Dear Parent or Guardian,

All children deserve a solid education to prepare them for the challenges of today’s world.  Repeated and frequent absences hurt children’s ability to learn and can lead to many consequences for children as well as parents.  Pennsylvania law requires that all children once enrolled in school must continue to attend school until their graduation from High School or until they exceed compulsory attendance age at 17.  Parents are also legally responsible for making sure their children attend school unless they are lawfully excused.  Absences and tardiness become part of a student’s permanent record, and as such, are reported to colleges and on applications for scholarships and employment.

Schools are required under the law to send written notice to parents when a child has missed three days from school without a lawful excuse.  Schools may request a meeting with parents to discuss the reasons behind poor school attendance and to find a solution to the problem.

Truancy means missing school without a lawful excuse.  Examples of lawful excuses, accompanied by a written excuse note within three days of the child’s return to school, are:

o       Illness or medical appointment

o       Funeral

o       Family emergency

o       Religious holidays

o       Religious instruction (pre-approval is required)

o       Non-School Sponsored Travel (pre-approval up to 5 days per year)

Our school board’s attendance policy 204, states that a principal may require a statement from a licensed health care provider if a student has continued or repeated illness or absences in excess of three days, or if absences become excessive.

Examples of unlawful absences are:

o       Non-School Sponsored Travel (not approved)

o       Travel during state testing

o       Travel during the first two weeks of school and the last two weeks of school

o       Parent forgot to wake the child

o       Child missed the bus

o       Child didn’t feel like going to school

o       Parent did not know the school schedule

o       Child overslept or was sleepy

The School Code and Chester County Law state that a citation to District Court MUST be filed if a student accumulates more than three unlawful absences in the student’s entire academic career (Grade 1-12).  At the hearing, the parent or student (over age 13) can be fined up to $300.00 per citation along with other penalties.

The Owen J. Roberts Administration and Faculty are committed to providing your child with a quality education.  We will be strictly enforcing attendance requirements and citing for truancy during the 2007-2008 school year.  Attached you will find a copy of attendance policy 204.  If there are issues that are interfering with your child’s attendance, we would like to help.  Together we can make sure that your child is reaching his or her full potential by attending school on a regular basis.

Sincerely,

Dr. Myra Forrest

Superintendent

Cc:  Judge James DeAngelo, District Magistrate