How Many Absences Are Allowed in a Texas School Year?

In Texas, a public school student can miss up to 18 days of any given class in a standard 180-day school year before losing credit for that class. That figure comes from the state’s 90 percent attendance rule in Texas Education Code Section 25.092, and it answers the question of how many absences are allowed in a Texas school year for credit purposes.¹ A separate rule triggers truancy court at 10 unexcused absences within six months, so the number of days your child can safely miss depends on which consequence you are trying to avoid.

The 18-Day Limit for Course Credit

Section 25.092 says a student in kindergarten through 12th grade cannot receive credit or a final grade for a class unless they attend at least 90 percent of the days the class is offered.¹ Ten percent of a 180-day year is 18 days. Miss more than that and credit is on the line, regardless of grades.

Two features of the rule catch families off guard. First, it applies per class, not to the year overall. A student on a block schedule or with unevenly distributed absences can lose credit in one subject while keeping it in another. Second, excused absences count the same as unexcused ones toward the 90 percent calculation. A run of doctor’s appointments, a family funeral, and a bout of the flu can push a student past 18 days as surely as skipping.

The Separate 10-Absence Rule for Truancy

Truancy has its own math. Once a student accumulates 10 or more unexcused absences, or parts of days, within any six-month period during the same school year, the district must refer the student to truancy court within 10 school days.² The referral is mandatory. Under the Texas Family Code, truant conduct applies to students at least 12 and younger than 19.³

Before that referral happens, the school must send the parent a warning letter. If you receive one, treat it as the legal step it is: the warning is a prerequisite to both truancy proceedings and parent charges, and ignoring it removes procedural protections.

Which Absences Are Excused

The excused/unexcused label does not affect the 18-day credit cap, but it controls the 10-absence truancy count. Under Section 25.087, districts must excuse absences for:⁴

Religious holy days, including travel time.
Required court appearances, including travel time.
Health care appointments for the student or the student’s child, if the student starts or returns to class the same day.
Serious or life-threatening illness documented by a physician’s certificate describing the illness, confirming its severity, estimating the absence period, and stating that attendance is not feasible.
Students in grades 6 through 12 sounding “Taps” at a military honors funeral in Texas.

Districts can add categories under local policy, such as certain family emergencies or funerals. Anything outside the state list or the district’s local policy is typically recorded as unexcused. Oversleeping, unapproved travel, and no-shows are the usual examples.

If Your Child Is Close to or Past 18 Absences

Losing credit is not automatic and it is not final. State law provides two recovery paths, and the one your child qualifies for depends on how far attendance slipped.

Between 75 and 90 Percent Attendance

If your child attended at least 75 percent but less than 90 percent of the days a class was offered, the student can still earn credit by completing a plan approved by the principal that addresses the instructional requirements missed.¹ That usually means makeup work, tutoring, or additional coursework. No hearing is required.

Below 75 Percent Attendance

If attendance falls below 75 percent, or if the principal-approved plan is not an option, the student can petition the district’s attendance committee. Each school board appoints at least one committee, and classroom teachers make up the majority. The committee can award credit if it finds extenuating circumstances justified the absences.¹

A denial can be appealed to the school board, and a school board denial can be appealed to the district court in the county where the district’s central office sits. That court appeal is a trial de novo, meaning the judge reviews the facts from scratch rather than checking whether the committee followed procedure.

Driver’s License and Other Truancy Consequences

A truancy court that finds the student engaged in truant conduct can enter a remedial order requiring school attendance, up to 50 hours of community service (capped at 16 hours per week), tutoring, counseling, substance abuse treatment, job skills training, a mentoring program, or GED preparation if the student is at least 16 and unlikely to succeed in a traditional classroom.⁵ The court cannot send the student to a juvenile justice alternative education program, a boot camp, or a for-profit truancy class. A remedial order lasts up to 180 days or until the end of the school year, whichever comes first.

The consequence that matters most to teenagers: the court can order the Texas Department of Public Safety to suspend the student’s driver’s license or permit, or to deny issuing one if the student does not yet have it, for as long as the remedial order is in effect.⁵ A student who ignores the order can be held in contempt, fined up to $100, and have a license suspension imposed. Repeat contempt findings can lead to a juvenile probation referral, but the court cannot jail a student for contempt of a truancy order.

Fines for Parents

Parents face separate charges under Texas Education Code Section 25.093. A parent commits an offense by failing with criminal negligence to require their child to attend school after the school has issued the required warning and the child accumulates the threshold absences. It is a fine-only misdemeanor that escalates with each offense:

First offense: up to $100
Second offense: up to $200
Third offense: up to $300
Fourth offense: up to $400
Fifth or subsequent offense: up to $500

Each day the child remains out of school can count as a separate offense, and multiple offenses can be bundled into one prosecution.⁶ A court granting deferred disposition can require community service for a charitable or educational organization as a condition.

Medical Conditions and Students With Disabilities

Texas exempts students from compulsory attendance when a temporary medical condition makes attendance impractical, as long as a physician provides a certificate explaining the condition, the prescribed treatment, and the expected duration.⁷ Students with an Individualized Education Program under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or a Section 504 plan under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 may be entitled to further attendance accommodations, including modified expectations or homebound instruction during flare-ups. The IEP team can adjust a plan without a full meeting if the parent and school agree to the changes in writing.

If your child has a chronic illness or disability that affects attendance, get the accommodation into the plan through the school’s special education or 504 coordinator before absences pile up. Retroactive leniency is much harder to secure than an accommodation built in from the start.

Protecting Your Child’s Record

Notify the school of every absence as quickly as possible, ideally the same day. Most districts accept a call followed by a written note, but some require documentation within a set window, so check the local policy. Ask for a dated note for medical absences even when the district does not immediately request one. Keep copies of everything: notifications, doctor’s notes, emails, and letters from the school.

If your child is approaching 18 absences in any class, contact the school before crossing that line. Requesting a principal-approved plan while attendance is still above 75 percent is far simpler than petitioning an attendance committee after credit is already at stake. And if a warning letter arrives about unexcused absences, respond in writing and address the underlying cause quickly. The 10-absence truancy referral moves fast once the threshold is crossed.

1
State of Texas. Texas Education Code 25-092 – Minimum Attendance for Class Credit or Final Grade
2
State of Texas. Texas Education Code 25-0951 – School District Complaint or Referral for Failure to Attend School
3
State of Texas. Texas Family Code 65.003 – Truant Conduct
4
State of Texas. Texas Education Code 25-087 – Excused Absences
5
State of Texas. Texas Family Code 65.103 – Remedial Order
6
State of Texas. Texas Education Code Chapter 25 – Admission, Transfer, and Attendance
7
State of Texas. Texas Education Code 25.086 – Exemptions