Attendance and Policies

Attendance Matters! 

Students who attend school regularly are more likely to meet their academic goals, graduate, and go on to college. We want you here! 

Students are expected to: 

• Attend class every day, every period, whenever possible.
• Attend each class period on time.
• Make up missed assignments promptly.

Parents/guardians are expected to: 

• Ensure your student attends school every day
• Report all absences to the school within 2 school days (48 hours)
• Provide a doctor’s note for absences related to medical appointments whenever possible, and for illnesses lasting longer than 3 school days
• Reach out to an assistant principal or counselor if you need support getting your student to school

Reporting an Absence 

The best way to report an absence is online via Reach My Teach! 

Absences must be reported by a parent/guardian, within 2 school days (48 hours). (Note that 18-year-old students may not excuse their own absences unless they have an Adult Status form approved by an Assistant Principal or Dean.)

If the parent/guardian is unable to report their student’s absence online, they may call the attendance office at 408-522-2414. When reporting an absence by phone, be sure to provide the following information: 

• Spell the student’s first and last name
• Student ID number
• Grade
• Date(s) of absence
• Reason for the absence (if no reason is provided or the type of appointment is not specified, the absence will be marked unexcused)
• Your name, phone number, and relationship to the student

Partial Day Absence

Arriving on campus after school has started or leaving school prior to the end of the schoolday requires parent/guardian permission. If your student needs to arrive late to campus or leave school early, report the partial day absence 24 hours in advance or as soon as possible. See below for details.  

Arriving Late (after school has started)

FHS is a closed campus, except during lunch. Students arriving on campus after school has started must check in at the attendance office to get a pass to class. It is recommended that students provide a doctor’s note for all medical appointments. 

Leaving Early (before the end of the school day)

Students leaving school during class, brunch, or tutorial for any reason must have an Off Campus Pass from the attendance office. Students may leave campus without an Off Campus Pass during lunch only. 

Tardiness

Students are expected to be on time to class. If a student is more than 30 minutes late to class, or if they are returning to school from an appointment, they must report to the attendance office to get a pass to class. 

Students with excessive tardies (10+ per month) may receive interventions including, but not limited to, detention, Saturday School, and/or meeting with an Assistant Principal or Dean. 

Illness or Injury at School

If a student becomes ill or is injured at school and needs to go home, they must check out in the office. If we cannot reach a parent/guardian or one of the student’s emergency contacts, the student will have to wait in the school office until we make contact. 

Same-Day Pickups

In order to minimize disruptions to instructional time, we discourage calling students out of class. Parents/guardians should report the absence 24 hours in advance or as soon as possible. It is the student’s responsibility to pick up an Off Campus Pass before class or during brunch or lunch. If a parent/guardian forgets to report the absence or something comes up during the day and a student needs to be picked up without prior notification, parent/guardian should come into the office to request their student be released. Please understand that it can take 15-20 minutes or longer to call a student out of class. 

Excused vs. Unexcused Absences

While there are many reasons why a parent/guardian may choose to have their student miss school, California law (CA Ed Code Section 48205) provides guidance to schools as to which absences we may excuse. 

Common excused absences include: 

• Illness
  • After 3 consecutive days of illness, a doctor’s note is recommended to excuse continued absences
• Medical appointment (including dental, chiropractic, mental health appointments)
  • It is recommended that students provide a doctor’s note whenever missing school for a medical appointment
• Attendance at the funeral services of an immediate family member 
• School activity (such as a sports game)
• Court or probation appointments
• Religious/cultural activities

Common unexcused absences include: 

• Caring for a younger sibling or other family member
• College visit
• DMV appointment
• Non-FHS extracurricular activity
• Senior “Ditch Day”
• Vacation, travel for other reasons (including visa renewal)

If a student misses class and there is no contact with the attendance office, then the absence will be marked “UKA” (unknown absence). This is an unexcused absence. 

Absence Notifications and Attendance Reports

If a student is absent from school for one or more periods in a school day without any contact from a parent/guardian, our system will notify the parent(s)/guardian(s) by email and text. These notifications will include a link to report the absence immediately online via Reach My Teach so that it can be cleared. Please be sure to keep parent/guardian phone numbers and email addresses updated with the school office so we can reach you with these important attendance notifications. 

Parents/guardians may also view their students’ full attendance report via the Infinite Campus Portal. 

Attendance, truancy, and chronic absenteeism are NOT reported on transcripts or to colleges, jobs, etc.

