Attendance, Policy & Procedures
682-867-8001

Absence

Each day of school is important to a student's mental, emotional, and psychological development. Students who attend school regularly achieve better grades, tend to be more actively involved in activities on campus, and have an easier time learning the skills necessary for success in life. Regular school attendance involves three-way cooperation between the student, the parent and the school. The Texas Education Code 25.085 (a) & (b) states that students must be in attendance a minimum of 90% of the days a class is offered. This attendance law applies to students in grades 7 and 8 as well as to students in grades Pre-K through 6 and in grades 9 through 12. Nine absences or more per semester exceed the 90% attendance requirement. If a student does not meet this attendance obligation, academic credit for the class may be lost and promotion to the next grade may be in jeopardy. When a student's attendance drops below 90%, the student may earn credit for the class by completing a plan approved by the principal.

Reporting an Absence - When a student is absent, we request that the parent or guardian telephone the school by 10:00 a.m. each day to explain the absence of the student. The purpose in notifying the school is to ensure that both the school and the family are aware that we can account for each student.
Attendance Clerk Phone Number: 682-867-8001

All absences not reported within 24 hours are unexcused. After the third consecutive day of absence, a physician's note will be necessary for the absence to be excused. If a student is repeatedly and excessively absent during a semester, a doctor's note may be required for all absences.
Health Care Provider Appointments - We request that parents make every effort to schedule doctor's appointments outside of the school day. When it is necessary for a student to leave school during the day for a medical appointment, a parent must sign the student out in the front office with the reason for the student's absence. For the safety of our students, the attendance clerk is required to verify the parent's identification and determine his/her ability to sign the student out of school. A medical appointment pass will need to be completed by the doctor/nurse and returned to the school office for the absence to be coded as excused.

Excused/Unexcused Absences - An unexcused absence is subject to disciplinary action. The decision for determining whether an absence is excused or unexcused rests solely in the hands of the Boles campus administration. Please review pages 50 through 55 in the AISD Code of Conduct for additional information and/or clarification regarding excused and unexcused absences as well as policies and procedures for attendance. If a student receives three or more unexcused absences within a semester, parents may receive a letter from an AISD Truancy Officer.
Vacation or Business Trips - With regard to vacation and business trips, the Code of Conduct states, "Vacation or Business trips are not recognized by the state as acceptable reasons for students being out of school and will be treated as unexcused." Please plan these trips for school holidays that do not disrupt student learning or cause loss of credit.

Make-Up Work

The student is responsible for work missed, and must check with his/her teachers for make-up work. District policy is one day to make up work for each day missed. If a student misses three consecutive days of school due to illness, the parent may choose to contact the school and request assignments. If a student is absent fewer than three days, it is best to directly email or telephone the teacher or a classmate regarding make-up work.

Students who have work assigned to them on a scheduled basis, such as term papers, projects, etc., should have the work ready on the due date even with an excused absence.

Tardy Policy

A student is tardy if he/she is NOT inside the classroom, ready to learn when the tardy bell stops ringing. We expect Boles students to move to class quickly in order to avoid being tardy. It is not acceptable for students to socialize until seconds before the bell and then race to class.  If a student is more than 5 minutes tardy to his/her first period class, the parent or guardian should telephone the attendance clerk to explain why the student is late. 

• Tardies will be determined by the bell. (See student handbook for details)
• Students should be in their seats ready to begin class when the bell starts to ring.
• Tardy lockouts take place when “TARDY LOCKOUT” is announced over the PA system following the tardy bell for any class period.
• When this occurs, all tardy students are to report to a designated area to receive a “TARDY LOCKOUT” slip. They will not be permitted into class without one.
• 1st Tardy Lockout—One day lunch detention
• All subsequent tardy lockouts—Three (3) days lunch detention

Once a student has received seven (7) days of lunch detention for tardies, any tardy lockouts after the 7th day will result in a Saturday School assignment. After a student serves Saturday School, if that student is again caught in a tardy lockout, the student will be assigned to In School Suspension (ISS).

This process will begin again every six weeks, with students starting with a clean slate.

Length of Day/School Starting and Ending Times:

The regular school day is from 8:45 to 4:10 p.m. The first bell rings at 8:40 a.m. and the tardy bell rings at 8:45 a.m. Students eating breakfast may enter the cafeteria beginning at 8:15 a.m. During inclement weather, all students may go to the cafeteria, beginning at 8:15 a.m. in the morning and remain seated in the cafeteria until the 8:40 bell. Please do not bring students to school prior to 8:15 a.m. (exceptions: morning athletic practice for 7th graders; sectionals for orchestra, band or choir; meeting with a specific teacher who has published morning tutoring sessions; publicized club meetings such as JAM, NJHS or Student Council).

Entrance to the building is through the center front doors only. Unless they are arriving for morning sectionals and are met by their director at the west front doors, fine arts students must also enter the building through the center front doors.

The end of the school day is 4:10 p.m. and all students are asked to leave the building by 4:20 p.m. unless under the direct supervision of an adult teacher, sponsor, or coach. Parents should make transportation arrangements for their students to be off campus by 4:20 p.m.

Leaving School After Arriving

The campus of Boles Junior High is a closed campus. Once students arrive on campus, they are required to stay on school grounds until dismissal time, unless signed out by their parent/guardian with the permission of the office. Students may not leave campus in the morning after they are brought to school to go to area businesses or eating establishments.