Higher Attendance Equals Higher Achievement Charts

• English Learners Gain from Better Attendance English  | Spanish  • Being in School Boosts Your English Language Achievement English  | Spanish  • Higher Attendance = Higher Achievement for All Students English  | Spanish

• Overview
• Disciplinary Consquences
• Related Resources
  • General Resources
  • Teaching Resources
  • Administrative Procedures
  • Links
• Contact Information

Overview
May 1, 2008, marks the two year anniversary of the first “Day Without an Immigrant” boycott, an event that triggered a sensitive, national debate that affected students and families across the country. These debates continue, and in response, some organizations are asking students and their families to stay home or walk out of school on May 1.

We encourage students to engage in meaningful, respectful debate as a way to exercise their right to free speech, and our teachers and principals are working hard to create venues and activities for these discussions to take place at school. They are providing students resources on the legislative process and have developed special lesson plans and classroom activities.

We also encourage students to look to the person who helped put a face to these issues. We believe César Chávez would not have encouraged our youth to abandon school or the learning process to make a statement. On the contrary, he would have reinforced the importantance of attending school daily, and to absorb the knowledge of everyday learning.

Please keep in mind that May 1 is a scheduled date for the California Standards Test. Missing this test creates a negative impact on the school’s performance record as well as the students.

Students must understand, and parents and guardians must reinforce, acceptable, lawful behavior. Students who choose to break the law, or incite others to do so, will be subject to arrest for loitering or truancy by law enforcement personnel. High school students who are cited will face a loss of privileges, such as attending the prom and other end-of-year activities.

Disciplinary Consequences
The consequences students are facing for skipping school or leaving school without permission are severe. Students and their families must understand that this is considered an unexcused absence, and students will not be able to make up work or exams, which will have an effect on grades.

Guidelines for Disciplinary Action

• For students who leave for one or two periods and return peacefully to school, a note will be sent home and the student(s) will be counseled. At the discretion of the principal, disciplinary action for these students may also include detention or Saturday School.
• Students who do not return to school, are gone multiple days, or are defiant in their actions will receive disciplinary actions up to a suspension for two days. A student missing more than 30 minutes of instruction without an excuse three times during the school year must be classified as truant under state law.
• Students will be arrested if they break the law during their protest demonstrations.

Additionally, high school seniors also face the loss of privileges such as prom, graduation, and other end-of-year activities.

Students and families should understand that truancy hurts the student, school and community. Not only do students miss out on their education, but schools lose too, since state funding for schools is directly tied to student attendance.

Related Resources

General Resources

• Principals' Letter to Parents of Elementary and Middle School Students:
  English  | Spanish 
  
• Principals' Letter to Parents of High School Students:
  English  | Spanish 
  
• Student Discipline Policies
• Student Attendance Review Board (SARB)
• Calculating Average Daily Attendance (ADA)
• Every Day Counts!: Higher Attendance Equals Higher Achievement:
  English | Spanish
• Attendance Charts
  
  • English Learners Gain from Better Attendance
    English  | Spanish 
    
  • Being in School Boosts Your English Language Achievement
    English  | Spanish 
    
  • Higher Attendance = Higher Achievement for All Students
    English  | Spanish 
    

Teaching Resources

• Additional Resources for Teachers, Students on How Our Laws Are Made - The Library of Congress
• IMC Resources Related to Immigration 
• "The Immigration Debate in the Classroom 2007"
  (Source SCORE H/SS)
• Inmigración al Dia – lesson suggestions for Grades 6-12 
• SCORE Resources Related to Immigration 
• Schools of California Online Resources for Education, History/Social Science (SCORE H/SS)

• Administrative Procedures (Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)
• 6150: Truancy and Habitual Truancy
  • Att 1
  • Att 2
  • Att 3
  • Att 4
• 6155: Leaving School Grounds, K-6
• 6156: Leaving School Grounds, 7-12
• 6210: Student Free Speech
• 6270: Discipline and Supervision, General
• 6290: Suspension
• 6291: Parent/Guardians, Classroom Attendance
  • Att
• 6295: Expulsion

Links

• American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU): Immigrants' Rights Project
• Center for Immigration Studies
• Immigration Reform Resource Directory
• The Office of the Clerk
• Pew Hispanic Center
• Public Broadcasting Service (PBS): Beyond the Border
• The Why Files: Assessing Immigration