Texas Compulsory Attendance Law

State law (Texas Education Code Section 25.085) requires that all students aged 6 through 19 attend school. Compulsory attendance also applies to students who are younger than six who have been voluntarily enrolled in pre-kindergarten or kindergarten.

Students are required to attend school from the time the school day begins until the time the school day ends. A partial day absence occurs when a student is not present for part of the school day. This means that leaving school early or arriving after school begins (tardy), even if the child attended some of the day, may count against the student. 

If a student is late to class for more than 50 percent of the class period, the student will be counted absent for that class period. Acceptable reasons for an excused tardy are the same as an excused absence.

Students who violate this law may get referral(s) for court proceedings against the parent, guardian or student to enforce the law.

Violation of the law occurs when students get unexcused absences for 10 or more days or parts of days within a six-month period.

90% Attendance Credit Rule

In addition to the Compulsory Attendance Law, there is the “90% Rule,” which states that in order to receive credit for a final grade for a class, a student is required to attend class 90 percent of the days a class is offered regardless of whether the student’s absences are excused or unexcused.

• If a student drops below 90% but attends class at least at 75% of the days the class is offered, the student may earn credit for the class by completing a plan approved by the principal.
• If the student drops below 75% of the days the class is offered, the student may earn credit for the class by completing a plan approved by the Campus Attendance Committee.

The local campus Attendance Committee will review the appeal request for extenuating circumstances and may impose conditions on the receipt of credit. See Austin ISD Board Policies FEC (LEGAL) and FEC (LOCAL). 

There will be no remote learning options for attendance funding, per the State of Texas.

Verification of Enrollment (VOE)

Students who are 15 years or older can be excused from school for no more than one day while the student is enrolled in high school to obtain a driver’s license or learner license, only when both required documentation pages are received. Only 1 day per school year is allowed.

MUST submit BOTH in order to be excused:

(1.) Parent/guardian provided date of TXDPS visit in their absence note w/ parent signature.

(2.) Copy of permit or temporary license after the appointment.

(3.) Parents should submit both together to the AISD report an absence link - which goes directly to McCallum attendance office. 

*if needed student may submit both papers to the front office w/ (student ID on the notes please) or come to the attendance office w/ questions. Only one submission is required. 

A VOE is required by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) for students applying for a learner’s permit or driver's license. To receive a VOE, students must:

• Be currently enrolled

• Be in good standing with attendance (in accordance with TEA and Texas DPS requirements)

Please request a VOE form in advance: VOE request on Registration page. 

*The student must obtain a Verification Of Enrollment and Attendance Form (VOE) from the school to obtain a learner’s permit or a driver's license. The VOE verifies that the student has met the 90 percent attendance requirement for the semester preceding the date of application. VOEs are only valid for 30 days from the date the VOE is issued.  Please do not request a VOE if the student's appointment is more than 30 days from the request.

Medical visits (MED or ILH)

Please submit medical visit documentation within 2 days of returning to campus.

If your student has multiple days out, please submit one excuse note when they return to campus or contact mylissa.schwartz@austinisd.org to discuss documentation required if you have questions/concerns first. 

*extended leave/medical procedures (more than a few days) - please email attendance, student's assigned admin , and or counselor one email to let us know and connect with support on campus for returning. 

College visit (VST)

*ASK EACH COLLEGE FOR A VERIFICATION OF ATTENDANCE LETTER: 

Documentation from the institute of higher learning, with the letterhead, a signature of the official from the institute, contact information, & specifying the students name with dates of visits(s) will excuse a college visit. 

This OFFICAL document is REQUIRED & no email pre-confirmation notes for a planned visit will be accepted in it's place or ahead of time. 

Please note: 

* A maximum of two (2) days during the junior and senior year may be taken to visit an institution of higher education accredited by a generally recognized accrediting organization to determine the student’s interest in attending the institution. Travel days are not included in the 2 days allowed to be excused, only the exact tour/visit day(s) on the documentation provided by the college.

*IF more than two days of college visits are planned, they must be pre-approved by administration PRIOR to the absence being potentially excused. Please contact your assistant principal with questions, the attendance office cannot approve this. Travel days are not included.

*If you forget to get a verification letter, please reach out to the campus visited and ask for one to be sent to you via email. 

*College auditions do count as "college visits", but again only 2 days per year are allowed for this code. If you are a fine arts major please contact your FAA Asst. Principal if more dates are required for auditions to see if they can be pre-approved (theater majors etc. )

Marked absent due to on campus activity, field trip, or Testing? ( FLD, UIL, SCH, or TST)

McCallum scholars should speak with the teacher themselves and then have them an adjustment for any attendance mistakes, when needed. They may come to the attendance office if they have any questions after that (before/after school or during lunchtime). The teacher will have to report attendance changes to me with a specific teacher only form. (Teachers/Coaches ) *Adjustments are not processed to any attendance record without a official note or correction from staff or admin etc.

Field trips/sport event attendance are marked normally by the teachers assigned to the student’s period(s) as unexcused when a student is not present in class, as required, and then will be updated after the event by the attending teacher, it is a requirement for them to do so but then is also a process which may take a while to update. *If it has been more than 5 working days, please contact the teacher/coach your student was present with at an event to double check they were on the list submitted. *If your student is testing, they will likely not be in a regular scheduled class for attendance. The teacher will mark them absent and then within a few days the attendance specialist will single handedly fix each student's attendance with the attendance sheet that is taken in the testing room. It is not allowed to pre-post or fix attendance this same day. Parents/Guardians will ALWAYS get a notification of missed regular class periods - it will be updated as soon as possible.

Attendance Warning letter sent home?

*Please contact your student's Asst. Principal if you have concerns about multiple absences needing make-up hours for excessive absences/skipping class concerns, etc. 

Other reasons: 

Family Emergencies / travel / vacations: Please do let your student's assistant principal know any details you may want to share or to communicate any questions/concerns. Counselors may be of assistance as well, please contact them if your student needs support. These are considered unexcused, and are to be included in the 10% of class-time allowed for class absences.

Court (CRT): Absent due to attending a required in court appearance.

*Copy of pleading or other official document filed with the court such as a notice from the court clerk regarding a hearing or trial date; jury summons; subpoena etc. MUST have date of absence and student's full name for absence to be excused. 

Local attendance Codes - click here for link to AISD attendance codes, 90% info) - Códigos de asistencia local del Distrito Escolar Independiente de Austin

SPED/504

Sped and 504 accommodations do not include directly excusing attendance with said paperwork or excuse notes. Please see your student's assistant principal or the 504 coordinator for inquiry or questions/concerns. 

*Changes simply cannot be made without all proper documentation.

*Attendance notifications are from an automated system (you can adjust your phone/email preferences in the parent portal, see above).

*Even if you give advance notice or turn in a note the day of absences, it's impossible for us to beat the notification system. Please check your parent portal when a notification is missed, sometimes these are tardies, or just single periods missed. 

*Every single attendance note is manually entered which is why we ask parents to allow a minimum of 48-72 hours for attendance changes to show in Parent Self-Serve (frontline/SIS), though it may take shorter or longer to adjust and be viable in the parent portal. It is impossible to predict how many students will turn in notes or be absent, so processing time varies daily.