Foothill High School Handbook
- Cell Phones
- Closed Campus
- Dance Tickets
- Detention
- Dress Code
- Getting to School
- Concerns & Complaints
- Annual Pesticide Notice
- More Information
- Student Expectations
- Forms & Downloads
Cell Phones
Cell phones are valuable and important communicative devices in today’s world. However, use of cell phones during the instructional day seriously impedes and distracts from the learning process. As a school, we believe that students should be allowed to use cell phones on campus at appropriate times but not during the instructional day due to the impact of these devices on learning.
Notes and Responsibilities
- Students are to turn off cell phones (not on vibrate) and keep them out of sight during the instructional day.
- Students may use cell phones only before school, at lunch, during passing periods, and after school.
- Teachers will review the cell phone policy and consequences for cell phone policy violation with all their students at the beginning of the year.
- Teachers will advise the discipline clerk of cell phone policy violations by either forwarding a cell phone policy violation note or writing an email with the words "Cell phone violation" and the student name, student ID number and period the violation occurred in the subject line.
- Administrators only will confiscate cell phones if necessary.
- All staff and students must be consistent with implementation of this policy and the procedures below in order to ensure the learning process is not impacted or disrupted by cell phone use.
- These rules may be applied for all electronic devices.
1st Violation: Detention
- Teacher/staff notifies the student and the discipline clerk of the cell phone policy violation.
- Discipline clerk records infringement of cell phone violation in Zangle as a first offense.
- Discipline clerk calls the student to the office and issues a detention.
2nd Violation: FACTS detention
- Teacher/staff notifies the student and the discipline clerk of the cell phone policy violation.
- Discipline clerk records infringement of the cell phone violation in Zangle as a second offense.
- Discipline clerk and/or appropriate vice principal calls the student to the office and issues a FACTS detention.
- Dialer sent home Thursday before FACTS detention.
3rd Violation: Suspension
- Teacher/staff notifies the student and the discipline clerk of the cell phone policy violation.
- Discipline clerk records infringement of cell phone violation in Zangle as a third offense.
- Discipline clerk writes a referral for student discipline and gives this to a VP.
- Vice principal issues a one-day suspension.
- Vice principal calls parent.
Closed Campus
Foothill has a closed campus. Students may not leave campus without checking out at the front office.
Students who need to leave school during the day must have a parent or guardian call the attendance office at (925) 461-6600 and then press "1" before the time the student needs to leave campus. A pass will be written and ready for the student to pick up in the office before leaving campus.
If a student becomes ill during the day, they must check out through the health office (also in the front office). Students should not call their parent/guardian to have them call the attendance office, the student should just go to the health office.
Classrooms cannot be interrupted to notify a student of an appointment.
If a student is expecting an early dismissal, they must come to the attendance office throughout the day to confirm if the appointment has been arranged. Validation is requested for medical or dental appointments.
Leaving campus without prior parental permission or without checking out through the front office will result in detention.
Dance Tickets
Tickets will be on sale
- Lunch and after school on Monday
- Tuesday-Friday, tickets will be on sale before school, at lunch and after school.
- Ticket windows will always close five minutes prior to the first bell in the morning, five minutes prior to the end-of-lunch bell at lunchtime and at 3:55 p.m. after school.
Ticket Price
- $5 with ASB Sticker — Students MUST show their ID card, with sticker, to receive the ASB sticker discount. Students who claim to have a sticker, but unable to show ID card, will be charged $10.
- $10 without ASB sticker, without an ID card, and non-Foothill student guests.
Guests
- A completed Dance Guest Pass must be turned in at the time of purchasing a ticket for a non-Foothill student.
Outstanding School Debits
- Tickets will not be sold to anyone with an outstanding school debt. Make sure your debits are cleared before you purchase your ticket.
School ID Cards will be required to enter the dance.
- Lost ID cards cannot be produced after school on the day of the dance. If you've lost your ID card, make sure to order a new one, through the main office, before the day of the dance. ID replacement cards cost $10.
Detention
- Detention is a quiet time. It is held Wednesday mornings 8:15-8:45 a.m. and after school 3-3:30 p.m. in A-2.
- Students are to report to detention with materials for study.
- There will be no eating or drinking (water only) during detention.
- Failure to follow these rules or not serve this detention could result in a FACTS Class assigned to you.
FACTS Class
FACTS stands for Foothill After-School Character Trait Support.
FACTS is an innovative approach to discipline that uses restorative justice to get students to consider their infractions and how they might make better choices in the future.
Students who violate the discipline plan may be assigned to the FACTS program. A student’s attendance at FACTS addresses the referral that has been assigned. Any repeat offense of the same behavior results in further discipline, possibly a suspension.
FACTS is held from 3 to 4 p.m. on Wednesday afternoons. Wednesday morning sessions from 7:45 to 8:45 a.m. are offered for students who cannot make afternoon sessions. These classes are held in room A-2.
The expectations for FACTS are as follows:
- FACTS is a class. As in all learning environments, inappropriate behavior is not permitted and talking is allowed only with teacher approval.
