Handbook

 

Student attendance is a critical educational process component. Students, families and APS personnel
must work together to promote student success by encouraging daily student attendance. Attendance
positively correlates to student success and should not be treated as a disciplinary issue, but rather lead
to conversations with students and families to improve attendance. (Attendance — Albuquerque Public
Schools)

Atrisco Heritage Academy’s Attendance Policy complies with the state’s Attendance for Success Act. The Attendance for Success Act repealed and replaced the Compulsory School Attendance Law and went into effect during SY 2021-2022. In general, it will accomplish the following things:
● It provides a process for preventing absences, early intervention, specialized support, and
referrals to the Children, Youth, and Families Department, or CYFD (Section 12).
● It requires Early Warning Systems data collection and use (Section 6(A)(1)).

According to the Attendance for Success Act, the school’s attendance policy must ensure that there is a
focus on “keeping students in the educational setting” (Section 6(A)(3)(a)). For this reason, schools are
prohibited from using out-of-school suspension or expulsion as a punishment for absences (Section
6(A)(3)(b)).

Parents/Guardians must notify the school each day when their child is absent even if they know
he or she will be absent for multiple days. Parents/Guardians are expected to inform the school
about their child’s absence(s) via ParentVUE or the attendance line. We can not accept emails or
phone calls to check students out during the school day for liability reasons.
● Parents/Guardians must report their child’s absences within three days of the absence.
● Students will only be released to their parent/legal guardian or to a person designated by the
parent/legal guardian in the student’s record. Parent/legal guardian or designee must provide a
picture ID when picking up a student.
If a student drives to school, the parent/legal guardian or person designated by the parent/legal
guardian in the student’s record must come to school to sign their child out. We can not accept
emails or phone calls to check students out during the school day for liability reasons.
● Schools shall comply with state statute and the Albuquerque Public Schools Handbook for
Student Success when determining excused and unexcused absences. Excused, unexcused, and
out-of-school suspensions all count toward student absences that require student intervention
plans when the number of absences reach the standards for early interventions, chronic or
excessive absenteeism. Differentiating between excused and unexcused absences is only helpful
in informing student attendance intervention plans. Students may obtain make-up work for any
absence, excused or unexcused with the exception of long-term suspensions and expulsions.
Suspension shall not be used as a consequence for absences or tardies.

● Absences may be excused for the following reasons with appropriate documentation.
○ Illness, which prevents a child from being at school (including chronic illness
documented on a health plan, IEP or 504 plan)
○ Deployment of a military guardian/legal guardian
○ Limited family emergencies
○ Family deaths
○ Medical, health or legal appointments
○ Religious commitments
○ Tribal obligations
○ College visit for 12th-grade students or other students with principal approval
○ Limited extenuating circumstances as approved in advance by the school principal
● Absences will be unexcused for the following reasons:
○ Illness of another sibling, parent or family member that is not an emergency
○ Family activities or trips during the school day
● APS understands that life is sometimes complicated and seeks to support academic success for
every student. Parents should reach out to staff at Atrisco Heritage Academy if they are having
problems getting their son or daughter to school on time.
● Families will receive a call and/or text message from the district when their child is not in their
scheduled class at the time when attendance is taken. You will receive the following text
message from 67587: “APS This is a safety check because __________ is not in school today.
Please contact the school with questions.” Please do not take this message lightly. It is a safety
concern when your child is not present in school. This is to advise you of your child’s absence.
● Teachers will communicate with families when their child has 3 unexcused absences per class
period. At that time, the teachers will also explain the potential consequences of chronic or
excessive absenteeism. This can be through email, phone, or text message. Teachers will record
this conversation in Synergy’s Student Contact Log. The email will be sent through ParentVue.
● A member of the Attendance Team will contact families to discuss the absences and develop a
plan to improve attendance to prevent chronic or excessive absenteeism. Parents/guardians are
encouraged to contact the Attendance Social Worker if they need assistance with their child’s
attendance.
● Students who miss more than 1⁄2 of their school day are considered absent a full day.

 

Attendance is critical to a student’s education. At the high school level, if a student does not attend school, they are much less able to engage with quality instruction, have opportunities to explore career opportunities and develop job-related skills, and develop supportive, nourishing relationships. APS directive PJ6 Attendance describes attendance thusly: 

Student attendance is a critical educational process component. Students, families and APS personnel must work together to promote student success by encouraging daily student attendance. Attendance positively correlates to student success and should not be treated as a disciplinary issue, but rather lead to conversations with students and families to improve attendance. 

