Notes from parents (containing dates, times, reasons for absences, and parent's daytime phone numbers) or medical notes (containing the office phone number and the date and time of treatment) are due the day a student returns to school but may be accepted up to three days after an absence. Without a valid note within three days, an absence will remain unexcused. Notes are verified with parents or the respective medical offices. Notes with the parent's signature can be turned in to the subschool offices in the cafeteria. (The subschool offices are the attendance offices at EAST.)

A college visit will be an excused absence if, when students return, they provide the sub-school office a document issued by the college on college letterhead with the student's name and date on it as proof of their visit. Absences related to college visits will not be counted towards final exam exemptions.

Absences due to acceptable reasons are considered excused. Acceptable reasons include personal illness, death or illness in the immediate family, entire school day medical/dental appointments, quarantine, weather or road conditions making travel dangerous or other causes approved one week in advance by the principal. All other absences are considered unexcused. After the seventh absence medical notes may be required for all subsequent absences.

Many Plano East Senior High School students participate in school-sponsored activities that will result in excused absences from school for competitions and field trips. While such absences are excused, students are expected to be aware of a few important points:

Ultimately, it is the student’s responsibility to contact the teacher prior to the scheduled absence in order to obtain assignments. A field trip form is an important document that must be completed one week prior to the field trip to ensure communication between the student and the teacher. Every student knows that he/she will be missing in advance, so he/she should plan ahead.

If a student waits until after the absence to obtain assignments, the student runs the risk of falling behind and possibly becoming ineligible in the future. 

Failure to plan ahead or promptly make up labs or group projects causes serious curricular issues.

Loss of credit for any class occurs when the number of absences violates the state requirement. This number varies by semester. Loss of credit may be appealed at the end of the semester, and each appeal will be judged individually based on circumstances, make-up time served, and documentation. All unexcused time for the semester must be made up before credit can be regained for any class. Continued attendance, with or without credit, will be required.

Non-disciplinary make-up time will be assigned in Saturday School sessions and/or detentions. Failure to serve make-up time will have a negative impact on any appeal to have credit reinstated.

Appointments that require a student to miss only part of a school day will not count as absences if students check out with parent permission and provide proper documentation from medical offices on their return.

Religious holidays will not be considered absences.

State law requires that a student must attend class 90% of the scheduled school days per semester to receive credit and to receive a TEA form required for driver's license.

Skipping school will result in disciplinary consequences in addition to make-up time being assigned. Truancy warning letters may be issued for students with questionable attendance, and referrals to Truancy Court may result from subsequent unexcused absences.

Students receive a zero on all assignments and tests missed.

Absences, which are not excused but are unavoidable, may be classified as unexcused with permission. While these count against loss of credit and senior exemption, 100% may be earned on makeup work. In order to make up and receive credit for work missed because of a planned unexcused absence, a student must submit a written notice from a parent to his/her subschool one-week in advance of the planned absence. When no prior notification is given, students will receive a zero for work or tests due to the absence.