Attendance

Attendance Documentation Form

Please turn in all notes if you have outstanding unexcused absences.

• Attendance note processing may take 3-5 days to process.
• It is not necessary to submit notes in more than one form. For example, if you submit your note electronically, you do not need to send a paper copy to school with your student.

Watch this how-to document to learn how to submit your documents via Skyward

HOW TO VIDEO

Attendance Appeal 

A SFHS Petition for Course Credit Appeal is a formal request brought by a student and the student’s legal guardian to challenge the denial of course credit based on the student’s lack of attendance. An appeal will be considered if there is evidence of one or more conditions that have adversely affected the student’s ability to attend school.  An appeal will not be considered without documentation explaining the extenuating circumstance(s) that prohibited the student from attending school.   

 Visiting colleges soon? Complete this form to get your absence excused.

Excused Absence Request for a College Visit

2025-2026 SFHS Bell Schedule

Make-Up Hours

If your student has more than 8 absences in the fall semester, your student owes make-up hours. If you have questions regarding your student's attendance record or want to check on their make-up hour status, please contact: Erin.Withers@sfisd.org

If your student has been notified that they have make-up hours, they need to check with Mrs. Withers to verify how many hours they currently owe. All hours must be served by the end of the semester to avoid the risk of Credit Loss/Denied Credit.

Make-up time options:

December 4th & 11th 3PM - 6PM

December 17th & 18th 12:15-3:15

*For Information Regarding: Community Service, Perfect Attendance Incentives, TSI Tutoring and Testing, please see Erin Withers for options.

MISSING TEN MINUTES OF CLASS

If your student misses ten minutes or more of class for the following reasons, they will be marked absent.

• Tardy and arrive ten or more minutes passed the bell.
• Check Out and Return During Lunch or Anytime of the Day.

Recently the student's attendance has been declining, and we need them here each day, for the entire class period.

See Mrs. Withers for more information.

Students who have exceeded more than 8 absences in any class period will owe make-up hours in order to gain course credit (Click here to learn more.). 

Parents and Students, please take note of our Semester Exam Exemption policy. Please keep this policy in mind when deciding to miss school for an unexcused absence if your student intends to qualify to be exempt from their semester exams.

As a reminder, students are marked "absent" if they are more than 10 minutes late to class. Because of compulsory attendance laws, students are required to be in each class 90% of the time. Students are only marked "tardy" if they are late by 10 minutes or less.

                          Attendance Works                       

       Every Day Counts Flyer (English)             

Attendance Tips For Parents

Tardy Information

• If a student is not in class at the time of the bell ringing, they are considered tardy.
• Music plays in the hallways between each passing period, when the music turns off, this signals to students that they have ONE minute to make it to class.
• Tardy consequences will be distributed from Mrs. Erin Withers, our Attendance Improvement Specialist.
• If you have questions regarding your student's attendance/tardy record, please contact our Attendance Data Specialist, Mrs. Renea Bickerstaff at Susan.Bickerstaff@sfisd.org

SFHS Tardy Policy

• 6th Tardy – 1-Hour Detention
• 12th Tardy – 2-Hour Detention
• 18th Tardy – 3-Hour Detention
• 24th + Tardy – 1 Day of ISS and Meet with AP

Tardies are given per class. So, for example, if a student is late to every class in one day, that would be EIGHT tardies.

WILL RESET EVERY NINE WEEKS

Please use the link to submit your request online.

Transcript Request Link

All Transcripts will be processed within 48 to 72 hours.

Please contact Ginger Shelton if you have any questions.

SFHS & SFISD will begin to file Truancy January 2025

After a student's 10th unexcused absence in a 6-week period, Santa Fe High School will submit truancy paperwork to the Galveston County court representatives.

• It is important that you send proper documentation (within three days of a student's absence) when students miss school for medical appointments, court orders, military visitations, funerals, and approved college visits.
• Handwritten parent notes do not excuse absences for truancy court.
• This does not pertain to extracurricular absences (athletics, fine arts, FFA, field trips, etc...) as they are approved absences through the high school office.

ATTENDANCE -IT’S THE LAW  COMPULSORY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE LAW  

• The State of Texas requires that a child who is at least six years of age, or who is younger than six years of age and has previously been enrolled in first grade, and who has not yet reached the child’s 18th birthday, shall attend school. Texas Education Code Section 25.085
• The Compulsory School Attendance Law has been violated if a student is required to attend school under T.E.C. Section 25.085 and fails to attend school on 10 or more days or parts of days (without excuse) within a six-month period of time in the same school year or fails to attend school on three or more days or parts of days within a four-week period of time. Texas Education Code Section 25.094  
• It is the PARENT’s duty to monitor the student’s school attendance and require the student to attend school. At SFHS, a parent may call the school at any time to inquire about his/her student’s attendance record. Additionally, a parent may monitor attendance online and call the school with any questions/concerns.

Contact Info: Renae Bickerstaff-Attendance Specialist 409-927-3120 

VOE REQUEST

Please use the link to submit online.

VOE Request Form

All VOEs will be processed within 48 to 72 hours.

Please contact Ginger Shelton if you have any questions.

Driver License Attendance Verification

For a student between the ages of 16 and 18 to obtain a driver’s license, written parental permission must be provided for the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) to access the student’s attendance records and, in certain circumstances, for a school administrator to provide the student’s attendance information to DPS. A verification of enrollment (VOE) form may be obtained from the office, which the student will need to submit to DPS upon application for a driver license.

Obtaining a VOE at Santa Fe High School

A student must be in attendance for 90% of the school day, for each class that was offered in the previous semester and have a passing grade for each class they were enrolled in (Texas Education Code 25.092). For example, if a student is seeking a VOE for the spring, the student’s VOE will be issued based upon their attendance in the previous fall semester. If the student was assigned make-up hours in the previous semester, they are not eligible for a VOE. Make-up hours do not count towards VOEs and the student will have to reapply the following semester. A student may have received a denial letter for the following reasons: they do not meet the 90% attendance requirement or they owe fines or fees to Santa Fe High School. If a denial letter is received, an appeal letter may be submitted to Santa Fe High School. The appeal letter should provide supporting documentation to support the claim that the student had extenuating circumstances. A committee meeting will be scheduled in which the student’s attendance history, academic history, and fines & fees history will be discussed. In most cases, the committee does not approve. The decision of the committee is final. If a VOE is denied, the student may re-apply at the beginning of the following semester.