Atrisco Heritage Academy’s Tardy Policy is designed to increase the time students attend class. There are many reasons students may be tardy to class. Directive PJ6 Attendance defines a tardy in this way: 

For purposes of this procedural directive, “tardy” means when a secondary student (7th-12th grade) arrives to any class period during the school day after the scheduled tardy time or when an elementary student (K-5th grade) arrives after the official start time of the school day. A tardy shall not be recorded as an absence. 

There are two types of tardies at AHAHS. Students miss instruction in both cases, but the reasons behind their missing class inform engagement needed to change their timely attendance in the future. : 

Excused Tardies are those where a student has been given a hall pass. 

Unexcused Tardies are those where a student does not have a hall pass. 

AHAHS staff will make every effort to minimize student disruptions at school that result in students being tardy to class. These efforts include: 

Attendance team/office - Designated administration and staff at the school will work to create positive campus culture towards attendance and work with students and families to address student absences and tardiness. 

Bell system - The passing period between classes is seven minutes long. There will be three bells rung during this period. The first bell is rung to signal the end of one class period, beginning the passing period. Students should be released from class and begin moving to their next class. A second bell rings five minutes later, indicating that students should have arrived at their next class. A third bell, the tardy bell, rings at the end of seven minutes, indicating students should be in their classes, ready to learn. 

Bell to bell instruction - Meaningful instruction at the beginning of each period, beginning after the tardy bell through to student release when the end-of-period bell rings. Students should attend the classes to which they’re assigned. 

Hall passes - Students will receive a hall pass prior to transit to class when they will miss instruction, as a handoff and communication from one staff member to the next. Students receiving hall passes may have arrived on campus after the bell or come back to campus from a school activity (issued by front

office), had an appointment with staff on campus (issued by that staff member), a teacher from a previous period kept a student past the bell (issued by the originating teacher), etc. Staff speaking with students in transit during class periods will expect to see hall passes. Other methods of recording students entering and leaving class, such as logs in each classroom, are encouraged. 

Taking attendance - This ensures accurate recording, communication and analysis of a student’s location and attendance. Teachers will take attendance in the first ten minutes of class. Students who have come late to class with a hall pass will be marked present. Students without a hall pass will be marked tardy. Students not present will be marked absent. There will be times when a student was legitimately elsewhere on campus (counselor appt., late arrival to school, the nurse’s office, etc.), and arrives with a hall pass after attendance is taken. The teacher will correct changes in students’ attendance by the end of the class period. 

Passing periods - AHAHS administration and staff will be in the school hallways and outdoor spaces during passing periods. This presence helps create relationships between staff and students, encourages students to get to class and monitors public spaces when large numbers of students are passing to reduce potential problems. 

Bathroom breaks and other uses of the hallway during class - Teachers and staff are to monitor students’ reasonable use of during-class time spent during bathroom breaks and in the hallway, both number of students and duration of time. The goal is to have students in class as much as possible. Excessive time spent out of class should be addressed by the appropriate teacher/staff member, and brought to the attention of the attendance office where warranted. 

Tardy sweeps - Administration and select staff will conduct unannounced tardy sweeps during select passing periods. Teachers and staff will close/lock their doors at the third (tardy) bell of the passing period. Students still in the hallway will be asked to show a hall pass. If students do not have a hall pass, they will be recorded and given a hall pass to class. Consequences of being caught in tardy sweeps without a hall pass are designed to address the magnitude of their tardiness and support the student’s academic progress: 

1st incident - The student will receive a warning and discussion about the importance of attending class on time. 

Multiple incidences - On the second incident, and fifth incidents, the student will receive lunch detention, assigned to a day within one calendar week. During lunch detention, students will work with staff to develop SMART Goals related to their path to graduation, and complete work for their classes. On the eighth tardy sweep, the student will lose an appropriate seasonal privilege (Homecoming access in the first quarter, parking privileges in all quarters, second or third, prom in the fourth quarter). This will be recorded in the student’s discipline history in the student information system. The student’s guardians will be notified at each consequence, and be given heads-up for potential future consequences. 

Excessive incidences - On the 11th incident, and every three incidents thereafter, the student will be assigned Saturday school at AHAHS, within two calendar weeks. This will be an opportunity for the student to receive tutoring or catch up on missing work. This will be recorded in the student’s discipline history in the student information system. The student’s

guardians will be contacted to set up a conference regarding their student’s tardiness and impact on their education. 

Not attending assigned lunch detentions or other consequences multiple times will escalate consequences to in-school suspension (not attending lunch detention 3 times) or other consequences. Consequences for being caught in tardy sweeps are current, but may be updated. Updates will be posted on the AHAHS website. 

