Frequently Asked Questions

• How does the district notify parents that students are absent from school?

  Parents and guardians are notified of absences through:

  • MISD Home Access Center https://www.mckinneyisd.net/communications/mobile-app/
  • SchoolMessenger automated phone call/email/text (goes out daily around 6:00 p.m.)
  • Attendance Warning letters (delivered on the 3rd, 7th, and 10th unexcused absences)
  • Possible Loss of Credit Letters (delivered on the 6th absence during the semester)
  • Loss of Credit Letters (delivered on the 10th absence during the semester.

  Review your student’s attendance record daily. As soon as you notice a problem or if you do not recognize the absence dates listed, please contact your campus attendance specialist immediately. Unexcused absences can lead to a variety of issues including a referral to Truancy Court and Loss of Credit.

• My student WAS absent from school, what should I do?

  Within three (3) school days of the student’s arrival or return to school, a note signed by the parent that describes the reason for the absence must be delivered to the appropriate campus office for attendance documentation.

  Please submit handwritten notes to Office A106.

  Molly Hall – Attendance Clerk for Students with Last Names A-K

  Esmeralda Gutierrez – Attendance Clerk for Students with Last Names L-Z.

  If you prefer to submit absence documentation online via the campus Google Doc, please submit via the Absence Reporting Form by clicking on the link below:

  ABSENCE REPORTING FORM

• My student WILL be absent from school, what should I do?

  Phone calls are not required to report an absence in advance, per policy we can’t address absences in advance. Phone calls also cannot count as documentation. Please send in a note following the absence.

• I sent in an attendance note. Why did I still receive a phone call about my student’s attendance?

  Attendance notifications are from an automated system sent out by McKinney ISD and any absence will generate a phone call.

• I checked my student out at the Main Office, but his/her absence is still not coded, what do I do now?

  A few things could have happened:

  • When you checked out your student, you should have been asked to fill out an absence form at checkout. However, there are occasions the front desk is busy and overwhelmed and this does not happen. If you were not asked to fill out the form during checkout, please submit a note via the google doc listed above or have your student submit a handwritten one to Office A106.
  • When parents turn in notes the day of the absence, there are sometimes the notes cannot be coded immediately due to a high volume of other things occurring. The note will be coded asap. If after 48 hours your parent note still has not been coded, please check with your student’s Attendance Clerk listed above to see what may have happened.

• I received a phone call that my student was absent today, but I believe my student was present in class. What do I do?

  Please check your student’s HAC account to see what period(s) he/she was marked absent in. You will need to email the TEACHER of that specific period directly and CC your student’s attendance clerk and ask the teacher to check into the absence for you/your student. Only a teacher email sent to the attendance clerk can remove an absence from a student’s attendance screen.

• I received a phone call that my student was absent today, but I believe my student was tardy to class, not absent. What do I do?

  Two things could have happened in this scenario –

  • If your student was 10 or more minutes late to class, he/she will be marked Absent due to the 90% attendance rule. Classes are approximately 50 minutes long, and students can only miss 9 minutes of class to be in compliance with the 90% attendance rule. On the 10^th minute and each thereafter, the student is no longer tardy, but is indeed absent.
  • You student could have entered the class 0-9 minutes late and the teacher has already moved on to teacher and forgot to change your student’s absence to a tardy. If this happens, you will need to email the TEACHER of that specific period directly and CC your student’s attendance clerk and ask the teacher to check into the tardy/absence for you/your student. Only a teacher email sent to the attendance clerk can remove an absence from a student’s attendance screen.

• What type of absence counts against my student’s attendance?

  Some examples of absences that count against the 90% attendance law include, but are not limited to:

  • Vacations
  • Parent/guardian illness note
  • Attendance at non-school sponsored events
  • Attendance to non-UIL sponsored events

• What type of absences DO NOT count against my student’s attendance?

  State law allows exemptions to the compulsory attendance requirements for the following activities and events, as long as the student makes up all work:

  • School Field Trips
  • UIL Sanctioned Event
  • Religious holy days
  • Required court appearances
  • Appearing at a governmental office to obtain U.S. Citizenship
  • Taking part in a US Naturalization Oath Ceremony
  • Serving as an election clerk
  • Health-care appointments for the student or a child of the student, including absences related to autism services
  • Absences resulting from a serious or life-threatening illness or related treatment that makes a student’s attendance infeasible, with certification by a physician
  • For students in the conservatorship of the state:
    • An activity required under a court-ordered service plan; or,
    • Any other court-ordered activity, provided is it not practicable to schedule the student’s participation in the activity outside the school hours

  For children of military families, absences up to five days will be excused for a student to visit a parent, stepparent, or legal guardian going to, on leave from, or returning from certain deployments (See Children of Military Families on page 16 in the MISD Student Handbook).

• My student is at least 15 years old and I need to request a Verification of Enrollment for in order to get a Learner’s Permit, what do I do?

  Your student must request a Verification Of Enrollment and Attendance Form (VOE) from his/her house office at least 48 hours in advance.  The VOE verifies that the student has met the 90 percent attendance requirement for the semester preceding the date of application. VOEs are only valid for 30 days from the date the VOE is issued.  Please do not request a VOE if the student’s appointment is more than 30 days from the request. Please DO NOT sign the VOE until you get to the DPS office and are in front of them.

  • Students with Last Names A – Go
    • Room C202
    • Colleen Patton at [email protected]
  • Students with Last Names Gr – K and O – Si
    • Room J202
    • Tara Westrich at [email protected]
  • Students with Last Names L – N and Sk – Z
    • Room J207
    • Mary Bolsinger at [email protected]

  A student who is 15 years or older is excused from school for no more than one day while the student is enrolled in high school to obtain a driver’s license or learner license. Please bring back documentation of this visit so that absence can be coded appropriately.

• My student is going on a college visit. What do I do?

  A maximum of two (2) days during the junior and senior year may be taken to visit an institution of higher education accredited by a generally recognized accrediting organization to determine the student’s interest in attending the institution.

  DOCUMENTATION NEEDED: Request a letter from the college/university stating that your student was there on a specific date(s) and a school official’s signature.

  Documentation cannot be a brochure, flyer, or an email. Travel days cannot be excused.

• How do I check my student out early for an appointment?

  Please click on the “Checking Students Out Early” tab to the left for detailed instructions for driving students and non-driving students.