School Policies

Arrival and Dismissal

School begins at 8:20 a.m. and dismisses at 3:50 p.m. The first bell sounds at 8:15 a.m. for students to make their way to 1st/5th period. We provide supervision for students from 7:55 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Students arriving before 7:55 a.m. must wait in front of the school. From 7:55 a.m. – 8:15 a.m., all students needing breakfast and all 6th graders must be in the cafeteria. All 7th and 8th graders will report to the big gym. Tutoring is available from 7:55 a.m. - 8:15 a.m. At the sound of the first bell, all students must make their way to 1st/5th period. The tardy bell sounds at 8:20 a.m. Once a student arrives on campus, they must remain until the dismissal bell unless a parent or guardian officially checks them out. After school, students must leave campus by 4:00 p.m., unless they are under a teacher’s direct supervision or are waiting in front of the school for a ride. All students must be picked up no later than 4:15 p.m.

Visitors

Parents and the business community are encouraged to visit the school. For the safety and security of our students and staff, we require all visitors to sign in at the front office and to obtain a visitor’s badge. Student visitors from other schools are not permitted during school hours, with the exception of tours allowing them to visit the campus. Parents or legal guardians may request to shadow their child in class with a 24-hour notification (at least 1 school day) through their child’s counselor or grade level administrator. Parent shadowing is determined at the discretion of the school and may be overridden at any time by the campus principal. We do not currently offer shadowing for students outside of Lamar.

Attendance

Every Day Counts!

Regular attendance in all classes is an expectation of all Austin ISD students. State law and District policy state that students must be in attendance for 90% of the instructional days for a class to receive credit. A student who misses more days than allowed by AISD policy, excused or unexcused, may not be given credit for that class unless time and/or work is made up for the absences. Students will work with the grade level administrator to complete the appropriate steps to reach compliance.

Parents: Making sure your student is in school and on time every day is the law. For more information visit the district's attendance page.

Notification

Please send in documentation of student absences using the School Absence Form on the AISD website or complete a paper form (pick up in Front Office).
We DO NOT accept phone calls or voicemail messages as documentation for a student's absence.

Attendance Specialist, Jennifer Nanyes
Lamar@austinisd.org | 512-414-3217 (office)

Please have medical offices submit documentation of your student’s visit to “Lamar@austinisd.org”.

Please allow up to 72 hours (3 business days) for attendance to be corrected.

Set up notifications for your student’s attendance and grades via Parent Self Serve. Click here to learn more about attendance descriptions and codes.

Students attending family trips during scheduled school days will remain coded as an unexcused absence. Car problems, traffic, or oversleeping will not be considered as an excused absence nor excused tardy.

Tardies

If a student arrives at school between 8:25a.m and 8:40a.m, they must report to the 1st period and will be considered tardy.
If a student arrives after 8:40a.m, they must report to the front office and be signed in by parent/guardian.
If a student is more than 20 minutes late to other class periods, they will be marked ABSENT by the teacher.

CHECK-OUT PROCEDURE

Please do not plan to pick up your student from school 30 minutes prior to dismissal (ie 3:30 PM). Parents should follow the steps below to check out their student from school for an appointment or other reasons:

Park in front of the building and use main entrance
Enter the main office and present your driver's license or any official identification like a passport, this will need to be done every time you check out your student
The office staff will complete the checkout process to document the student's departure from campus
The office staff will call for your student from class or send a staff member to retrieve them

Parent/guardian must sign the student out in the front office. Leaving for any part of the day will result in an unexcused tardy. Students leaving for a medical appointment must bring a note from the doctor to excuse the absence/tardy.

Leaving Campus

Students who plan to leave school during the day must bring a signed written excuse from home with date and time they will be leaving and give it to the office before first period. At that time, students will be given a Permit to Leave Slip allowing him/her to leave class at the designated time to meet his/her parent or guardian in the front office. All students leaving campus during the school day must be signed out in the front office by a parent or guardian. There will be no pick-ups between 3:30 and the end of the school day unless a note has been sent with the student that morning. A photo ID is required to check out your student from school and students will only be released to individuals who are authorized on the students’ registration card (SR290). Students dropped off on campus by school bus, parent or walk-on must remain on campus until dismissal or with authorization from the school. Leaving campus without authorization from the school will result in disciplinary action.

Personal Property at School

Coats, backpacks, instruments, and other articles of value should be labeled with the student’s name. Students should not bring items of value to school that are not directly related to class activities, such as game systems, electronics, or collectible items. If brought to campus, they are the sole responsibility of the student to keep safe. There is a “Lost-and-Found” area in the office for missing items. All items will be stored in the office for at least 3 weeks. Unclaimed items will be donated at the end of each semester. The school is not responsible for lost or unclaimed.

Device Policy

During the most recent legislative session, Gov. Greg Abbott signed House Bill 1481, banning student use of personal communications devices on school campuses during school hours. We now have a clear set of disciplinary measures for violations.

The law aims to boost focus, reduce distractions, and curb cyberbullying.

In case you missed it:

Devices affected: Cell phones, tablets, gaming devices, smart watches, Bluetooth earbuds, fitness trackers with messaging, personal laptops/Chromebooks, two-way radios, pagers, and it also includes any wearable technology that is capable of digital communication or telecommunication.
Devices must be turned off and put away for the day, including during lunch.
Exceptions will be allowed for a student who has a documented need to use a personal communication device in an individualized education program (IEP), Section 504 accommodation plan, individualized health plan, or other similar program or plan.

For all Offenses:

Campus personnel will direct students to give them the device.
Students are required to comply with directives.
Campus personnel will take possession of the device and store it in a designated location.
Parents/Guardians will be notified.
The offense will be documented.
If a student refuses to turn over the device, the action is considered insubordination and is a violation of the Student Success Guide. An administrator will be informed and additional disciplinary action may be taken.

1st offense

Student may pick up device at the end of the day.

2nd offense

Parent/guardian must pick up device.
Student may be referred for supportive intervention.

3rd offense

Parent may pick up the device on the next school day or schedule a conference to pick it up earlier.
Additional consequences are possible at the discretion of the campus administrator. All consequences will be in alignment with the Student Success Guide

4th+ offense

Device held for 48 hours unless a parent conference is arranged.
Additional consequences are possible at the discretion of the campus administrator. All consequences will be in alignment with the Student Success Guide

What’s next:

Each campus will have a secure location for confiscated devices and a system to track ownership.
All staff can confiscate devices in violation of the policy and deliver them to the storage site.
Schools will take reasonable care to keep devices safe, but are not liable if a device is lost or damaged while in school possession.

Student Discipline Expectations

Please read the Student Code of Conduct for behavior expectations.