Attendance

Absence, Legal and Illegal:

The School Laws of Pennsylvania classify all absences as unexcused or illegal except those for the following reasons: illness of the pupil, death in the immediate family, quarantine, and “exceptionally urgent reasons” that affect the child. “Personal Reasons” is not an excused absence and will be marked as “Unexcused”. Unexcused absence is unlawful absence for all pupils under 17 years of age. The State Laws of Pennsylvania require that legal action be taken after three (3) days of unlawful absence. The Principal will determine the penalty for unexcused absence. Parents are encouraged to call the Attendance Office on the day their child is absent from school: Students still must present a written excuse within five (5) days of his/her return to school.

Excuses:

When a student is absent, guardians must access, complete, and submit the online excuse form
within five (5) school days, or the absence will be marked “unexcused”. You can access the form here: Online Excuse Form

The excuse must contain 1) the date(s) of absence; 2) the reason for the absence; and 3) the parent’s or guardian’s signature. If any of these three items is omitted, the parent/guardian may rewrite the excuse and submit it the next day.

Preprinted excuse forms will be issued to students for parent/guardian convenience. These forms will include the items requested above.

Students who arrive after the designated starting time will be marked as tardy. Students must have a written excuse, explaining the reason for their tardiness. If they have no excuse, the tardy will be considered unexcused.

If a student has excessive absences (10 or more), the school district will require that a doctor’s excuse be provided for each and every absence due to illness.

Measure taken to deal with a student who has been truant, or absent without a legal excuse, may include counseling, referral to CYS, a parent conference, after-school detention, suspension or expulsion. After three (3) unexcused absences, a letter will be sent to parents warning of possible actions through the magistrate.