Attendance

Regular attendance at school is an important part of every student’s success and is necessary in order to gain the greatest benefit from your educational experience. Students who are frequently absent from school will miss valuable instruction and regular contact with their teachers. When absences accumulate, it may ultimately result in academic difficulty for students.

Our District has an obligation to you and to Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) to support your child’s regular attendance at school. B-SSD Policy 204 in accordance with the PDE Compulsory Attendance law, requires the following processes be followed for all school age students from the time the child enters school until the age of seventeen years:

All student absences are counted as unexcused/unlawful until your child’s school receives a written excuse explaining the reason for the absence.

• If a written (parental or medical) excuse is not received at your child’s school within three days, the absence will permanently be added to the student’s file as unexcused/unlawful.
• If your child accumulates three days, or the equivalent, of unlawful absences, B-SSD will notify you by mail of a 1st offense along with the legal consequences of continual unexcused/unlawful absences.
• If you child has four days, or the equivalent, of unexcused/unlawful absences, you will be notified of a school attendance improvement plan meeting.
• If your have received a 1st offense letter and a school attendance improvement plan meeting has occurred, a 2nd offense will be filed with the magisterial district judge for any additional absences.
• PA House Bill 1907 defines “habitually truant” as 6 unexcused/unlawful days or their equivalent, if your child accumulates 6 days of unexcused/unlawful absences or the equivalent, the district must do the following:
  • Notify Children and Youth services
  • Notify the magisterial district judge
  • In addition, any absences of ten cumulative days, or the equivalent, will require a written excuse that indicates that your child was seen by a doctor or medical practitioner.