Attendance
All students, until they reach the age of eighteen, are required by law to be in regular school attendance on all days that the school is open.
Excused
The only acceptable reasons for absence according to the law are physical and mental disability, religious holidays, and other urgent reasons. The terms “other urgent reasons” shall be strictly construed and shall not permit irregular attendance.
All absences due to the observance of the student's religion on a day approved by the Board as a religious holiday shall be excused, and no student so excused shall be deprived of an award or eligibility to compete for an award or the opportunity to make up a test given on the religious holiday.
Students may be absent for reasons as described by law and parental documentation will be required for all such days of absence.
Unexcused
Unexcused absence may be declared for any of the following reasons: Illegal employment, truancy, and absence through parental neglect such as over-sleeping, missing the bus, shopping, visiting relatives, baby-sitting, hunting, fishing trips, vacations, remaining home to do school work, visiting the library for research work, car troubles, etc.
Excessive Absence
A doctor’s note will be required for each period of absence after ten days.
In the event of extenuating circumstances, which results in absences exceeding the above limit, the building principal will meet with parents and students in an effort to find an equitable solution to the attendance problem.
Process for Returning to School Following an Absence
When a student has been absent from school, it is his/her responsibility to present an appropriate written excuse signed by the parent or guardian to the NPLHS main office. In the case of excessive absences as described above, it is the student’s responsibility to present a written doctor’s excuse to the main office. The excuse should be presented immediately upon returning to school.
Failure to hand in an excuse for an absence shall result in an unexcused absence. Excuses must be given to the main office within three days of returning from an absence, or such absence will be declared illegal.
Being late for school is a type of school absence. If a student is late for school (tardy), he or she must enter the building through the main entrance, report to the main office to present a reason for the tardiness, sign in, and obtain a pass to class. For more information on tardiness, please refer to “Tardiness” of the “Attendance” section of the Handbook for Students, Parents, and Guardians.
Compulsory Education
Section 1327 of the PA School Code states, "Every child of compulsory age (8-18 years old) having a legal residence in the Commonwealth, as provided in the article, and every migratory child of compulsory age, is required to attend a day school in which the subjects and activities prescribed by the standards of the State Board of Education are taught in the English Language.”
Section 1330 Exceptions to Compulsory Attendance are as follows:
Exceptions
Has attained the age of sixteen (16) years, and who is regularly engaged in any useful and lawful employment or service during the time the public schools are in session, and who holds an employment certificate issued according to the law.
Has been examined by an approved mental clinic or a person certified as a public school psychologist or psychological examiner, and has been found to be unable to profit from further public school attendance, and who has been reported to the board of school directors and excused, in accordance with regulations described by the State Board of Education.
Has attained the age of fifteen (15) years and is engaged in farm work or domestic service in a private home on a permit issued by the school board in accordance with regulations which the Superintendent of Public Instruction is hereby authorized to prescribe.
Has attained the age of fourteen (14) years and is engaged in farm work or domestic service in a private home on a permit issued as provided in clause (3) of this section, and who had satisfactorily completed, either in public or private schools, the equivalent of the highest grade of the elementary school organization prevailing in the public schools of the district in which he resides, if the issuance of such a permit has first been recommended by the county of district superintendent of schools having supervision of the schools of the district where such child resides, or by principal of the private school where such child is enrolled and the reason therefore has been approved by the superintendent of Public Instruction.
Age 17 and Older
When analyzing the above sections of the school code, it is apparent that the state makes no school attendance regulations for students when they have reached the age of 17.
One can either ignore attendance of those that have attained the age of 17, or go beyond the minimum attendance laws and establish regulations to encourage their attendance. The following attendance regulations shall apply for students 17 years of age or older:
After five unexcused absences, a parent or guardian will be informed of possible academic deficiency due to lack of attendance.
After ten unexcused absences, a conference will be held with the teacher, school counselor, principal, student, and parent to weigh academic eligibility before the student can return to class.
