Attendance: School attendance is required by law. Education Code section 48200 of the State of California requires every child between the ages of 6 and 18 to attend school every day and [to be] on time.

Parents and guardians are responsible for their child's school attendance and must notify the school if their child is not in school [and provide a reason]. Acceptable reasons for excused absences are listed [in the Facts for Parents publication, p. 22].

Absences from school for five or more days may be excused if a parent or guardian requests a contract for independent study at least one week prior to absence. The child must complete the contract within the set time line. After any absence, parents are requested to provide absence verification to the school office when the student returns to school.

No student shall have his/her grade reduced or lose credit for an excused absence. A student with an excused absence will be allowed to complete all assignments and tests missed during the absence. Upon satisfactory completion of the assignment or test, within a reasonable period of time, the student will be given full credit. Tests and assignments will be reasonably equivalent to, but not necessarily identical to, the tests and assignments that the student missed during the absence ( Education Code section 48205).

At School: Each school principal establishes school rules and regulations that conform to the district discipline policy to make sure a school atmosphere is free from distraction and disruption. Each school principal establishes school rules and regulations that conform to the district discipline policy to make sure a school atmosphere is free from distraction and disruption. The principal communicates to parents/guardians, staff members and students the details of the district discipline as well as the school rules and regulations. The principal also ensures consistent, fair, and prompt enforcement with due regard for the rights of the individuals.

Students are required to confirm to school regulations, obey all directions, be diligent in study, respect teachers and others in authority and refrain from the use of profane and vulgar language. Students are held accountable for their conduct on the way to and from school, on the playground, school campuses, during recess and at school-sponsored activities.

Comprehensive sexual health education is provided by trained classroom teachers or community-based health educators in grade 6, grade 8, and high school. All content is required by the California Healthy Youth Act ( California Education Code 51930–34 ). Parents or guardians are notified before comprehensive sexual health instruction begins and are invited to review instructional materials. After reviewing materials, parents or guardians may notify the school in writing if they wish to excuse their child from all or part of the instruction.

English Learner Program Options: English learners (ELs) may participate in all programs offered to students.

All identified English learners (ELs) enrolled in SDUSD must be enrolled in Designated English Language Development (dELD) and receive integrated English Language Development (iELD) instruction within all content areas in addition to access to the core curriculum. All students identified as English Learners are automatically placed in the Structured English Immersion (SEI) Program.

Special Education: San Diego Unified School is dedicated to identifying, locating, and assessing all students within the district from birth to 21 years old who may have disabilities, and to providing appropriate support and related services to those students, as determined by an educational evaluation.

The district is committed to providing eligible students a free and appropriate public education consistent with federal and state laws, including those students enrolled in private schools, wards of the state, highly mobile students with exceptional needs, etc. [See the Special Education section for more information.]

The district also has a program to provide individualized instruction to students who are temporarily disabled and who must remain at home or in a hospital or another residential health facility.

Homework: The district homework policy approved by the Board of Education (see Board Policy 6154 ) emphasizes that homework is an important part of the education program and should be assigned to all students on a regular basis. Homework should help students become self-directed, independent learners and improve their academic achievement.