- Students are required to write a one-page essay reflecting on the behavior violation. Students are also required to participate in any other character trait activities that are part of the FACTS class.
- No eating or drinking (except water) is allowed.
- In order to reschedule an assigned FACTS class, a parent must contact the student’s vice principal prior to FACTS with a justifiable reason for rescheduling (medical or dental appointment, family emergency, religious observation, etc.).
- Failure to observe the rules and/or participate in the assigned activities may result in suspension.
- Late students will not be allowed in. No exceptions. Failure to attend may result in suspension.
Dress Code
Foothill High School and Pleasanton Unified School District Pupil Dress Code
Dress Code Philosophy
Pleasanton Unified School District’s student dress code supports equitable educational access and is written in a manner that does not reinforce stereotypes. To ensure effective and equitable enforcement of this dress code, school staff shall enforce the dress code consistently and in a manner that does not reinforce or increase marginalization or oppression of any group based on race, sex, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, cultural observance, household income or body type/size.
The district and school dress code shall be strictly enforced on the Foothill High School campus and at any school-sponsored activity.
Our Values:
- All students should be able to dress comfortably for school and engage in the educational environment without fear of or actual unnecessary discipline or body shaming.
- All students and staff should understand that they are responsible for managing their own personal "distractions" without regulating individual students' clothing/self-expression.
- Student dress code enforcement should not result in unnecessary barriers to school attendance.
Our student dress code is designed to accomplish several goals:
- Maintain a safe learning environment.
- Allow students to wear clothing of their choice that is comfortable.
- Allow students to wear clothing that expresses their self-identified gender.
- Allow students to wear religious attire without fear of discipline or discrimination.
- Prevent students from wearing clothing or accessories with offensive images or language, including profanity, hate speech, and pornography.
- Prevent students from wearing clothing or accessories that denote, suggest, display or reference alcohol, drugs or related paraphernalia or other illegal conduct or activities.
- Prevent students from wearing clothing or accessories that will interfere with the operation of the school, disrupt the educational process, invade the rights of others, or create a reasonably foreseeable risk of such interference or invasion of rights.
- Prevent students from wearing clothing or accessories that reasonably can be construed as being or including content that is racist, lewd, vulgar or obscene, or that reasonably can be construed as containing fighting words, speech that incites others to imminent lawless action, defamatory speech, or threats to others.
- Students in Pleasanton Unified School District are “showing up for work”; therefore, they should make every attempt to be in “professional student” clothing for their work day. The dress code is meant to inspire pride and confidence for success as students grow toward entry into the 21st-century professional work environment.
Pleasanton Unified School District expects that all students will dress in a way that is appropriate for the school day or for any school-sponsored event. Student dress choices should respect the district’s intent to sustain a community that is inclusive of a diverse range of identities.
Note: For full text of these Board approved policies, please download the documents below.
Getting to School
Student Parking
Parking/Driving to School
Parking Permit Cost is $60.
Students who drive to school are required to have a parking permit, which entitles a Foothill High School Sophomore, Junior or Senior to park in designated student parking areas on campus. Parking is on a first-come, first-served basis only. Provisional license laws must be adhered to. A valid permit only confers the privilege to park on campus and does not guarantee a parking space. All vehicles must be registered and display the appropriate Foothill Parking Permit.
Registering and receiving a Parking Permit it is a Two Step process.
- Register your vehicle(s).
- Either bring your payment to the office to receive your permit or use the FutureFund to make the payment.
An additional fee of $10 will be charged for lost or stolen permit placards. Any student who leaves the parking lot or campus without proper authorization during the day may have parking privileges revoked.
Refunds will not be granted if parking privilege is revoked.
The following conditions must be followed to ensure the safety of staff and student drivers:
- Students must possess a valid driver’s license.
- Permits must be displayed in the front windshield so that the permit number can be read.
- Students may not leave school during school hours (including lunch) unless they have checked out of the office by a parent/guardian and have been issued a signed and dated pass.
- The speed limit in the parking lot is 10 mph, maximum.
- Students must follow and abide by all state traffic laws in Foothill parking lots. The speed limit is 10 mph.
- Parking is restricted to the designated student lot only, on a first-come, first-served basis. Parking in the teacher/staff lot, or in the visitor lot, is against school policy and could result in loss of permit for one semester.
- Parking in an unmarked space, spots designated for people with disabilities, or fire lane may result in loss of permit.
- Only SENIORS displaying a Senior Parking Permit may park in the Senior Lot (per space availability).
- Reckless driving on or near school grounds could result in the loss of permit for one semester, possible police involvement, and other disciplinary action as deemed necessary by the administration.
- For the safety and well being of all Foothill students and staff, vehicles may be subject to search as deemed necessary by the administration. See Ed Code 2113A.
- Violations of your Provisional License may result in parking privileges being revoked for the remainder of the school year and/or other disciplinary actions.
Drop-Off & Pick-Up
Some updates to the drop off/pick up procedures in the parking lots have been made this year.
Link to Video with Updates to Drop-off/Pick Up and Other Campus Procedures
Link to Slide Deck with Updates
Additional Notes
- Stay off your phones while driving. Our student safety is of most importance.
