Truancies are, by definition, “the action of staying away from school without good reason; absenteeism.” If you purposely miss school without a valid reason you will be punished with truancy. Having a truancy on your record can affect your future privileges at school and many truancies may result in other consequences.

In Education Code [48260], it states that, “A pupil subject to compulsory full-time education or to compulsory continuation education who is absent from school without a valid excuse three full days in one school year or tardy or absent for more than a 30-minute period during the schoolday without a valid excuse on three occasions in one school year, or any combination thereof, shall be classified as a truant and shall be reported to the attendance supervisor or to the superintendent of the school district.”

According to the Dos Pueblos Student Handbook, an unexcused absence must be excused within three days of it happening, or by law it will be considered a truancy. In the student handbook. The only legally valid reasons to be missing school are being ill, quarantined, dental or optometrist appointments, chiropractic services, funeral services of an immediate family, jury duty, and not being able to come to school because of lack of complete immunization.

In the California Education Code, it specifies more on excused absences. It says that illness can be excusable for physical, mental, or behavioral health. It is also excusable to serve on a precinct board for an election, to spend time with an active duty military family member, to attend a naturalization ceremony for citizenship, for a cultural ceremony or event, or to participate in a civic or political event.

If the absence remains unexcused, you are legally truant. Having one to four truancies may result in detention from a teacher and/or an administrator. Five or more truancies will result in Saturday school assigned by an administrator. Once you are considered truant 12 or more times, your parent/guardian will get a written letter in the mail. After 24 or more unexcused truancies, the student and parent will have a meeting with the Dean of Students. An excess of 24 truancies may result in a referral to the District Attorney’s School Attendance Review Board for further consequences.

Off-campus privileges for juniors and seniors may be revoked if a student is excessively truant.