Policies

Facts About School Attendance:  

• School attendance is a legal requirement.
• Three days of greater than 30 minute tardies to school (after 8:25 am) equals one unexcused absence.
• Please bring a doctor’s note in ANY time you take your child to the doctor. We can excuse absences or tardies with a doctor’s note.
• Vacations and/or days out of town are NOT considered excused absences by the State of California – even if you call to tell us about it. * Please do your best to plan vacations over school breaks.
• Absences and tardiness can add up before you know it. Excessive absences and tardies can lead to your child being put on an attendance contract with the school district.
• Students who are habitual truants are likely to suffer academically. Poor attendance can equal poor performance at school.
• Excused absences and early pick-ups can also affect school performance and count against your child’s attendance record.
• If you are facing tough challenges related to accessing health care, unstable housing, poor transportation or lack of food, please reach out to us and we will do our best to help with resources.
• Communication is key! Please call us ANY time your student is going to miss a school day, regardless of the reason. We suggest programming the school number in your phone so you have it wherever you are.

* If you take your child out of school for 5 or more days in a row, your student can be put on a study contract and your child will be given work to complete while you are gone. If all work is turned in and completed on time, those days will be excused. You must notify your child’s teacher two school days prior to leaving so they have enough time to get work together for the contract.

Click here to read California school attendance laws: Attendance Laws for California Haga clic aquí para leer las leyes de asistencia escolar de California: Leyes de asistencia de California

Attendance Tips to Promote Student Learning:

• Please make sure your student has a set bedtime and establish a morning routine so they are rested and alert when they get to school.
• Limit the amount of time your child spends on electronics devices and make sure electronics are turned off an hour before bedtime.
• Make sure clothes and  backpacks are prepared for the next day the night before school.
• Check with our Health Technician or office staff if you are not sure about when to keep your child at home due to illness.
• Avoid scheduling vacations or doctor’s appointments when school is in session.
• Talk to teachers and counselors for advice if your student feel anxious about going to school.
• Develop back up plans for getting to school if something comes up. Call on a family member, neighbor, or another parent to take your student to school.

Attending school has a HUGE impact on student success. This year we want to make sure every student misses no more than 9 days of school, or 1 day a month. We need your help.

Early Release and Tardy Guidelines

1. Any person that picks up a student early, including parents, will be asked to show photo  ID.
2. If someone other than the custodial parent is picking up a student prior to the end of the school day the custodial parent must do all of the following:
   1. Notify the office by sending in a signed, dated letter
   2. Date/time of that pick up
   3. State who will be picking up the student
   4. Adult stated must be on the emergency contact list.
3. In case of an emergency, the custodial parent must call the office to notify office staff of  who will be picking up the student and then do one of the following:
   1. Fax  a handwritten and signed note to the office
   2. Send a picture of a written request via email to:
      1. Office Manager
      2. Health Tech
4. If you want to pick up your students before the end of the school school day, it must be BEFORE 2:00 pm (MWThF) or 12:45 pm (Tuesdays). Anyone arriving after this time will need to wait until classes are dismissed to take their student.
5. School starts at 7:55 am.
6. If you are late to school due to a doctor/dentist appointment, please remember to get a note from the doctor to excuse the tardy. You will still need to check in at the office to receive your late slip and give that note to office staff.

Medication at School

Regulations for medication at school:

• No student is allowed to have medications at school (including over the counter medicine and cough drops) without a note from the doctor.
• There are different forms for different medications which is discussed in more detail below.

Please click on the link for more information: Regulations for Medications at school

Forms required for medications at school:

There are three different forms required for medications at school depending on what medication your child needs. Click on the links below to download the form that pertains to your child. In addition to the Medication Authorization form, you must fill out a HIPAA form (see below for information). Please download the form that you need, print it, and take it to your child’s physician to be filled out.

1. General Medication Authorization (any medication to be taken at school that ISN’T an inhaler or EpiPen) that needs to be signed by both the parent/guardian AND the physician in order for the medication to be accepted at school: Medication Authorization  
2. Asthma (Inhaler) Action Plan (any medication listed on this form is for asthma ONLY) must be signed by parent/guardian AND their physician: Asthma Action Plan
3. Epipen (Anaphylaxis) Action Plan (for ANY child that has a severe anaphylactic allergy requiring an Epipen) must be filled out by the parent/guardian AND the physician*. Epipen Action Plan

 *Please make sure your physician writes a detailed description of how/when the Epipen needs to be distributed to your child if known allergy is ingested.

HIPAA* Guidelines for students:

In case there is an emergency or your student has medical concerns that need to be discussed with physician, we must have a HIPAA* form filled out in addition to one of the the above forms (Medical Authorization, Asthma Action Plan, or Epipen). Our school is not permitted to contact any physician/physician’s office/psychologist/psychiatrist/etc for any reason without written consent by the parent/guardian. Please click on the following link for the HIPAA form, print the form, fill it out, and bring it to the health office along with the medication (must be in the RX box if from a pharmacy), and medical form that was filled out by the doctor. HIPAA form – English  HIPAA form – Espanol

*HIPAA: Acronym that stands for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, a US law designed to provide privacy standards to protect patients’ medical records and other health information provided to health plans, doctors, hospitals and other health care providers. Developed by the Department of Health and Human Services, these new standards provide patients with access to their medical records and more control over how their personal health information is used and disclosed. They represent a uniform, federal floor of privacy protections for consumers across the country. State laws providing additional protections to consumers are not affected by this new rule. HIPAA took effect on April 14, 2003.

Please call the Health Technician at our school with any questions.

Immunization Requirements for School

Immunizations for all students starting elementary school (TK – 6th grade):

New California state laws http://www.shotsforschool.org/laws/  require all students starting elementary school (this includes out of state transfers from other schools) to be immunized before they can start school. Personal waivers are no longer accepted under any circumstance. Please clink on the link to see a list of required immunizations: State Immunization Requirements

Immunizations for all students starting middle school (7th and 8th grade):

New State laws http://www.shotsforschool.org/laws/ require all students to be immunized with their Tdap booster immunization before the first day of 7th Grade or they will not receive their school schedule. Please get your immunization early and bring your yellow immunization card to the school office so we can verify your child has had his/her immunization.  NO SHOT, NO SCHOOL-get yours now!

Please contact our office if you have any questions about immunization requirements