It’s normal to take a mental health day every once in awhile, or miss due to an illness. However some students can abuse this, resulting in an attendance contract implemented by the administration.

Frisco ISD can file a truancy claim if a student has unexcused absences on 10 or more days or parts of days within a six-month period in the same school year; or on three or more days or parts of days within a four-week period.

As someone who is currently on an attendance contract, I can vouch that in some cases it can be very helpful. If the administrative staff hadn’t sat down with me and applied a set of rules, my opportunity to graduate could have diminished.

A student must attend class 90 percent of the time in order to get credit. Failure in doing so can result in Saturday school and no student wants to do that.

Being absent due to my apathetic attitude towards the education system had a detrimental effect on my schoolwork and caused me to fall behind. Fortunately, due to the contract I have been able to get caught up and earn some of my best grades this semester.

Attendance is one of the most important things someone can do to succeed in school and having a written contract stating the consequences can help a student realize what can happen if they don’t attend regularly.

Sincerely,

Sydney