless the child is also ill or there are extenuating circumstances.
Students must get a Permit to Leave school before leaving school. Students who leave without first obtaining permision will not be excused even if a note is provided by the parent the following day.(Board Policy P5113. See pg. 83 of the SFUSD Student Handbook 2008-2009.)
Tardy Students
A student is marked “T” for tardy when late to class less than 30 minutes. A student absent more than 30 minutes should bring their note to Room 209 to be excused because this is an absence for truancy purposes. For a student who is tardy less than 31 minutes, the parent/guardian should write a note for the student to give directly to the teacher. A student entering any class after the second bell is tardy.
Make-up Work for Absent or Tardy Students
Students who have presented a legally excused absence note to the teacher will be issued an “Excused Admit.” The student takes the Excused Admit to each class for their teachers to sign. Students use the “Blue” slip of the Permit to Leave form to show the teacher they are excused. This procedure allows students to make-up missed work and exams as required by CA law.
Parents may obtain homework for students who have an excused absence of four or more days by contacting the counselor at 749-3453. Parents, please do not send sick students to school to get homework. Sick children spread germs to teachers and classmates, and this practice disrupts teachers during classtime.
Attendance Reporting
Average Daily Attendance (ADA) determines funding for the school. Therefore, it is very important that your child attend all classes every day.
Excessive Absenteeism
When absences become excessive, the school may request a doctor’s note or a visit to your home from our school nurse. In addition, if you are receiving cash aid from the San Francisco County Human Services Agency for your child, your aid may be stopped or lowered if your child’s attendance does not improve.
Truancy
Education Code Section 48260 defines a truant student as one who has been absent from school without a valid excuse three or more days, or tardy in excess of 30 minutes on each of three or more days, or any combination thereof, in a school year. You or your child may be taken to court, ordered to pay fines, may be at risk for reduction of CALWORKS or subject to other penalties for breaking the state’s attendance laws.
