Attendance
Pennsylvania is a compulsory school attendance state. This means that any child who is six years old on or before September 1 must enroll in school (or begin a home school program) that year and attend until they are 18 years old. The school must teach the subjects and activities prescribed by the standards of the State Board of Education in the English language.
Absences
Students are permitted to be absent from school for up to ten days per school year with a valid parent excuse listed in UCFSD Policy 204 (Attendance). If the school does not receive a parent excuse, or the excuse is not one of the permitted reasons, the absence is marked unexcused. For students under 18, this is considered an unlawful absence in Pennsylvania.
Reporting Absences
If your child will be absent from school, please notify your school’s attendance office within three days of your child’s return to school via one of the methods below. Excuse notes received after three days will not be accepted. A phone call does not count as an excuse note.
Notification of Absences
Each day, our communication system emails and calls the parents or guardians of a student who is absent by 10:30 a.m. The email and phone call also contain procedures for submitting an excuse note for your child’s absence.
Progressive Supports for Truant Students
When a student has been absent three times in a school year without a valid excuse, the student is considered truant. The parent will receive a warning letter from the school. If the child incurs a fourth unexcused absence, the school is then required to initiate a School Attendance Improvement Conference (SAIC), as mandated by the State. At the SAIC, a Student Attendance Improvement Plan (SAIP) is created to help support the student and family to get back to more consistent attendance. After six unexcused absences, a student is considered habitually truant. Students considered habitually truant will be referred to county or community-based attendance improvement programs. Other options can include a referral to Children and Youth Services or filing a citation with the local district magistrate. UCFSD Policy 204 (Attendance) contains a complete explanation of procedures relating to truant students.