Attendance

Westlake Academy Absence Policy

Any absence that the district doesn't receive funding for is considered an unfunded absence.

Funded absences include a doctor's appointment and the student attends school part of that
day, a court appearance, a state-approved religious holiday, testing, In-School-Suspension,
military appointments (situational), INS appointments, limited Junior and Senior college visits,
district-approved school activities or another state approved reason as listed in the Student
Attendance Accounting Handbook. A funeral is an unfunded absence, but it will not be used
against the 90% rule or truancy. Documentation is required for all funded absences. If you have
questions about acceptable documentation, please contact the attendance office.

When parents email to notify us that their student will not be in school for any reason other than
what is listed as a funded absence above, the absence will be coded as Unfunded with parent
approval. A parent note lets us know that they are aware that the student is not present at
school. Parent approved absences will count against the 90% rule, and may also count towards
truancy if they are excessive.

Medical Absence Documentation for Official Attendance Funding Periods
Students who are at a medical appointment during our official attendance time can be marked
present for state funding purposes as long as the student is on campus the rest of the day.
Documentation from the physician’s office must be received within 10 school days of the
appointment for the absence to be changed to a medical Absence and the student to be
counted as present.

Medical Documentation for Full Day Absences
Full day medical absences will be marked as unfunded. If a parent provides a physician’s note
within 10 days of the appointment and all the absent dates are listed on the medical document,
these absences will not count against the student’s 90% rule. If the student misses a day of
school because he/she is sick but doesn't see a doctor until the next day, you can request the
doctor to provide all previous, current, and future absent dates on the note.

If a doctor's note states that a student may be excused from school for 5 days, but the student
returns on the 3rd day, he/she may not be medically excused from school on the 4th & 5th day.
Once a student returns to school, the doctor' note is canceled, and a new note will be needed
for any further excused absences. The doctor's note can be dropped off at the front desk or
emailed to attendance. Teachers do not need a copy unless you want them to have it.

College Visits/Career Exploration for Juniors and Seniors.
Juniors and Seniors are allowed two funded College Visit days per year. College visit
documentation must be on college letterhead and list the day(s) the student visited the school
as well as make up all work missed. (TEA does not accept email confirmations, visit itineraries
or business cards to count the absence as funded). Additional Junior/Senior college visits are
unfunded but will not be used against the 90% attendance rule or truancy. Travel time for
college visits is NOT funded and will be coded as unfunded with parent approval.

Military Enlistment
An absence will also be considered funded if a student 17 years of age or older is
pursuing enlistment in a branch of the U.S. armed services or Texas National Guard, provided
the absence does not exceed four days during the period the student is enrolled in high school and the student provides verification to the district of these activities.

Tardies/Early Release
Students who arrive late to a class or leave early will be counted as absent if they miss more
than 30% of class time.

Truancy
All absences including Parent Approved Unfunded Absences may lead to truancy. Students
who have 10+ unfunded absences of any kind are considered truant.

Truancies are handled through the Assistant Principal's office.

Career Investigation Documentation Form

Westlake Academy Attendance Procedures 2024 - 2025
 

Absences
A parent/guardian must email (attendance@westlakeacademy.org) the WA front office any day (or duration) that their student will not be in school. This requirement is in addition to any communication a student may share with their teachers. If the absence is due to a medical appointment, religious observance, court appearance or day-of driver’s permit/license, please provide the written excuse/documentation to the front office.

Arrivals
Students must enter classrooms by 7:50 am. Students must sign in at the front office if
they arrive any time after 7:50 am – even if it is during a passing period or lunchtime - to receive a pass. If a student arrives less than 30 minutes late for any block – they receive a tardy. If arrival is greater than 30 minutes, the student is absent for the entire block (per TEA state code). In this case, WA needs a parent/guardian note or phone call, or a written excuse from an appointment documenting the absence. 

Early Dismissals
Parents/guardians must physically sign their student out at the front office for an early dismissal. If someone other than a parent/guardian is picking up the student, that person must be on the emergency contact list in the PowerSchool Parent Portal. If they are not, please provide their name and WA will copy their driver’s license before we release the student. Early dismissals are available until 2:30 pm each day. Students cannot be released after 2:30pm.

