• Call the school the day of the absence before 9:30 AM. Emails or parent handwritten notes will only be accepted if a student has missed less than 4 days in a semester (for high school on a block schedule).

• When scheduling a medical appointment, we recommend choosing a time of day that will allow the student to start or end the day at school. This means if a student has a medical appointment but attends school for a  part of the same day, the student will receive credit for attending the full day (by providing a doctor’s note with the same date of the absence). 

• All absences not cleared within 24 hours will not be excused unless proper documentation is provided. 

• Parent’s permission does not necessarily mean the school will be able to excuse the absence. Please log into Home Access Center  (HAC) to see your student’s daily attendance. Home Access Center (HAC) - Irving ISD 

Please keep in mind if a student arrives tardy after the reporting period without a doctor’s note, the student will be considered absent for the periods they miss.

Note: The district is not required to excuse any absence, even if the parent provides a note explaining the absence, unless the absence is an exemption under compulsory attendance laws.

• Students who have excessive absences or more than 3 consecutive days of illness will require a doctor’s note to be excused.

• Students on a block schedule are limited to only 4 absences per class per semester. If a student misses more than 4 days in a semester, the student will be placed on a doctor note status for the remainder of the semester. 

  Note: The principal or campus attendance committee may require verification from a healthcare provider for any absences and put students on a doctor's note status at their discretion.

• Documentation from a health care professional licensed, certified, or registered to practice in Texas must be provided that specifies the student’s illness and the anticipated period of the student’s absence relating to the illness or related treatment. This applies to documentation for appointments in person or online.  

•  Anytime a student is admitted to a health care facility, documentation should be provided by the facility and this documentation should be turned in to the attendance office. 

• For mental health and life- threatening situations contact the attendance office for important detailed information. 

• When a student misses part of the day for a doctor's appointment (Dental, Eye exam, Non ill), the student will be counted present if they attend any part of the day and they bring a doctor’s note. We recommend taking a maximum of half a day to minimize instruction loss. 

• Student illness or injury with a phone call or parent note up to 4 times per semester in a block schedule. After 4 times the student will be placed on a Dr. note status.

• For funerals, please call the school for detailed information and provide an obituary or document from the funeral service.

Anytime a student is admitted to a health care facility the parent should immediately provide documentation from the facility to the attendance office. For mental health and life- threatening situations contact the attendance office for important detailed information. 

• Religious Holy Days- a student can miss school if they are observing a Religious Holy Day. 1 day travel to and from are allowed if out of the state. Church retreats, camps, mission trips and individual religious rites (Baptism, Christening, Bar Mitzvah, etc.) are not considered Holy Days. Please provide advance notice to the attendance office. Parent/guardian must complete the religious accommodation form.  Link to Form 

• College Visits - please provide a letterhead from the campus you are attending. This is a signed document from the university with a name and date you attended. It can be obtained from their admissions office or the person giving a campus tour. This is limited to juniors and seniors, a maximum of two days per school year.

• Military Enlistment - students who are pursuing military enlistment are only excused with a recruitment letter or if they are taking their Hazmat test (also a letter head is needed). Limited to students 17 years or older, four days maximum.

• Visiting Military Parents/Guardians - Students are visiting a parent/guardian who is being deployed, on leave from, or immediately returned from deployment. Maximum five days per school year.

• DMV visits are excused up to two days per year with documentation, this includes one day for permit and one day for a driver’s license. Please provide a permit or license documentation. Limited to high school students. LINK to VOE Form

• Playing TAPS at a Military Funeral - Limited to students in grades 6-12. The funeral must be held in Texas for a deceased veteran.

• Citizen Application and Citizen Oath appointments each case maximum 3 days total per each event, proper documentation is required. 

• Court Appearance - provide documentation where a student is required to attend a court hearing. 1 day travel to and from are allowed if outside the city.

• Election Clerk or Early Voting Clerk - students 16 or older, with the principal’s approval, may miss up to 2 days per school year to serve as an election clerk.

• Prior arrangement - absences are limited to 2 days per year with proper form request. Students must be under the 90% requirement to be approved for the time off. See campus attendance office for form.

• Vacations, business trips are not recognized by the state as acceptable reasons for students being out of school and will be treated as unexcused. 
• Parents failing to contact the school within 24 hours will result in an unexcused absence, unless a Doctor note is provided. 
• Being truant. This includes skipping, roaming hallways or being more than 20 mins late to a class, or leaving the class without permission.
• Oversleeping. Any student who arrives tardy after ~10:30 AM will be considered absent, unless they have a doctor’s note to excuse the classes they missed.
• Non-related sporting events are not recognized by the district as necessary time off from school and all non-school sporting activities will not be excused.
• Other absences any reason for which extenuating circumstances are not approved by the campus administration.
• Constantly picking up a student early without a medical necessity will increase the risk for a student to fail due to excessive absences. 

Students must have parent and school permission before leaving the campus, except at the end of their regular school day. A phone request for dismissal should be made in the main office, following proper campus procedure. Any student leaving during school hours must be signed out when leaving the campus and signed back in when returning. Remember to schedule your medical appointments after 11:40 am.

Students with excessive absences may not receive the Verification of Enrollment (VOE) and Attendance form. This form is required by the Department of Public Safety to receive a driver’s license. VOE forms may be requested from the attendance office and must be picked up 48 hours after the request.

School Attendance is NOT a Choice, it is the LAW
If a student is absent without an excuse on 10 or more days or parts of days within a six-month period in the same school year, the district will file truancy court proceedings on parents/guardians and/or the student for violation of the Texas Compulsory Attendance Law. If students don’t obey the truancy court’s orders, they could be found in contempt of court and have to pay a fine. 
Fines range from $100 to $500 per day that student remains truant. Other results of truancy are:

• 
  Loss of VOE form required for a driver’s education permit
• The truancy court may also order a suspension or delay of the student’s driver’s license or permit
• Parents/students may have to participate in counseling, special classes or community services.

When you receive a warning letter, please contact your students' truancy 
officer to set up a meeting at your earliest convenience. If you receive a warning letter, take steps to avoid future unexcused absences. 
Sample Truancy Letter