Tardy Policy
Tardy Policy
In Ms. Tyack's classroom, a student is considered to be ON TIME if they have done the following BEFORE the "bell work" timer* ends:
📱 Their phone is in the "phone hanger" according to their desk number.
🪑 They are sitting in their assigned seat.
🔔 They have completed the bell work (posted on Canvas).
*The "bell work" timer plays for the first ~5 minutes of class.
Failure to meet these expectations may result in a student being marked "Tardy."
Please refer to the "Entering the Classroom" page under Classroom Rules + Routines — these requirements are posted DAILY on the "big screen" at the front of the classroom.
You're not late if you're ready.
If these steps aren’t done when the timer ends, that’s when you’re marked tardy.
In my classroom, being “on time” is about being ready to learn, not about racing to beat the bell. I do not mark students tardy for arriving a few minutes after the bell, as long as they follow the bell work expectations: phone in the chart, headphones put away, materials out, and bell work completed.
This approach models many real-world situations where arriving calm, focused, and prepared matters more than rushing through the door at an exact minute. Students are only marked tardy if they are not ready to engage in class when the bell work timer ends.
Attendance is taken daily at the beginning of class using the following codes in Aeries:
T= Tardy
This means that the student was late to class and/or failed to meet the "beginning of class" requirements.
A = Absent
This means that the student did not attend class at any point in the period and a parent/guardian did not notify the attendance office to excuse the absence beforehand.
Absences can only be cleared by a parent/guardian within 72 hours (3 days) by calling the attendance office at (661) 758-7400
X = Truant
If the teacher marks this code, this means that the student was more than 30 minutes late to class (and the tardiness was not excused by the attendance office before the student arrived to class).
If the attendance office marks this code, this means that an absence was not cleared by a parent/guardian within 72 hours (3 days) of the teacher marking the student absent.
The "A" will automatically change to an "X" or a "C" in Aeries after 72 hours.
Penalties/fines/criminal charges may be issued and enforced by the state. Please refer to https://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/ai/tr/ for more information.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
Tardies can be cleared by serving detention (before school, during lunch, or after school).
Absences and truancies can be cleared by the student attending Saturday School. Please refer to the "Saturday School" page under Classroom Rules + Routines.
School isn’t the one issuing penalties for truancy — it's California state law.
Parents/guardians, not schools, are legally required to ensure their children attend school regularly. After multiple unexcused absences, families may be referred to a School Attendance Review Board (SARB), and if problems persist, the case may be sent to juvenile court or the district attorney. (California Department of Education)
Possible consequences include:
Fines ranging from hundreds to over a thousand dollars (e.g., approximately $420 for a first court offense and $820 or more for a third). (kernhigh.org)
In more severe cases, misdemeanor charges may result in up to $2,500 in fines and/or up to one year in county jail — including charges like “failure to supervise” or “contributing to a minor’s delinquency.” (Shouse Law Group)
Truant Status: A student is officially considered truant once they have 3 unexcused absences or 3 tardies of more than 30 minutes (or any combination) in a single school year. At this point, the school is required to notify parents. (California Department of Education, The Rodriguez Law Group)
Habitual Truant: If a student is reported as truant three or more times in one school year—and following at least one parent–student–staff meeting—the student becomes a habitual truant. This status opens the door for referral to the School Attendance Review Board (SARB). (California Department of Education)
Local Notifications: Some districts have additional steps before SARB:
3 absences/tardies → school sends Truancy Letter #1
6 → Letter #2 plus a required parent–school meeting (SART)
9 → Letter #3, which may lead to a formal SARB hearing (Exeter Unified School District)