Independent Study
Short Term Independent Study Requests
- Download the “Independent Study Agreement Form”. Please fill out the request completely with the signatures of student, parent/guardian and all teachers before submitting the completed form to the Attendance technician at least 10 school days prior to the absence.
- One Independent Study contract is needed for each student (if you have multiple students that need to go on Independent Study).
- The parent/guardian will be notified when the agreement has been approved or disapproved.
- The student will need to pick up the completed contract and school work from the Attendance Technician, Mrs. Fong, during lunch the last school day before the absence DURING LUNCH as Mrs. Fong is scheduled to leave at 2:00 each day.
- Student must return all assigned Independent Study work by 8:15 am on the 1st school day after the "last school absence date" designated on the contract. If the student is not able to attend school, parents are responsible to turn in the work. If the work is not received by that time and date, the student will not receive credit.
- If the student does not complete all assigned work, the student can be denied from receiving Short Term Independent Study in the future, for up to 3 school years.
Independent Study Contracts
In order to maximize student achievement and social/emotional growth and in accordance with California Education Code, it is expected that students will attend school every day. However, family situations do arise which necessitate emergency travel. When these rare situations arise, families may arrange a Short Term Independent Study Contract with the school. These contracts are appropriate for emergency/unavoidable absences of no fewer than 3 school days and no longer than 10 school days. The absence duration should be as brief as possible, as absences of more than a few days will negatively impact student learning. Independent study is strongly discouraged for family vacations or leisure travel that can occur during school breaks, since independent study cannot replicate the classroom instructional experience.
Short Term Independent Study contracts cannot be established during the first 10 days of the school year nor are they allowed during the last 15 school days of the school year. Requests must be in writing, signed by a parent/guardian, student, and all teachers on the students’ schedule before being submitted to the attendance office no later than 10 school days prior to the absence. All requests must be approved by site administration. The request must include the dates of absences and reason for the request. During lunchtime on the last day of attendance prior to the absence, students must pick up all assigned work from the Attendance Office. Once the student returns to school, all completed work must be turned into the Attendance Office before the student goes to their first period class for the student to receive credit. If the student does not complete all assigned work, the student can be denied from receiving Short Term Independent Study in the future, for up to 3 school years.