- Do not leave your car unattended in a drop off zone. Park in a stall so that you are not blocking other drivers.
- DO NOT stop along red curbs to drop off or pick up students. It is illegal to stop at red curbs. Police have been ticketing parents who stop in red zones, such as the ones near the bus stop and right as you enter the drive-thru loop. Tickets for a red zone violation can be as high as $100.
- Students may be dropped off and picked up at white curbs only. There are white curbs in the drive-thru parking lot, in front of the school on Foothill Road and just north/south of the school on Foothill Road. No parking in white zones before and after school. Parking is legal in white zones only as marked and after drop-off and pick-up times.
- Do not block the crosswalk or blue handicapped zone in the loop.
- Remind students who use the outer drop-off/pick-up lane to be extra cautious when crossing traffic to get to the sidewalk.
- Common courtesy: Pull forward, pull forward, pull forward so that other vehicles can enter drive-thru loop or wait in white zones.
Thanks to everyone for reviewing these laws and rules to help traffic move safely and smoothly around our school.
Bus Information
Pleasanton Unified School District does not offer bussing.
However, the valley's public transit authority, Wheels, offers dedicated routes for students to ride a city bus to and from school.
Please visit the links for more information about Wheels and its school bus routes.
Foothill School Bus Route (602 Del Prado Park to Foothill High School)
Foothill School Bus Route (604 Fairlands to Foothill High School)
Concerns & Complaints
For your information, here are some reminders concerning the steps to follow should a more serious concern arise.
- Every effort should be made to resolve concerns at the earliest possible stage. If the concern regards a staff member, parents are asked to contact the staff member as soon as possible in order to meet and attempt to resolve the concern with the staff member personally.
- If the concern remains unresolved after discussing it directly with the staff member, parents may contact a school site administrator for further assistance in resolving the concern. In many cases, the school administrator will facilitate and participate in a meeting with the parent(s) and the staff member in order to discuss and attempt to resolve the concern.
- If these steps do not resolve the concern to your satisfaction, the district has a formal complaint process that can be initiated. Complaint forms are available in the school office and also in the district’s human resources department.
Annual Pesticide Notice
Spiders and hornets and ants — oh, my! The nice folks in charge of keeping bugs in line at Pleasanton schools want you to know what measures are being taken to keep these pesky pests from taking over.
Please take a look at the files below for the school district's explanation of its insect abatement program and what pesticides are used to keep an army of ants from hauling off our kids at lunchtime.
More Information
Student Expectations
One of the major objectives of formal education is that of teaching citizenship and responsibility for one's actions. We believe this to be of primary importance in today's society. It has been the custom for students at Foothill High School to recognize the appropriate conduct for a given situation and to conduct themselves accordingly. It is expected that this custom will continue and that students will exhibit the courtesy that has brought many compliments to our school.
At Foothill High School:
- Everyone has the right to learn (and no one has the right to interfere).
- We believe that everyone's dignity, welfare, and material possessions should be respected.
- Everyone is expected to attend all scheduled classes.
- Individual teachers may have additional expectations for appropriate behaviors.
Forms & Downloads
The links on this page will take you to a pdf document — Acrobat Reader or its equivalent will be needed to view them. Click on the pdf icon at the left to download Acrobat Reader if needed.
Files that include the word EDIT may be filled out using your computer. Hit "print" to print a form once it's been filled out. You will not be able to save the completed forms as a file.
Files that include the word "Writable" may be filled out using your computer. Hit "print" to print a form once it's been filled out. For some forms you may not be able to save the completed forms as a file.
- Administration
- ASB Leadership
- Attendance
- Career Center
- Counseling
- Concerns
- Special Education Tutor Application
- Transportation & Volunteering
Administration
ASB Leadership
Attendance
The links on this page will take you to a pdf document — Acrobat Reader or its equivalent will be needed to view them. Click on the pdf icon at the left to download Acrobat Reader if needed.
Files that include the word EDIT may be filled out using your computer. Hit "print" to print a form once it's been filled out. You will not be able to save the completed forms as a file.
Students who know they will be absent for one to four days should turn in a completed "Pre-Approved Absence" form to avoid being reported as truant. The school does not receive funding for these days.
Please see below for "Pre-Approval Absence" form.
Career Center
Counseling
Concerns
Special Education Tutor Application
Transportation & Volunteering
Due to COVID-19 and Alameda County Health Department Guidance, we were delayed in updating the Volunteer Clearance process, but linked below is information regarding getting cleared. At this time, we still don't have any volunteers on campus but when that changes, all volunteers will need to complete a COVID-19 Health Screener prior to coming onto campus. When we get to that point, we will provide more of an update. Thanks for your patience!
The Volunteer Clearance Form for year 2022-23 is online only.
The Transportation Form is required of parent, guardians, staff and coaches before they can transport students to school related activities using a privately owned vehicle. This form needs to be printed and turned it at the Facilities Desk in the Foothill Main Office. Click here for the Transportation Form.
Students driving themselves to and from school and to sporting activities must fill out the Student Transportation Waiver Form (below) and attach a copy of the auto insurance form with their name on it.