Attendance Errors/Discrepancies

If a student is marked absent by mistake, it is the student’s responsibility to contact the teacher to correct the error. The student should email the teacher and CC the attendance office at leslie_cannon@fuhsd.org. That way the teacher can ‘reply all’ to correct the attendance. Only the teacher can verify a student’s attendance and allow the attendance office to mark the student present. 

Extended Absences

FHS strongly encourages families to make their plans for extended travel during school breaks. Extended absences during class days negatively impact the student, the teacher, and the class environment as a whole. Vacation/travel for any reason (including visa renewal) is considered an unexcused absence. Teachers are not obligated to provide makeup work for unexcused absences. 

FUHSD does not offer an independent study program for extended absences. 

An absence of 30 days or more will result in the student being disenrolled from school. Families may of course re-enroll when they return to the area. This can, however, have a significant impact on student academic success. 

Making Up Work

It is the student’s responsibility to contact each teacher whose class they missed, and/or review Schoology, to get the work they need to make up for a missed class or arrange a time to make up a missed test or quiz. 

Teachers are not required to provide make-up work for unexcused absences. 

School Activities and Privileges

Participation in sports, school activities, extracurriculars, and other school privileges may be tied to attendance. FUHSD Board Policy states that students must be in attendance at school on the day of the activity in order to participate. 

Chronic Absenteeism

Students who miss 10% or more of the schooldays in a given school year are considered chronically absent and will receive interventions to help return them to attending school regularly. These include: 

• A letter notifying the parent(s)/guardian(s) of the student’s status as chronically absent
• A second letter notifying the student and family of their chronic absences
• An attendance check-in with the student by a caring adult at school (Administrator, counselor, teacher, etc.)
• Referral to the District Attendance Meeting
• Referral to the School Attendance Review Team
• Referral to the District School Attendance Review Board

If you have questions or concerns about the Chronic Absenteeism Intervention program, feel free to contact your FHS attendance team (below), Alison Coy, Director of Educational Options, at alison_coy@fuhsd.org or Amanda Evans, Educational Options Support Specialist, at amanda_evans@fuhsd.org. 

Need More Information? 

Attendance Office: Leslie Canon, 408-522-2414 or leslie_cannon@fuhsd.org 
Attendance Administrator: Dean Sarah Michelet, 408-522-2489 or sarah_michelet@fuhsd.org 

Dear Fremont Families,

We are changing our practice around reporting chronic absenteeism. Chronic absenteeism is the term some of us have known as truancy. The State of California defines a student as chronically absent when a student is absent half a day for 10% of the school days in a given period. According to this definition, a student who is absent 2 days a month, is chronically absent regardless of whether the absence is excused or unexcused. The philosophy of the California Department of Education reflects a belief where excused or unexcused absences inhibit a student’s ability to learn effectively.

In an effort to address this change in practice, the Fremont Union High School District and Fremont High School are working collaboratively to keep families informed about chronic absenteeism. Families will receive progressive letters and notifications depending on the severity of the absence. Initially, families will receive Letter One after a student has been absent for 10% of a reporting period. The first reporting period will consist of 4 weeks. Following the 4 week period, if families received Letter One, and the absences continue, families will receive Letter Two after 2 weeks. After the receipt of Letter Two, the process becomes more personalized based on the circumstances of the absence.

Our hope is for all our students to attend school every day and not miss any classes. We understand life events can affect the ability to come to school and we want to ensure that we are working closely with you to keep lines of communication open. We want to know we are doing everything we can to assist our students in getting to every class on time, and every day.

For any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact the climate office using the information below.

Climate Office

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Estimadas familias de Fremont,

Estamos cambiando nuestra práctica alrededor del absentismo crónico. El absentismo crónico es el término que algunos de nosotros hemos conocido como Truancy. El estado de California define a un estudiante como crónico ausente cuando un estudiante está ausente medio día para 10% de los días escolares en un período. Según esta definición, un estudiante que está ausente 2 días al mes, es un crónico ausente sin importar ausencias  justificadas o injustificadas. La filosofía del Departamento de Educación de CA es una ausencia afecta la capacidad del estudiante para aprender.

