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Attendance Information

Attendance Resources

If your child is struggling to attend school regularly, there are many resources available for support. These resources include but are not limited to;

  • Advancing School Attendance Program (ASAP)- The Advancing School Attendance Program is designed to work with families and youth to increase school attendance. Specialists work side-by-side with families to identify barriers to school attendance and create goals to increase school attendance. Specialists help students increase their sense of value and belonging to school while increasing parent/guardian’s perception, involvement, communication and monitoring of school.
  • Student Assistance Program (SAP)- At KAHS, the SAP team is a group of trained teachers, counselors and administrators. SAP is a state-mandated program developed to help students deal with concerns that are preventing success in school. These concerns could be academic, behavioral, attendance or health focused.
  • KASD K-12 Integrated Behavioral Health Services Coordinator- The school social worker may meet with students weekly to provide services which may include, but are not limited to; supportive guidance/counseling, educational support, linkage to resources, enrichment activities, mentoring, and coordination of school and community-based services.
  • School Attendance Improvement Conference- An SAIC may be held with the student, parent(s), school administrator, school counselor, and other relevant parties to discuss barriers to the student’s attendance and create a plan to improve attendance.

For access to any of these services, please contact Secondary Assistant Principal, Mrs. Victoria Brown at vbrown@kasd.org or 610- 683- 7346.

 

 

Types of Absences

Early Dismissal

  • What: If the student needs to leave school early for an appointment, family emergency, etc. an early dismissal may be necessary.
  • How: A parent note or email provided in advance to the office is preferred, the student may bring the note in during Homeroom on the day of the early dismissal. If the student is attending a medical appointment, they should provide a medical note upon return.

Tardy

  • What: A student who enters the school building after 7:45 AM is considered tardy.
    • This includes a student who enters the building late, does not scan into OnTime, and/or is late to Homeroom.
  • How: No excuses will be accepted for tardiness, except for a doctor’s excuse. Parental notes are not allowed.
    • An accumulation of four days of tardiness will result in after-school detention.

AM/ PM Absence

  • An absence is recorded as an AM absence if the student arrives at school after 10:00 AM.
    • Students must be in school prior to 10:06 AM in order to participate in that day’s extracurricular activities (sports, clubs, etc.). If the student provides a medical note or was absent for a pre-approved vacation or college visit, they are permitted to participate.
  • An absence is recorded as a PM absence if the student leaves school prior to 1:15 PM.

Unlawful/Unexcused Absence

  • What: An absence will remain Unlawful if the parent/ guardian does not provide a legitimate excuse within 3 school days of the student returning to school following an absence.
    • The absence is considered Unexcused (instead of Unlawful) if the student is 18 years of age or older.

Excused/Lawful Absence

  • What: An absence may be considered Excused when a parent/ guardian has provided an appropriate excuse to the school. Excused absences may be granted for a variety of reasons including but not limited to; illness, family emergency, death in family, etc.
  • How: The parent/ guardian may submit an excuse via OnTime (text notification of absence), with a written and signed note/ excuse form, or via email to the office.
    • “Absences shall be treated as unexcused until the district receives a written excuse explaining the absence, to be submitted within three (3) days of the absence. A maximum of ten (10) days of cumulative lawful absences verified by parental notification shall be permitted during a school year. All absences beyond ten (10) cumulative days shall require an excuse from a licensed practitioner of the healing arts.” -KASD Board Policy 204

Excused Medical Absence

  • What: A medical excusal is granted based on documented orders from a licensed health care provider in instances in which a medical diagnosis would prevent the student from attending school.
  • How: Formal documentation from a licensed health care provider (in areas of medicine, surgery, dentistry, rehabilitative therapy, psychology, etc.) is required for an Excused Medical Absence. The documentation must include the dates of the absences which are to be excused and the signature of the licensed health care provider.
    • The School Nurse may assess a child, send them home from school, and grant an Excused Medical Absence upon their discretion.

Vacation

  • What: A student is permitted to have up to 5 school days per year as a “Lawful Vacation”.
  • How: The parent/ guardian must submit an Educational Tours and Trips Request Form a minimum of 10 days prior to the trip. Approval is at the discretion of the principal. See the form for additional information.

College Visit

  • What: Students may receive excused absences from school for official visits to postsecondary institutions.
  • How: The student must provide documentation from the college/ university/ technical school which includes the name of the institution, the name of the student, and the date of the open house/ visit. This should be provided to the office in advance of the trip.
    • If travel is included beyond one school day, the additional days would require a vacation form to be completed. Example: A student visiting a school in Florida may be traveling the day before the visit. The first day would be considered a Vacation and the second would be a College Visit.

Military

  • What: Students may be granted excused absences for military basic training and any relevant onboarding (physical exam, meetings with recruiter, swearing in, etc).
  • How: Official documentation of the appointment/ event from the military recruiter should be provided, preferably in advance of the absence.

Religious

  • What: Observance of a religious holiday observed by a bona fide religious group is considered a reason for an excused absence.
  • How: A parent note in advance of the religious holiday should be turned into the office.

Student Experience

  • What: Students may be excused for participation in an agricultural fair or project sponsored by a statewide or countywide 4-H, FFA or combined 4-H and FFA group. Additionally, students may be excused from school attendance to participate in a musical performance in conjunction with a national veterans' organization or incorporated unit for an event or funeral.
  • How: Prior written notice must be provided to the office. The national veterans' organization or incorporated unit must provide the student with a signed excuse, which shall include the date, location and time of the event or funeral.

 

For additional information, please see KASD School Board Policy 204. With questions regarding your child’s attendance or to submit an excuse, please contact Ms. Lori Haase at lhaase@kasd.org or 610- 683- 7346.