Unexcused Absences

Unexcused Absences & Truancies: Education Code 48260, 48261, 48262, 48913  

An unexcused absence is any absence that does not fall under the excused absences listed above (illness, medical excuse, religious holidays, court mandated appearance, or funeral of a close family member).  A truant (or cut) is an absence that occurred without office notification.  In other words, no parent or guardian submitted an ARF within the 48 hour window to verify the absence.

1. A student will receive a cut/truancy when the absence is not cleared. A cut/truancy is marked as a “T” on a student’s attendance report.
2. No credit is allowed for work missed as a result of a cut/truancy or unexcused absence.
3. A student’s grade may be severely affected by work missed due to a cut/truancy or unexcused absence.
4. Cutting/truant students are not allowed to participate in any extracurricular activities for that same day.

BHS and the district recognize that there are times when parents/guardians may need or want to pull their child from school for reasons that fall outside of the CA excused absence list. In situations when a student may miss a consecutive number of days for a reason that is not recognized as excused by the state, the student and family may complete the Request for Leave Absence form. They can pick this form up in the Attendance office (A124). Students must obtain signatures from all teachers and the form must be completed two weeks prior to the first day of the planned absence and then submitted to the Attendance Office.  The request will be reviewed by the administration. Please note, travel-related absences for any reason are generally not approved and would be considered verified unexcused absences. If you have any questions please reach out to the Attendance office at cgomez@smuhsd.org or 650-558-2808.

NOTE:  Once a student has arrived on campus, he/she may not leave campus except with a permit to leave from the attendance office.  Students leaving campus prior to checking out of the attendance office will be marked as with a “T” for truant and the process will apply accordingly.

Failure to serve detentions or other assigned consequences/interventions for cutting/truancy will be assigned a Friday Work Study. Failure to serve an assigned Friday Work Study may result in being required to attend ATS, perform an equivalent number of hours of School Community Service, or possible an in-school or out of school suspension.