En colaboración con el distrito y la escuela secundaria Fremont nuestras familias recibirán letras y notificaciones progresivas dependiendo en la severidad de la ausencia. A empezar, familias recibirán la primera letra después de que un estudiante ha estado ausente por el 10% de un período. El primer período de reporte será de 4 semanas. Después del período de 4 semanas, si las ausencias continúan, las familias recibirán la letra 2 después de 2 semanas. Después de receiver las dos letras, el proceso se hace más personalizado en que queremos averiguar las circunstancias de la ausencia.

Esperamos que todos nuestros estudiantes asistan a la escuela todos los días y no falten a ninguna clase. Entendemos que los eventos de la vida pueden afectar la capacidad de venir a la escuela y queremos asegurarnos de que estamos trabajando con usted para mantener abiertas las líneas de comunicación. Queremos que usted sepa que estamos haciendo todo lo posible para ayudar a nuestros estudiantes a llegar a cada clase a tiempo, y todos los días.

Para cualquier pregunta por favor comuníquese con la oficina:

Oficina de Disciplina

• Academic Honesty Policy 5131.9 / Academic Honesty Administrative Regulation 5131.9
  • Póliza 5131.9: Honestidad Académica / Reglamento 5131.9 Honestidad Académica
  • 政策5131.9：学术诚信 / 学术诚信条例5131.9

Review FUHSD's Annual Notifications on the District website.

Please visit the district's bus pass page for information and the application.

Appropriate dress is necessary in order to promote a positive school environment. Clothing should not distract from the learning environment. Please be advised that every person has a different level of tolerance for hygiene and appropriate dress.

The following articles of clothing are not permitted:

• Exposed undergarments;
• See-through clothes (this does not mean normal exposure of straps);
• Excessively short/revealing clothes;
• Clothing with lewd, indecent or vulgar messages or illustrations;
• Clothing that advertises products or services illegal to minors, including drugs or drug paraphernalia;
• Clothing that may be perceive to be associated to gang affiliation or activities; or
• Red or blue bandanas of any sort.

Violations may result in parent contact, confiscation of prohibited articles, and required change of attire. Refusal to change attire and repetitive dress code offenses may result in disciplinary action.

Fremont High School advises all students to refrain from bringing any electronics to school. If students choose to bring electronics to school, then they must abide by the following rules:

• Electronic devices may be used during passing periods, brunch, and lunch;
• Electronic devices classroom use is at the teachers discretion; and
• Electronic devices are brought to school at the students’ own risk, lost or stolen electronics are not the responsibility of Fremont High School.

Consequences for violation of the Electronics Policies in each school year will be as follows:

• First offense: May be picked up at 3:15 p.m. from the Deans' Office
• Second offense: May be picked up the following day at 3:15 p.m.
• Third offense: Parent/Guardian must come pick it up
• Fourth offense: Parent/Guardian must come pick it up and Disciplinary Action

Fremont High School provides lockers to students as a convenience for storing personal belongings throughout the school year. Students who choose to use a locker are responsible for following all policies and procedures outlined below. Locker use is a privilege, not a right, and failure to comply with these guidelines may result in loss of locker privileges.

 

How to Get a School Locker

• Locate an available locker in one of the designated wings: 70s, 80s, 90s, or 150s

• Complete and submit the Locker Application form (link below)
• Check in with AP Secretary in the Climate Office to make sure the locker is available. 

• Use only an FHS- issued lock — personally purchased or non-assigned locks are not permitted.

• Maintain the locker in a clean and orderly condition throughout the school year

• Clear out all belongings by the last day of school in June — any items remaining after this date will be discarded

• Report any locker damage, malfunctions, or security concerns to the Climate Office promptly

Please Note: Fremont High School is not responsible for lost or stolen items stored in student lockers. Students are encouraged to keep valuables at home.

 

Locker Application Form

In order to receive a permit students must:

• Visit the Climate Office for more information.

What is Tutorial?

Tutorial is a…

• time students should use to support and enrich their learning.
• period, three days a week, when students visit a chosen class to seek help with struggles or expand on interests.
• 25-minute period on Mondays and a 40-minute period on Wednesdays and Fridays.

Why Tutorial?

Busy schedules (sports, clubs, jobs, and other responsibilities) can make it difficult for many students to find time to meet with teachers. Tutorial provides a chance for all students to:

• Get extra help
• Further their learning on topics of interest
• Work with peers on class projects
• Seek help with life skills (e.g., job and college applications, community service)

Using Tutorial effectively can help students learn how to manage their time, advocate for their learning and interests, and become more independent.

Please visit the FUHSD website for more information on the District's Complaint Process and Procedures.