When more than ten unexcused absences have been accumulated, the following alternatives to public school education will be evaluated:
Dropped from the roll
Military Services
G.E.D.
College Classes
Private School
Excused Appointments
Students may be excused for short periods of time during the day for dental and other medical appointments which cannot be scheduled at any other time, and for other extremely urgent reasons. However, because of the obvious loss to students from school time missed, we strongly urge parents to arrange appointments outside the school day. If this is not possible, notes from parents/guardians, which should include the doctor’s excuse, must be given to the main office before the brief absence occurs. Such excuses should be taken to the main office the morning of the day of absence, or if the time involved is early morning, the afternoon before the absence. Students, before leaving for one of these appointments, must report to the main office to sign out of the building, and students, upon returning to school from one of these appointments, must report to the main office to sign back in before returning to class.
Missed Assignments as a Result of Absence
When students are absent from school, they may miss assignments (including in-class work, tests, quizzes homework, etc.). Regardless of whether a student’s absence is excused or unexcused, it is his or her responsibility to make up these missed assignments to be academically successful. These assignments will be completed in a time period determined by the teacher.
Non-School Sponsored Educational Trips
To obtain approval for an educational trip, the following criteria must be met:
Two weeks prior to the scheduled trip, parents/guardians must provide a completed Educational Trip Request form that is available in the front office. On this form, please include what educational experiences you expect your child will be exposed to, specific dates for the trip, and the name(s) of adult family members supervising. On this form, there is also a section for all the student’s teachers to complete to verify if the student is in a position to miss the number of days requested for the trip.
The building principal will: (A) verify the parental request, and (B) check student progress via the evaluation sheet.
The student is responsible to meet with his/her teachers before and after the trip to make sure all class work, tests, homework, etc. is completed/made-up. All assignments must be completed or made up in a time period determined by each teacher.
Trips in excess of five days are strongly discouraged.
Failure to comply with the above procedure shall result in days absent being considered unexcused. Any questions regarding the non-school sponsored educational trip procedure should be directed to the building principal.
Tardiness
Arriving to school and class on time is necessary. Being on time to work, appointments, and engagements is a responsibility that we all share throughout our lives. Tardiness to school and class during the school day will be closely monitored by faculty and staff. Students must report to their first class on time to avoid tardiness for the school day. Between classes throughout the school day, students are allowed a three minute passing time to move from one class to another. This time should be used wisely to visit a locker and return/obtain appropriate materials for class and utilize a restroom if necessary. Students must report to their classes before the bell that begins each class to be considered on time.
If a student is tardy to school, he or she will enter the building through the main entrance and report immediately to the main office. Here, he or she will present a written note by a parent or guardian stating the reason for the tardiness, sign in to avoid being marked absent for the school day, and obtain an appropriate pass for reporting to class.
The criteria for determining whether or not a tardy to school is excused or unexcused shall be the same criteria used for determining whether or not an absence is excused or unexcused. Unexcused tardies will result in detention. Each student is permitted three unexcused tardies the first 90 days of the school year before a consequence is assigned. After the first 90 days of school, all students will again be permitted three unexcused tardies before a consequence is assigned.
For three unexcused tardies, students will be assigned a detention. After this detention has been assigned, students will receive an additional detention for each tardy accumulated. After three detentions have been assigned, students will then be assigned to a Saturday detention for each tardy. At this point, continued chronic tardiness may result in suspension or other consequences as determined by the principal and/or dean of students.
Unlawful Absence Procedures
An unexcused absence for any reason as described in this attendance section by a student under seventeen years of age is considered unlawful. Pennsylvania school laws provide the following procedures to be used in the case of unlawful absence:
First unlawful absence – Parent/guardian will receive written notification from the school of the unlawful absence.
Second unlawful absence – Parent/guardian will receive second written notification of unlawful absence.
Third unlawful absence – Parent/guardian will receive third written notification of unlawful absence, and a School Attendance Improvement Plan (SAIP) meeting will be scheduled/held.
After three unlawful days of absence, any future unlawful absences may result in a complaint being filed with the local magistrate.