Skip To Main Content

Attendance

If your student is absent you may email the attendance clerk to report the reason for their absence.

Email Address:  swinneys@joshuaisd.org

General information about attendance can be found in the student handbook. 

When a student is absent, the state has rules on how we must code that day.  If it falls under an acceptable reason and we receive a note or email (elementary only), we can code it as an excused absence.  An excuse for absence is to be received within 3 days of the student returning to school.  The excuse must either be from a doctor or a parent.  If the excuse is from a doctor, there is no need for an additional parent note.  The state requires the parent notes to include the student name, the reason for the absence, the date information, and a parent signature.  Parent note excuses will be accepted with a maximum of 8 days for first semester and 9 days for second semester. 

Another aspect of attendance that brings up many questions is the difference between the two major parts of Compulsory Attendance law.

  1. Compulsory Attendance – 90% Rule:  States that students must attend at least 90% of the time in order to receive credit for the classes taken.  There is not a distinction between excused and unexcused for this law.  It is due to this law that your principals work diligently to come up with a plan for your student to regain credit.  This only applies to students who have missed or who are in danger of missing more than 10% of the days in the semester.
  1. Compulsory Attendance – Excused vs. Unexcused: States that acceptable excuses must be turned in for absences.  Since all of this data is recorded into a state-wide computer program, the state has determined that students should not receive more than 10 unexcused absences in a 6 month period.  If students do have 10 or more unexcused absences for days or parts of days, the parents and students are in danger of being taken to truancy court. 

The above are two completely different aspects of attendance.  They are often confused with each other when questions are posed.  The school district does not want any student to fall within the consequences of attendance law, but we fully understand the value of students having the opportunity to learn, develop into a productive member of society, and achieve an abundant life.

Late Arrivals:  Due to safety concerns we ask that any student arriving after school starts (at 7:50 for elementary & at 8:20 for secondary) be walked into the school and signed in by the parent or guardian.