➤ Submit Absence Excuse Note Email to KHS Attendance Office

Daily attendance in school is a strong indicator of future success.

Per the Student Attendance Accounting Handbook provided by Texas Education Agency, a student is considered either present or absent at the official attendance-taking time, known as snapshot.

Each campus attendance is determined by the number of students present at this important designated snapshot time. The high school snapshot time is 10:00 a.m.

To ensure academic engagement and successful learning, all students should be present daily by snapshot and remain academically engaged all day. 

Within 5 school days after the absence:

• Email an absence note to the school's attendance clerk
• Turn in the absence note once the student returns to school

Our office is now paperless! Please send all attendance notes to AttendanceKHS@fortbendisd.gov

(If you are submitting a Doctor’s note, please scan or take a picture of the note and email it to us.)

*If you receive a call/email that your child was marked absent in class and feel this was done in error, please have the student talk/email the teacher about changing the absence. If an error was made, the teacher will email a correction to the Attendance Office.*

Late Arrivals

• Students arriving between 7:30-7:50 must stop and receive a Tardy from the Attendance Office or tardy station.
• Students arriving after the first 20 minutes must sign in at the Attendance Office and will be marked absent.
• Students missing more than 20 minutes during any class period will be marked absent for that class.
• All late arrivals, regardless of the time, must sign in at the Attendance Office.

Leaving School Early/Pick Up

• No students may be picked up after 2:20. The attendance office closes at 2:25.

• A parent/guardian must sign students out in the Front Office or if ill, be sent home by the Clinic. Failure to sign out through the Front Office or Clinic will result in an Unexcused Absence.
• For Student Drivers- Permission from parent/guardian must be submitted in a timely manner (at least two hours before leave time). Send an email to AttendanceKHS@fortbendisd.gov, including student’s name, reason, time of leave and permission for him/her to leave campus. Student MUST sign out at the Attendance Office prior leaving campus. Failure to sign out will result in an Unexcused absence.

• Students will only be released to a person who is listed on their emergency card. Go to www.fortbendisd.com family access to verify who is on the list. You must show proof of ID when picking up a student.
• If your student is in athletics, please plan to pick them up before or after the athletics period or contact the attendance office prior to arriving in order to contact the coach and locate your student.  

Absence Requirements

Please email the attendance office within 5 school days of an absence regardless of reason. Emailed notes must include student’s name, grade, reason for absence, date of absence, and contact number. If a parent fails to email a note, absences will be coded as Unexcused. Emails must be from the parent email that is listed in Skyward.

• Do not email/turn notes in to your student’s teacher(s).
• Students signing out through the clinic will be marked excused for any periods missed that day. However, if the student is absent any additional days, an email must be provided.

• Students absent for more than 3 consecutive days because of an illness must email a doctor’s note to excuse any additional days. After 3 days with no doctor’s note, additional absences will be considered Unexcused.

Absences that are considered “excused” with parent email and/or documentation

• A medical or dental appointment
• Illness
• Death in immediate family
• Observing religious holy days (FBISD interfaith calendar)
• A court proceeding that the student is required to attend or a meeting with the probation officer
• Immigration appointment

Absences that are considered Unexcused

• Family Vacations
• Personal Reasons
• Overslept/ Missed Bus
• Traffic

Testing/Extracurricular and Field Trips

• Please allow up to 48hrs for attendance to be updated before emailing the attendance office. Students may be counted as absent but it will be updated once we receive who was in attendance from the Sponsor or Testing Coordinator.

Truancy 

• Truancy is the act of failing or refusing to attend school.  FBISD enforces the Texas Compulsory Attendance laws of the State of Texas. The Student Attendance Specialists work closely with the campuses to collect attendance data, coordinate automated phone messages to parents when a child is absent, issue warning letters, #Attend2Achieve Truancy Diversion Program notices and referrals to appear in court. 
• If a student receives 3 unexcused absences within a 4 week period or 5 total unexcused absences in a semester, a warning letter will be mailed.
• If a student accumulates 5 unexcused absences during a semester, an #Attend2Achieve Truancy Diversion Program invitation will be mailed and the campus will implement truancy prevention measures.
• If a student accrues 10 unexcused absences in a 6 month period, a referral may be sent to the appropriate authorities.