The state of California has strict requirements for taking attendance in public schools.  Recently, teachers at Placer have been asked to change the way they are used to submitting their attendance.  Although some teachers may feel that these are new changes, most of the “changes” have been required from the beginning.   

Teachers are being reminded to be more accurate and timely when they take their daily attendance.

“We have to get our attendance done and submitted during that period. They actually want us to do it within the first 20 minutes of class,” stated Rick Lopez, teacher at Placer High.

Many teachers at Placer have been used to submitting their attendance anytime during the class period.  They are being reminded to do this at the beginning of each class so that parents can be notified if their son or daughter is not in class.

Teachers are also required to submit the weekly attendance of their classes by the end of the week, on Friday.  Teachers have always been required by state law to turn in their weekly attendance on Fridays; however, some have turned them in the following week. This is not a new policy but instead is reinforcing the way teachers need to turn in their reports.

In addition, teachers will no longer be able to change absences from previous days. Prior to this semester, teachers could go back up to 5 school days and change attendance. Now, if a teacher makes an error, they will only be able to make changes the same school day. All corrections will now be made by calling the attendance desk.

Teachers will also be notified if there is an inconsistency with a student’s attendance.

“Basically, if a student is marked absent 3 out of the 4 periods, a form is given to the teacher of the one class they were marked present to validate they were actually there,” stated Attendance Secretary Rhonda Holden.

Parents will continue to receive a call home if their son or daughter is absent from one of their classes. Last year, parents would receive a call home in the evening. Beginning last semester, calls were made during the period they were absent.

Accuracy is vital regarding school attendance because school funding is calculated by ADA (average daily attendance).

In general, this will be an adjustment for some teachers, but should result in more accuracy in terms of student attendance. 

“We’ll see how much of a hassle it ends up being, but it will make the attendance of students more accurate overall,” states Holden.