FREE EDUCATION AND ATTENDANCE

A.       All persons residing in this Commonwealth between the ages of 6 and 21 years are entitled to a free and full education in the Commonwealth’s public school.

B.         Parents or guardian of all children between the ages of 8 and 17 are required by the compulsory attendance law to ensure that their children attend an approved educational institution, unless legally excused.  If students are fulfilling their responsibilities and have not yet graduated, they can not be asked to leave school merely because they have reached 17 years of age.  A student may not be excluded from the public schools, nor from extra-curricular activities because of being married or pregnant.

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DISCRIMINATION

Consistent with Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (43 P.S. 951963), no student shall be denied access to a free and full public education on account of race, religion, sex, national origin or handicap.

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ATTENDANCE PROCEDURES (Policy 204)

Regular attendance is the responsibility of student and parent alike.  State law requires that a student attend school every day.  Legal absences are constituted by:

A.         Illness:  Three or more days, (or at the discretion of the administration) require a written doctor’s excuse for the student to reenter school.

B.         Quarantine.

C.         Recovery from an accident.

D.         Required court appearance.

E.         Death in the family.

F.          Family educational trip.

Students must provide a written excuse signed by the parent and listing the reason and date of absence within three days.  Failure to do so will result in detention from the homeroom teacher and notification to the Attendance Office.

Parents should call the attendance secretary at extension 342 whenever a student is absent from school.  In case of extended illness or prolonged absence (three or more days) parents should call the school nurse to make her aware of the nature of an illness or injury.

Arrangements may be made at this time with the guidance office for assignments to be forwarded home.  Even though parents are expected to call when their child is absent, all absences will require a written excuse.

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LATENESS TO SCHOOL

FIRST OFFENSE – Conference/warning via homeroom teacher.

SECOND OFFENSE – (Within a thirty day time period) detention assigned by homeroom teacher.

THIRD OFFENSE – Referred for P.M. detention by homeroom teacher.  Continued, unmodified lateness to school will be considered a suspendable

Offense, as indicated by the Code of Student Conduct.

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ILLEGAL ABSENCE

An absence may be considered illegal if a student is not at home at the time of the visit or a call by the attendance officer or the Principal, or if parent verification has not been made by 12:00 noon indicating that the child is home alone and excused for the day.  All illegal absences will be reviewed by the Home/School Visitor.

FIRST OFFENSE

P.M. detention assigned by the Attendance Officer.  Letter sent to parent from building administrator.

SECOND OFFENSE

P.M.  detention assigned by Attendance Officer.  Letter sent to parent from building administrator. 

THIRD OFFENSE

Legal notice sent by Attendance Officer and student referred to Principal for suspension.  Student suspended for up to 3 days.

Any illegal absence following the third offense will result in a hearing before the District Magistrate arranged through the Attendance Officer.  The parent is responsible for the child’s attendance at school and is therefore subject to fines according to law if found guilty.

Any absence following three illegal absences will require a doctor’s excuse signed by the doctor (not stamped), indicating the nature of the illness and that it is necessary for the student to be absent from school on the date in question for that illness.  If there is no doctor’s excuse, the day will be considered an illegal absence.  Involvement by the Home/School Visitor may be utilized in any case of illegal absence.

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EARLY DISMISSAL

                  School officials have the responsibility to have an official record of all students who leave the school before regular dismissal.  In order to fulfill this obligation the following procedure has been established.

   ILLNESS                 

A.         The student shall report to the school nurse to obtain permission to be sent home.

B.         The school nurse shall issue the student an early dismissal form.  The form is to be returned to the nurse when the student and parent sign out.

C.         The student or parent must sign the early dismissal form and the sign-out sheet in the nurse’s office.

D.         Transportation from school is the responsibility of the parent or designee.

   MEDICAL OR DENTAL DISMISSAL

A.        The student shall report to the office during the morning homeroom period with the proper forms so the office may verify the appointment.

B.        The student will then follow the same procedure for early dismissal due to illness.

C.        Whenever possible, appointments should be made for non-school hours.

   OTHER

A.        Students being dismissed early for family business or other non-medical appointments, must submit a written request for early dismissal to the office before school for verification.  This written request must be signed by a parent or guardian.

B.        Students shall complete the early dismissal form and return it to the office.

C.        Parent or legal guardian may report to the office to have their son or daughter dismissed early.  The parent must sign the student out on the sign-out sheet.  Such dismissals will normally be considered for emergencies only.

The Administration reserves the right not to accept phone calls from parents for early dismissal. 

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ENTERING THE BUILDING

Students may begin entering the building at 7:15 a.m.  They are to go to their lockers and report to homeroom; students are not permitted in the halls prior to 7:15 a.m.

Students may also participate in the Breakfast program, which begins at 7:15 a.m.

At 7:28 a.m. the homeroom bell is sounded.  All students are to be in their homerooms by the 7:30 bell.  The homeroom period is from 7:15 a.m. to 7:42 a.m.

Students entering the building after 7:30 a.m. are to report to the office and sign in.  A late arrival form must be picked up, if arriving after 7:45 a.m., completed and returned to the office at the end of the day.  Lateness resulting from medical or dental appointments will be excused.  All other chronic lateness will result in disciplinary action.

A.        Students riding the bus are to report directly into the building upon arrival on school property.

B.        Students may not leave the building without office approval once they have entered the building.

C.        Students are to report to homeroom by 7:30 a.m.  Arriving after 7:30 a.m. will be considered late unless excused by a teacher or an administrator.

D.        Students are not permitted to be in lockers or hall areas before 7:15 a.m.

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LOITERING

Loitering on or near school grounds or in district buildings from at least 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM on days school is in session is not permitted.  Students are asked to come directly into the cafeteria when breakfast is available in the morning and remain in the cafeteria or the front/rear entrance prior until 7:15 AM bell unless under the direct supervision of a staff member.  Students must be in assigned classes except when excused by the teacher.  Any student in the halls while classes are in session is expected to have a signed excusal in their handbook.  Upon dismissal, all students should leave the school as soon as the school busses will permit.  Students involved in any extracurricular activities must be under the direct supervision of an advisor or teacher.

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SUSPENSION

Students may be assigned suspension only by the school administration.  The student is responsible for completing all academic work missed during a suspension period.  All suspension 3 days or longer require a parent conference prior to the student being readmitted to school.  This conference may be waived at the discretion of the Principal.
 
Suspension is an indication that the school is seeking parental involvement, responsibility and cooperation in effecting a change in that student’s behavior patterns.

When a student is suspended, the following rules apply:

1.         Immediately, after an investigation and a conference/hearing, the student will be suspended.

2.         Administration will make every attempt to contact the parent or the guardian of the suspended student.

3.         Administration will send a letter home via mail notifying the parent or guardian of the suspension.

4.         A conference/hearing will be scheduled with the parent/guardian; parental conferences will only occur via appointment.

5.         A suspended student will lose all privileges and will not be allowed to attend or participate in any school activity during the duration of the suspension.  Students are responsible for making up all missed work during a suspension.

6.         It is the responsibility of the parents to pick up all assignments missed during an out of school suspension from the office.  The assignments must be completed and returned to the office immediately upon returning to school.  This work WILL be graded.  Any student who does not complete their assignments during their suspension will receive a ZERO.

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VISITORS

All visitors are required to register at the main office. Parents are encouraged to meet with teachers and administrators and should call and arrange a time that is mutually agreeable to meet with them.  Former students are prohibited from visiting the school between 7:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.  Students are prohibited from bringing friends to school during regular school hours.  Visitors who fail to register at the main office or follow school policy will be required to leave school property.

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