Amended: 9/4/2026

For purposes of this procedural directive, “personal electronic device” includes cellular phones, pagers, smartphones, music and media players, gaming devices, tablets, laptop computers, personal digital assistants, and any other device that accomplishes its purpose electronically that is owned by the student.

Student Rights and Responsibilities

• The student who possesses a personal electronic device shall be responsible for its care.
• Student possession of cell phones and other personal electronic devices on all school campuses, including athletic fields, and school buses, at school-sponsored activities and while the student is under the supervision and control of school district employees is permitted. All students may use these devices on campus before school begins (7:30am) and after school ends (2:25pm). AHA administration and staff will not allow use of cell phones or personal electronic devices during instructional time without explicit approval and knowledge of the class instructor.
• The requirement that personal electronic devices may not be used during instructional time may not apply in the following circumstances, only if/when the student obtains prior approval from the principal or his/her designee:
  • The student has a special medical circumstance for self or family member.
  • The student is using the device for an educational or instructional purpose with the teacher’s permission and supervision and approved by the principal.
• Personal electronic devices shall be permitted on school buses, as authorized by the driver, unless use of the personal electronic device causes a disruption on the school bus.
• Students shall not use personal electronic devices on school property or at a school-sponsored activity to access and/or view internet websites that are otherwise blocked to students at the school. Blocked sites include, but are not limited to, most social networking sites.
• Student use of personal electronic devices that disrupts the instructional day may result in disciplinary action and/or confiscation of the personal electronic device. When personal electronic devices are confiscated, they will only be released and/or returned using AHA’s cell phone/electronic device return policy. Students are expected to relinquish their electronic device to school personnel upon request. Failure to do so will result in additional disciplinary action.

Unauthorized Use

Unauthorized use of personal electronic devices includes, but is not limited to, the following:

• Possessing, viewing, sending or sharing video or audio information having sexual, violence, threatening, or inappropriate content on school grounds, school events, or school busses shall be prohibited and may result in disciplinary action and/or confiscation of the personal electronic device is prohibited and may result in disciplinary action(s).
• Transmitting school materials for unethical purposes such as cheating is prohibited and may result in disciplinary action(s).
• Any activity which may be in violation with the Albuquerque Public Schools Bullying Prevention policy and procedural directive is prohibited and may result in disciplinary action(s).
• District staff may confiscate and search personal electronic devices when there is reasonable suspicion of unauthorized or illegal use of the devices and may turn the devices over to the proper authorities for further investigation when warranted.

District Staff Rights and Responsibilities

• Albuquerque Public Schools shall not be responsible for the theft, loss or damage to personal electronic devices brought to school by a student while the device is under the student’s care. The school where the personal electronic device is confiscated shall be responsible for the theft, loss or damage of personal electronic devices if the district employee demonstrated a reckless disregard for internal procedures developed by the school. The school shall be responsible for the theft loss or damage of personal electronic devices confiscated by district staff if the school has not developed internal procedures.
• The school shall develop internal procedures for staff concerning confiscation of personal electronic devices. These procedures shall include but are not limited to, expectations that the staff will immediately secure the device and turn the device into the school designated location, develop a process for parents/legal guardians to retrieve devices, and record when the device was confiscated and why.
• District staff may confiscate personal electronic devices when such devices are being used in violation of this procedural directive and/or internal school procedure. Upon confiscation, district staff shall follow all district and school procedural directives and processes.
• District staff may search confiscated personal electronic devices and examine the content of students’ personal electronic devices when there is reasonable suspicion of unauthorized or illegal use of the devices and may turn the devices over to the proper authorities for further investigation when warranted. When determining if a search is appropriate, district staff shall ensure the following conditions are met before conducting the search:
• The search is reasonable at its inception. That is, when the context is such that it is clear that the student or students are clearly misusing the device and that the search of content would turn up evidence of the violation.
• The scope of the search of the content is reasonably related to the objective of the search and appropriate in light of the age and sex of the student and the nature of the suspected violation.

Corrective Action

Corrective action shall be determined by the number of previous acts, the nature of the act, and the context in which the alleged act occurred. Consequences may range from positive behavioral interventions to suspension and expulsion for repeated offenses and/or depending on the severity of the violations.

Student dress is essential to student respect and behavior; therefore Atrisco Heritage Academy requires professional student dress. Student dress and grooming is to reflect high standards of personal conduct so that each student’s attire promotes a positive, safe and healthy atmosphere within the school. Students and their parents/guardians have the responsibility to be aware of Atrisco Heritage Academy’s dress code and must conform to those requirements. The responsibility to interpret and enforce the policy rests with the administration. Clothing and accessories will be confiscated and returned to parents/guardians. The school is not responsible for any losses.

