Attendance 

If your student is absent, please call our 24-hour absence line at 760-723-6300 x3305 and leave a message.

Be prepared to provide the attendance office with the following information:

  • Student Name
  • Student ID Number
  • Parent Name
  • Parent Contact Phone Number
  • Reason for the absence

To speak to an attendance clerk please call

760-723-6300 x3113

Para hablar con alguien en la oficina de asistencia por favor llame a 760-723-6300 x3113. 

The State Compulsory Attendance Law (Education Code 48200) requires that each person between the ages of 6 and 18 attend a public full-time day school or continuation school. The state attendance laws also require regular attendance and punctuality with both the school and the parents having responsibility for enforcing these laws.

 It has been well documented that regular attendance is a key factor in the success of a student achieves at school. The teacher of any class from which a student has an absence shall determine what period of time the student has to complete missed assignments. Tests and assignments may be the same as those missed or shall be reasonably equivalent to them as set forth in Education Code 48205.

It is the responsibility of the parent/guardian to report their student’s absences from school by one of the following methods:


1. On the day the student is absent, a parent /guardian may report the absence by calling the attendance office line 723-6300 x 3305.

2. All-day absences may be cleared by written and signed note from parent/guardian presented to the attendance office by the student on his/her return to school.

Absences not reported by the day student returns to school will be considered as TRUANT.

When a student has had 10 absences in the current school year for illness, a physician must verify any further absences for illness. If the required verification is not provided, all further unverified absences for illness will be unexcused. AR 5113(c)

Students may NOT sign their own notes or call regarding their absences. 

Students who are 18 years of age may have their parent/guardian sign a contract with the Attendance Office verifying the age and acknowledging that they are willing to accept the responsibility of managing their own school affairs.
When a student is on campus, he/she is considered in attendance and if he/she leaves campus without an off-campus pass, the student is then considered a truant.

Forging notes or phone calls are suspendable offenses. Work permits will be pulled for students with excessive absences.

Students planning to be absent from a class to participate in a school-sponsored activity must obtain prior approval from the teacher. Students must make up all work missed. Teachers of students who are in danger of failing may decide not to allow them to miss class in order to participate in an activity.

After absence has been reported by parent/guardian the absence will either be excused or unexcused. Definitions follow: 

Excused Absence: (Education Code 48205) (AR 5113)
(A) Notwithstanding Section 48200, a pupil shall be excused from school when the absence is:
     1. Due to his or her illness. (When a student has had 10 absences in the current school year for illness, a physician               must verify any additional absences for illness)
     2. Due to quarantine under the direction of a county or city health officer.

     3. For the purpose of having medical, dental, optometric, or chiropractic services rendered.
     4. For the purpose of attending the funeral services of a member of his or her immediate family, so long as the                absence is not more than one day if the service is conducted in California and not more than three days if the              service is conducted outside California.
    5. For the purpose of jury duty in the manner provided for by law.
    6. Due to the illness or medical appointment during school hours of a child of whom the pupil is the custodial                  parent.
    7. For justifiable personal reasons including, but not limited to, an appearance in court, attendance at a funeral                 service, observance of a holiday or ceremony of his or her religion, attendance at religious retreats, or                           attendance at an employment conference, when the pupil’s absence has been requested in writing by the                     parent or guardian and approved by the principal or a designated representative pursuant to uniform                          standards established by the governing board.
    8. For the purpose of serving as a member of a precinct board for an election pursuant to Section 12302 of the              Elections Code.

(B) A pupil absent from school under this section shall be allowed to complete all assignments and tests missed during the absence that can be reasonably provided and, upon satisfactory completion within a reasonable period of time, shall be given full credit therefore. The teacher of any class from which a pupil is absent shall determine that tests and assignments shall be reasonably equivalent to, but not necessarily identical to, the tests and assignments that the pupil missed during the absence.

(C) For purposes of this section attendance at religious retreats shall not exceed four hours per semester.

(D) Absences pursuant to this section are deemed to be absences in computing average daily attendance and shall not generate state apportionment payments.

(E) “Immediate family,” as used in this section, has the same meaning as that set forth in Section 45194, except that references therein to “employee” shall be deemed references to “pupil”. Amended by SB 1208, Ch.312, Statutes of 1999.

Unexcused Absence/Tardy:

An unexcused absence/tardy includes, but is not limited to the following: In-school suspension, home suspension, truant, job, overslept, out-of-town, nonreligious lessons, friends or relatives visiting, traffic citation, vacation, working on the car, ran out of gas, personal business, driving test, etc. Students have an opportunity to make-up absences by attending Saturday School. Absences must be made-up during the semester in which they occurred.

A student is considered habitually truant when he/she has 3 unexcused absences in one school year or is tardy to class in excess of 30 minutes without a valid excuse on three occasions in one school year, or any combination thereof. EC 48260.

Fallbrook High is a closed campus. Students are not permitted to leave the campus or go into the parking lot once arriving at school unless authorized to do so. If it is necessary for the student to leave during the day, the procedure below is to be followed: 


Students who have legitimate reasons to leave campus during school hours must present a signed note from their parent/guardian to the Attendance Office BEFORE school starts. (Even if students are 18 and have a signed notice on file, they must follow these rules.)

Notes will be verified by placing a call to the parent/guardian.

If a note is not brought in for an off-campus pass, a parent/guardian or someone on the contact list must come to the school with valid identification to check the student out at the Attendance Office. Immediately upon returning to school, the student must report back to the Attendance Office and must have the off-campus pass.

The returning student will then be given a pass to class from the Attendance Office.

If the above procedure is not followed and the student leaves campus without an off-campus pass, the absence will be marked as truant.

The purpose of the School Attendance Review Board is to divert students with school attendance or school behavior problems from the juvenile justice system by providing guidance and coordinated community services to meet their special needs. The Board is made up of representatives from the Department of Social Service, County Probation Department, Fallbrook Sherriff Department, Fallbrook District Administration, and a community representative. The Board attempts to help the student and the parent/guardian to solve problems by using community resources. If this Board is unable to solve the problems at its level, the student and parent/guardian may be issued a citation and will be required to appear in court.