Attendance

Christi Piekos
Attendance Clerk
Phone:  469-856-6304
attendance.mpe@midlothianisd.org

Arrival / Dismissal 
Elementary campuses start the instructional day at 7:30 am (the actual tardy bell time).  For those students who ride to school with a parent, please arrive no earlier than 7:05 am when adult supervision begins.  Students will be dismissed at 3:15 pm daily.  Parents picking up children will need to use the designated area at each campus. 

If there are any transportation changes, please call the office by 2:15 pm, at 468-856-6300.

Due to dismissal procedures, students will not be released to parents at the front office after 2:30 pm.  After that time, students must follow their normal daily dismissal procedure.

Bus Riders
All students must ride their assigned bus.  Students will not be allowed to ride a different bus home with friends or relatives.  (In emergency situations, please call the transportation office at 469-856-5350).

Office Attendance Period
The district must submit attendance of its students to the TEA reflecting attendance at a specific time each day.  The official attendance time will be 9:15 am for all elementary campuses for the 2025-2026 school year. .

Submitting Absence Documentation
A student absent for any portion of the day, including at the official attendance period, should follow the procedures below to provide documentation of the absence:

General Parent Notes - parents can submit an absence request in Skyward, send a written note to the front office, or email attendance.mpe@midlothianisd.org.

**Up to seven (7) absences are allowed with a general parent note each school year. For example, if a parent writes a general absence note for a student who misses two days of school, that one note counts for two separate absences.** 

Submitting an Absence in Skyward

• Log into your Skyward Family Access account and select the ‘Attendance’ box under your student's name.
• Click on the Absence Requests tab, then click on the green Add Absence Request button at the right of that screen.
• Complete all required fields including Start Date, End Date, & Comments. If you have a medical/dental note to submit, then you can upload that document by clicking on ‘Add Attachments’.
• Click the Save Button at the top left of the screen after all information has been entered.

 

Doctor’s Note after an Absence due to Illness - Within 2 days of returning to school, doctor notes should be sent to the front office with your child upon their return to school, uploaded into Skyward Family Access, or should be emailed to:  attendance.mpe@midlothianisd.org

**A student who is absent for more than 4 consecutive days because of a personal illness must bring a statement from a doctor or health clinic verifying the illness or condition that caused the student’s extended absence from school. 

Should a student develop a questionable pattern of absences, the principal or attendance committee may require a statement from a doctor or health clinic verifying the illness or condition that caused the student’s absence from school in order to determine whether the absence or absences will be excused or unexcused.
[See Student Handbook:  https://www.midlothianisd.org/student-life/student-handbook]**

Attendance Expectations
When a student is absent from school without a medical note, the student—upon arrival or return to school—must provide an absence excuse that describes the reason for the absence.  The campus will document in its attendance records for the student whether the absence is considered by the district to be excused or unexcused. Note: Unless the absence is for a statutorily allowed reason under compulsory attendance laws, the district is not required to excuse any absence, even if the parent provides a note explaining the absence. 

Compulsory Attendance Law
Students are required by law to attend at least 90% of the days a class is offered to receive credit or a final grade.  Students missing 10% or more of class days may earn credit by fulfilling a plan approved by the school principal, through an Attendance Review Committee. This committee will convene once a student misses 90% of the offered class days.

Truancy
If a student accrues 3 or more unexcused absences in a four-week period or 10 or more unexcused absences within a 6-week period, they are considered truant. Consequences for parents can include fines up to $100 per offense.

Tardies
The MISD Elementary Schools have adopted the following tardy guidelines:

Students should report to the office for a tardy slip after 7:30 a.m. Upon the 5th tardy, a parent or guardian is notified by a notification in Skyward Family Access.

Beginning with the 10th tardy, a student will be assigned one academic recovery period assigned by the Attendance Committee and parents will be notified of the date and time. Every 5th tardy from this point on, parents will be notified, and a student will be assigned an additional academic recovery period.

Repeated instances of tardiness will result in more severe disciplinary action.