Attendance

How do I request an early dismissal? 

a. You may call or email to make the request. Please provide the student’s  name, grade, ID number and the dismissal time. If you call you may need  to leave a voicemail, we promise we will get the message, but we will not  return the call to verify. If you email, we will respond with a quick “Got it”  or “Thank you”, etc. to verify we received the message. 

b. You can send us the early dismissal request the evening before or the day  of, but please give us at least 30 minutes to receive and process the  request. We can not process early dismissal’s days in advance. You can,  however, let us know in advance if your student will be ABSENT. Please note we stop checking emails or voicemails after 3:30PM, if you need an early dismissal for a time later than that, please make sure to call or email before 3:15PM.

d. If the student returns to school after an early dismissal, they MUST sign  back in at the attendance office with any necessary documentation (ie:  doctor’s note) 

e. This is a closed campus and students should not leave campus without a  dismissal note. Students should not leave campus during their lunch time.  Students caught leaving campus without a dismissal note, even if the parent calls after the fact, can face disciplinary action.

Why is it important to provide a doctor or court note? 

a. Doctor and court appointments are considered by the state to be excused  absences. If we receive documentation, we can adjust the student’s  attendance so that the absence will not go against “seat time”. Doctor notes need to be submitted to the attendance office within 5 days of the student returning to school.

b. It is important that all absent dates are listed on the documentation because  we can only use the dates that are provided on the note. If the student  misses a day of school because he/she is sick but doesn’t see a doctor until  the next day, you can ask the doctor to provide all previous, current & future absent dates on the note.  

c. If a doctor's note states that a student may be excused from school for 5 days but the student returns on the 3^rd day, he/she can not then stay home for  the 4^th & 5^th day. Once a student returns to school, the doctor note is  canceled and a new note will be needed for any further excused absences  (unless the doctor specifically explains why a student might need to come to  school and then be out again). 

d. The doctor note can be dropped off or emailed to us in the attendance office.  You may provide a copy of the note to the nurses’ office or athletics if you  believe it’s needed, but we need to keep a copy in attendance in order to  excuse the absence. Teacher’s do not need a copy unless you want them to  have it. 

What is “Seat Time”? 

a. In order to get credit for a class, students are required to be present in their  classroom seat for 90% of the time.  

b. Student’s may have 9 unexcused absences for 1^st & 8^th periods,   and they may have 5 unexcused absences for 2^nd – 7^th periods. Once a student reaches 10/6 unexcused absences, they must make up the seat time.  

c. Seat time can be made up in various ways such as Saturday school or  tutorials. If a student knows he/she will have to miss school in the future,  they can plan ahead and bank seat time the same way, through Saturday  school and tutorials. 

d. Seat time recovery is handled through the Assistant Principal’s office. You  may contact your student’s AP or the student can visit their office to discuss  how they can make up any needed missed class time. 

How can my student be excused from taking a final exam? 

a. To qualify for a final exam exemption, students in grades 9-12 cannot have more than 3 unexcused absences, they must have a grade of 85% or better in the class, and they cannot have any disciplinary issues for the semester. 

b. Students who are exempt from a final exam and are not required to come to  school for that period may STILL receive an absent mark for that period. We  receive funding based on student attendance and we cannot claim a student  is present in class if they are not. Just know that even though the student  will receive an absent mark, it will not be used against the student for finals  week. We know that students will be coming and going the week of finals  and we recommend ignoring any absent marks the student might receive  even if they are exempt. IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO CALL/EMAIL THE  ATTENDANCE OFFICE TO LET US KNOW. Just disregard.  

What is an unexcused absence? 

a. Any absence that the district doesn’t receive funding for is considered an  unexcused absence. 

b. Excused absences include a doctor’s appointment or extended absences  cleared by a doctor’s note, a court appointment, a state approved religious  holiday, testing, early dismissals, In-School-Suspension, military  appointments (situational), INS appointments, or a district approved school  activity. A funeral is technically an unexcused absence, but it will not be  used against seat time or truancy. Juniors and Seniors are allowed 2  excused college visits per year. For college visits, excuses must be on college letterhead, Keller ISD does not accept email confirmations or itineraries. Additional Junior/Senior college visits are  technically unexcused but will not be used against seat time or truancy.  Travel time for college visits is NOT excused and will be coded as a parent note. DOCUMENTATION IS REQUIRED FOR ALL EXCUSABLE ABSENCES. 

c. When parents call/email to notify us that their student will not be in school  for any reason other than what is listed as an excused absence, we will code  the student as out with a “Parent Note”. A      parent note let’s us know that  the parent is aware that the student is not present at school, but it is an unexcused absence, and it will count against seat time, but it will not 

be used toward truancy. This is why doctor notes and other excusable  absence documentation is so important. 

d. Technically, all unexcused absences can lead to truancy. Students who have 10+ unexcused absences in 1^st & 8^th or 6+ unexcused absences in 2^nd – 7^th are truant. Funerals and parent notes will not be used toward truancy  unless they are habitually used. Truancies are handled through the  Assistant Principal’s office. 

What should I do if my student has a Chronic Medical Condition?

If your student has a chronic medical condition, you need to notify the  attendance, nurse, and counseling offices. 

What should we do if our student was marked absent by mistake? 

a. Have your student come by the attendance office to pick up a Correction Form. The student will use that to have the teacher sign off that  the absent mark was made in error. Once we receive the teacher's signed form, we can make the correction.  

b. Student’s can also address the error directly with the teacher   either in person or by email. 

c. We in attendance will not adjust an absent mark unless we receive verification from the teacher to do so. 

What should my student do if he/she is late to school? 

a. If the parent is aware that the student will be late to school, they can call/email us to let us know and we will parent note any missed class time.  Remember parent notes are unexcused and a student needs to be present for at least 50% of the class to get credit for that class period. 

b. Students who are late to school MUST sign in at the attendance office so that  we are aware of what time they arrived on campus. 

How can my student get a Verification of Enrollment (VOE) to use for  obtaining a driving permit/license? 

a. The student can come by the attendance/front office to scan the VOE QR code that  we have posted. This QR code will open the VOE request form. The student  will need to provide their full name and ID number and date of birth. 

b. The student or parent can also make the request on the attendance page on  the Keller Central High School website. From the KCHS home page, select Students &  Families, then select Attendance, then select VOE. The direct link is  https://www.kellerisd.net/Page/6658. 

c. We ask for at least 24 school day hours to process a VOE request. VOE’s are  good for 30 days from the issue date. After 30 days, a new VOE will be  required and another request must be made.  

d. VOE’s Will be emailed back directly to the email address given on the google doc request form.  We will not print these forms.

e. Starting the 2^nd 9 weeks of school, student’s who owe any seat time will be  denied a VOE until seat time recovery has been made. 

f. Students who need a VOE for the summer break need to listen to the  announcements toward the end of the school year. We will announce when summer VOE requests will begin and when they can be picked up. Generally,  we accept summer VOE requests approximately the last two weeks of school and they are available for pick up the last 2 days of school. A summer VOE is    good from the last day of school until the first day of the new school year.