Unacceptable Clothing & Accessories

Unacceptable clothing and accessories include but are not limited to:

• Excessively tight or revealing clothing including short shorts, short skirts, sheer shirts or bare midriff, tank tops, low cut shirts, off the shoulder shirts, spaghetti straps, tube tops, halter tops or muscle shirts, altered clothing as well as ripped or frayed clothing.
• Attire or accessories that advertise, display, or promote any profanity, or drug, including alcohol or tobacco, sexual connotation, violence, disrespect and/or bigotry towards any group are not acceptable.
• No cleavage can be showing.
• Old English script on any article of clothing or accessory is not permitted on campus.
• No sagging or baggy pants or wearing pants below the waist, including ‘low rise’, skinny jeans or pants belted below the waist that allow underwear or skin to show.
• Spiked jewelry, chains, belts with more than 2” excess.
• Gang-related attire, including memory shirts.
• Sunglasses are not permitted.
• Hats, caps, beanies, head gear, headbands, hair nets are not allowed unless they are specific to instruction, safety, religious, or medical reasons. AHA hats may be worn, but only outside the buildings. Hoodies must be removed upon entering campus.
• Pajamas, house slippers and trench coats are not allowed.
• Shoes must be worn at all times.

Student Identification Badges (IDs/Lanyards)

Students at AHA are required to wear IDs whenever they are on campus. IDs should not be covered by clothing and must be visible at all times. The first ID Badge will be issued at registration. IDs are used to check out books, to purchase school meals, and attend school functions. School staff has the right to ask to see an ID at any time. Failure to show your ID Badge may result in disciplinary action. IDs are not to be traded, tampered, defaced or altered; and any ID with significant damage (such as breaks or pieces missing) is considered invalid. Replacing a lost ID will cost $5.00 and may be purchased in the Activities Office before, after school or during lunch. Please refer to the Jaguar Code for discipline policies regarding IDs and lanyards.

Students are required to wear AHA lanyards. No other lanyard will be considered. The first lanyard is given free at registration. All replacements are $5.00 and can be purchased through the activities office. Lanyards are not to be tampered, defaced or altered. Any found as such must be replaced immediately at student’s expense.

All vehicles parked on school grounds must be registered with the school (no exceptions), and the AHA parking sticker must be placed in the upper corner of the front windshield on the driver’s side. The cost for parking is $30 for a full year and $20 after the 1st semester. Stickers for all additional vehicles are $20 year-round. Replacement parking stickers are $30. All fees are non-refundable and must be paid in cash only. A 2016-2017 AHA student ID, valid driver’s license, current vehicle registration and proof of insurance are all required to purchase a parking sticker.

• Students must have a 2.0 cumulative GPA to receive a parking sticker.
• No temporary permits are issues.
• No freshman allowed to drive to AHA.
• Vehicles parking on the AHA campus must be fully registered. No temporary registrations will be accepted.
• Students will lose driving and parking privileges if three (3) or more discipline referrals are received during any semester.
• Excessive tardies in any class could also result in loss of driving and parking privileges. Also, more than 10 unexcused absences will result in the loss of driving and parking privileges for the remainder of the semester.
• Student with parking stickers are permitted to drive on campus and park only in designated student parking areas. Parking on campus during school hours without a sticker may result in your vehicle being booted. Removal of boot will require payment of parking fee. Student cars may be towed after a second offense.
• Students cannot access their vehicles during school hours. Students are not allowed to return to vehicles during the school day to retrieve books, IDs, backpacks, athletic gear, assignments, etc., without permission.
• Students must follow all posted speed limits. Horseplay with vehicles in parking lot will result in suspension of permits.
• No vehicles shall be left on campus overnight. Such vehicles will receive a violation tag and/or be towed at the owner’s expense.
• Students may not buy or transfer a parking sticker to another student at any time; doing so will result in loss of privileges for all parties involved. Students may also not transfer stickers from one vehicle to another.
• AHA will not replace or refund lost, stolen, or suspended parking permits. If available, a new permit may be purchased at full permit price. No temporary registrations will be issued.
• All vehicles, drivers and passengers are subject to all New Mexico state traffic laws. This includes all laws and sections concerning provisional driver’s licenses.

Neither AHA nor APS is responsible for loss or damage to vehicles and their contents. Parking regulations are strictly enforced. It is a privilege, not a right, to drive and/or park on school grounds. Vehicles on campus are subject to search while on school grounds. The administration reserves the right to tow any vehicle deemed in violation of AHA or APS policy.