Attendance Policy

It is important for students to attend school every day. Absent or late students miss valuable instructional time and may miss out on opportunities such as field trips or college/career exploration events. Families are encouraged to not schedule appointments, vacations or other events at times that would cause students to miss school. Research shows that any type of absence, excused or unexcused, dramatically decreases a student’s chance of graduating on time.

Remember, if your child is going to be absent, let your school know as soon as possible. Call, email or send a note to the school to let them know about the absence and ask for make-up work for your child.

Students who have multiple absences may require additional interventions. You may be asked to come to the school for a conference to discuss ways to get your child to school on time every day. In some instances when students have multiple unexcused absences, the district may be required to file a truancy petition with King County, and a judge may require your child to attend school or to participate in other activities such as counseling. See Policy 3122 for information on what counts as an excused absence, and gives more details on what happens if your child has too many unexcused absences.