Students with Cars on Campus
With written parent/guardian notice, 10th - 12th graders may sign themselves out for early dismissal. Please follow these guidelines: A parent/guardian writes a note or email that includes:
~ Name of student (first and last)
~ Date of departure
~ Time of dismissal
~ Signature of parent/guardian signature
~ Phone of parent/guardian
In the morning, the student brings the parent/guardian notice to the front office in exchange for an early dismissal slip. At the approved time, the student shows the dismissal slip to their teacher and walks down to the front office to sign out. 

WA Attendance Contact Info: 817-490-5757 or Attendance@westlakeacademy.org

 

Westlake Academy Attendance Procedures 2024 - 2025
More details are available in the Parent & Student Handbook

Absences

A parent/guardian must email (attendance@westlakeacademy.org) the WA attendance office any day (or duration) that their student will not be in school. This requirement is in addition to any communication a student may share with their teachers. If the absence is due to a medical appointment, religious observance, court appearance or day-of driver’s permit/license, please provide the written excuse/documentation to the attendance office.

Arrivals

Students must enter classrooms by 7:50 am. Students must sign in at the front office if

they arrive any time after 7:50 am – even if it is during a passing period or lunchtime - to receive a pass. If a student arrives less than 30 minutes late for any block – they receive a tardy. If arrival is greater than 30 minutes, the student is absent for the entire block (per TEA state code). In this case, WA needs a parent/guardian note or phone call, or a written excuse from an appointment documenting the absence. 

Early Dismissals

Parents/guardians must physically sign their student out at the front office for an early dismissal. If someone other than a parent/guardian is picking up the student, that person must be on the emergency contact list in the PowerSchool Parent Portal. If they are not, please provide their name and WA will copy their driver’s license before we release the student. Early dismissals are available until 2:30 pm each day. Students cannot be released after 2:30pm.

Students with Cars on Campus

With written parent/guardian notice, 10th - 12th graders may sign themselves out for early dismissal. Please follow these guidelines: A parent/guardian writes a note or email that includes:

~ Name of student (first and last)

~ Date of departure

~ Time of dismissal

~ Signature of parent/guardian signature

~ Phone of parent/guardian

In the morning, the student brings the parent/guardian notice to the attendance office in exchange for an early dismissal slip. At the approved time, the student shows the dismissal slip to their teacher and walks down to the attendance office to sign out. 

WA Attendance Contact Info: 817-490-5757 or Attendance@westlakeacademy.org

K - 5th Graders Only (See below for 6th - 12th Graders)

TEA 90% Attendance Rule

More details are available in the Parent/Student Handbook

In addition to your student's success, attendance is also directly connected to Westlake Academy's financial base. The Average Daily Attendance (ADA) is the number of students that are present during school days and represents the TEA’s revenue stream to the Academy. This school year, we have renamed the attendance codes to 'Funded or Unfunded' instead of the previous 'Excused or Unexcused’ so there is a clear distinction as to why absences are coded differently. We understand that there are valid reasons why students may incur unfunded absences and we are not encouraging parents to send ill students to school as contagious students should be in their family’s care. Please review the attendance policy for what the TEA considers funded absences and the required documentation.

 

Per TEA State code, there is a 90% attendance rule requirement for students. Kindergarten - 5th Grade students can still meet the 90% if they only miss up to 17 days for the entire school year. If a student misses more than this - they now owe the state a make-up hours in order to bring their attendance back up to 90%. Student attendance is always available under their profile in the PowerSchool Parent Portal.

Examples

TEA 90% Attendance Rule

In addition to your student's success, attendance is also directly connected to Westlake Academy's financial base. The Average Daily Attendance (ADA) is the number of students that are present during school days and represents the TEA’s revenue stream to the Academy. This school year, we have renamed the attendance codes to 'Funded or Unfunded' instead of the previous 'Excused or Unexcused’ so there is a clear distinction as to why absences are coded differently. We understand that there are valid reasons why students may incur unfunded absences and we are not encouraging parents to send ill students to school as contagious students should be in their family’s care. Please review the attendance policy for what the TEA considers funded absences and the required documentation.

Per TEA State code, there is a 90% attendance rule requirement for students. 6th grade - 12th grade students can still meet the 90% if they only miss up to 4 absences per-period, per-semester. If a student misses a period the 5th time – they now owe the state a make-up hour in order to bring their attendance back up to 90%. Student attendance is always available under their profile in the PowerSchool Parent Portal.

WA Attendance Contact Info: 817-490-5757 or attendance@westlakeacademy.org.