All Early Release requests should be called in at least 2 hours prior to the requested release time to allow time to get your student the pass. We are NOT allowed to call classes to release your student. Passes are sent via paper to individual classes. Teachers can NOT release students until they receive a pass. If you call in an early release with less than 30 minutes notice, we can not guarantee that your student will be out at the time you requested.

A PARENT/GUARDIAN MUST CALL- the attendance voicemail line at 760-290-2211 - Option 2 or 760-290-2223 for Spanish.

When leaving a voice message, please include the following: 

• Name of student (with spelling of the last name)
• Student ID number
• Time to be Released
• Reason for Early Release
• Name of person calling and relationship to student
• How the student is leaving (Name of person picking up, walking, driving, etc.)

**The last release time of the day will be 2:55 p.m. PLEASE PLAN ACCORDINGLY.

Students will only be released to those persons that parent/guardian authorized to pick up, or the way parent/guardian authorized. ID’s of persons picking up will be checked by the SMHS security and MUST match the name of the person listed by the Attendance Office. Students MUST check-out at the Attendance Office with their pass prior to leaving.

*The student must obtain an Off Campus Pass from the Attendance Office, prior to leaving campus. Failure to do so will result in a Saturday School or Tuesday morning detention.

*All students are expected to be in class for final exams and state testing. There will be NO Early Release Passes delivered to students during first and second semester finals. Thank you for your cooperation.

Students are expected to arrive promptly to every class- everyday.  It is the expectation in high school that all students be seated and ready to learn when the bell rings.  When students arrive late to class, instruction is disrupted for all other students.

ALL LATE ARRIVALS MUST check in at the Attendance Office, which is located behind the front office/inside the black gates, BEFORE going to class.

Per CA Dept. of Ed Code 48205, Excused tardies are those due to an illness, a medical appointment, a court appearance, a death in the family, DMV/Passport Appt. or a religious event.  All other reasons, including traffic, will be unexcused.  Please plan accordingly.

To verify a student's TARDY, a parent or guardian MUST call the attendance voicemail line at 760-290-2211 - Option 3 for Late Arrivals OR 760-290-2223 for Spanish. Calls must be received within 72 hours of the TARDY or it will be marked at truant.

When leaving a voice message, please include the following: 

• Name of student (with spelling of the last name)
• Student ID number
• Date of Tardy
• Specific reason for tardy
• Name of person calling and relationship to student

EXCUSED / UNEXCUSED ABSENCES & TARDIES

UNEXCUSED ABSENCE/TARDY

• Appointment (Non-Specified)
• Traffic/Carpool/No Ride
• Overslept
• Vacation/Out of Town

EXCUSED ABSENCE/TARDY

• Personal illness
• Death in the immediate family
• Medical and Dental appointments
• Funerals 
• Call to court (student) 
• Employment Interview/DMV Appt./Passport Appt.
• Religious Event

All other absences/tardies are unexcused and makeup work may not be offered.

Excessive absences/truancies will result in Student Attendance Review Team (SART) meeting with Site Administration.

UNVERIFIED ABSENCES

3 or more unverified full day absences will be considered habitual truancies and parent/guardian will receive a notification of truancy from the District.

TRUANCY

Every student is expected to attend school daily and be on time for class. If a student is absent from class without a valid excuse or leaves class without the teacher’s permission, he/she is considered truant. All absences not cleared by a Dr. note or parent phone call to the attendance office within 72 hours, will be considered truant and the student may be assigned a Saturday School or Tuesday morning detention.

A student may receive no credit for work missed or due on the day of the truancy and make-up work may not be allowed.

TARDIES

Students are expected to arrive on time and ready to learn when the period bell rings. Students who arrive late to school and/or class must report to the Attendance Office to receive an ‘TARDY slip’ to be allowed into the classroom. Students who are late will be charged with a tardy to their attendance record. Please note traffic is not an excused tardy; Unexcused tardy after 30 minutes is considered a period truancy and may result in a Saturday School or Tuesday morning detention.

*Please note that ONLY parents/guardians may excuse tardiness/absences. Tardies received during the school day can ONLY be cleared by the teacher that marked the student Tardy/Absent (via the attendance office).

To verify a student's absence, a parent or guardian must call the attendance voicemail line at 760-290-2211 - Option 1 or 760-290-2223 for Spanish.

When leaving a voice message, please include the following: 

• Name of student (with spelling of the last name)
• Student ID number
• Date(s) of absence
• Specific reason of absence
• Name of person calling and relationship to student

* Students who turn 18 during their time at school are NOT allowed to excuse their absences, tardies, or release themselves from school. If you are interested in allowing your 18 year old to assume this responsibility, please have your student pick up an Eighteen-Year-Old Attendance Agreement form from the Attendance Office. This form must be completed by the student, the parent/guardian, and the Assistant Principal’s Office. 

Per CA Dept. of Ed Code 48205, Excused absences are those due to an illness, a medical appointment, a court appearance, a death in the family, DMV/Passport Appointment or a religious holiday/event.  All other reasons will be unexcused.  We request a doctor's note for an illness lasting 3 or more days. Please email medical notes to smhs.attendance@smusd.org.

Please notify us each day that your student is absent!  Each absence from school must be reported to the Attendance Office by a parent/guardian within 72 hours, as required by California State law.  All unverified absences are considered unexcused and will be marked as truancies until we hear from a parent/guardian.

Note:  All messages regarding your student's attendance must be directed to the Attendance Office rather than your student's teacher(s).  You may certainly take the extra step to notify the teacher(s), but it is in the Attendance Office that all records-keeping takes place.

Repeated unexcused absences for all or part of the school day, including absences from school without knowledge or consent of parents and/or unexcused tardiness, constitutes truancy under CA State Education Codes 48260-48273. Students who have 3 or more unexcused absences, tardies, or truancies from school may be referred to the School Attendance Review Board (SARB) for official and/or legal intervention.