Attendance

Rio Mesa High School expects all students to be in their assigned classroom with all necessary materials before the tardy bell rings. Good attendance is a shared responsibility between the student and parent.  

• We expect parents to send their children to school each day on time and to report any absence within 3 school days.  
• We expect students to arrive at each class on time, to stay at school and to discuss attendance issues with their parents.

It is important that students attend class regularly and on time, except in cases of illness or emergency. Student attendance has a direct correlation with academic performance. Excessive absences in a class and failure to complete makeup work may result in a grade of “Fail” for that class.

The state of California enforces a Compulsory Education Law (EC48200). Students are expected to attend school regularly until age 18 unless they:

1. Graduate from High School

2. Pass the California High School Proficiency Exam.

3. Obtain (at age 16-17) written parental permission to withdraw due to full-time employment with continuing education in Adult School.

All absences must be reported to the Attendance Office within 3 school days.

The best methods for reporting are:

1. Respond to the same-day Parent Square notification, sent in the afternoon. You’ll receive a confirmation email.

2. Leave a voicemail on the Attendance Hotline Message Center 805-278-5511

3. Submit written absence note/doctor’s note

4. Use this pre-filled form 

The following information must be provided to report an absence:

• Student’s Name

• Student’s ID number

• Date(s) of absence (include the time arrived/released for partial day absence)

• Reason for absence

• Parent/guardian name and signature

Arriving Late

When a student arrives late to school, a parent or guardian must accompany the student to the office or send with a note and obtain an excuse. Note forms are available in the Resources section below for your convenience.

Early Release

For early release, please make sure to follow off campus pass procedures. If a student leaves without an off-campus pass, attendance cannot be excused due to closed campus policy.

Students will not be called out class 30 mins prior to 6th period ending.

Picking up

• AVOID VIOLATING OUHSD CLOSED CAMPUS POLICY

• If parents need to pick up their student, please check them out through the front office and obtain a PINK off-campus pass.

  • I.D. VERIFICATION IS REQUIRED

  • Note that summoning a student to the office may take on average about 15 minutes.  Avoid wait times by sending your student with a written request!

Written Requests

• Written requests may be submitted for an off-campus pass. The STUDENT is responsible to pick up pass from the office BEFORE they leave.

  • Submit note at Attendance Office Window before school begins

  • Pass pick-up is during Nutrition Break or Lunch

  • If returning to school, bring the PINK off-campus pass back to the office and obtain a readmit slip

Feeling ill during school

• If your student is feeling ill during class, they must obtain a written pass from the teacher to report to the health office.

If your student has a doctor's note which requests excusal from PE or activity restrictions, please submit to the Health Office to discuss possible accommodations. 

The Oxnard Union High School District has adopted a closed campus policy for each of the high schools. Once students arrive at school, they must remain on campus until the end of the school day, unless they have brought written authorization from their parents/guardians and received permission from school authorities to leave for a specific purpose. Students who leave campus without such authorization shall be classified as truant.

• RMHS Note Form

• District Attorney Office Penalties: Truancy Prevention
  The District Attorney’s Office participates in a county-wide truancy reduction program called Truancy Habits Reduced Increases Vital Education (THRIVE). The schools have programs set up to telephone parents each time a minor is absent from school. If a pattern of truancy emerges, a series of three letters are generated to inform parents of their responsibilities and legal ramifications of non-compliance. The student and parent are invited to a conference at the school to discuss the matter. If truancy continues, the student and parent are referred to a School Attendance Review Board (SARB) meeting to discuss the causes of the truancy as well as potential solutions. Every effort is made to come to a resolution that ends truancy. SARBs are active in all school districts across the county and consist of educators, mental health professionals, public health nurses, community based organizations, probation officers, and police officers. Deputy district attorneys from the Juvenile Unit also participate in the SARB meetings. In some cases students, parents, or both may receive a citation for violating the Education Code’s school attendance requirements. At this stage, court intervention is also utilized to end truancy through fines or potential dismissal of charges upon proof of satisfactory attendance. Overall, THRIVE serves as a model juvenile delinquency prevention program since it has proven to be quite effective in reducing truancy within Ventura County.