Attendance
Absence Procedures:
To submit an excuse within 3 days of the absence, open your Sapphire Community Portal. In “My Backpack” choose the “Attendance” folder and select “Submit Absence Form” for the associated date of absence. This will open a simple form to be completed. Parents/guardians will be directed to enter the reason for the absence. If needed, a doctor’s note can be uploaded on the same page. The form will require an acknowledgement and digital signature.
A hard copy of an excuse and/or note from a medical professional may also be submitted to the school office. Beginning with the 2026-2027 school year, we will no longer use the attendance email addresses previously utilized. If you have any questions, please contact your student’s school.
Automated Absence Alert
The Automated Absence Alert system was implemented to inform parents when their students are absent from school. If/when your student is absent or does not report to their classroom they are recorded as absent. When the daily attendance is submitted electronically, an automated message will be sent to a phone identified by the parent/guardian. This call will normally occur by approximately 10:00 am. Should you have questions or concerns you may contact the attendance secretary by calling: East Pennsboro Elementary School (EPE), (717) 732-0441 or West Creek Hills Elementary School (WCH), (717)732-0142.
Excused Absences:
When a child is enrolled in the district’s educational program, the student is subject to the Pennsylvania State Attendance Laws. The Board considers the following conditions to constitute an excused absence from school:
- Illness
- Quarantine
- Student required court attendance
- Prearranged doctor and dentist appointment for time of appointment and appropriate travel time only
- Authorized school activities
- Pre-approved educational tours and trips, not school sponsored
- Other urgent reasons, including funerals, that apply to the child and approved by the building administrator
Parents/guardians are expected to telephone or email the school when students are absent for any reason. Please see “Absence Procedures” above. In addition, a written excuse from a parent/guardian is required for each absence.
Absences shall be treated as unlawful until the district receives a written excuse explaining the absence, to be submitted within three (3) school days of the date of the absence. Absences will not be changed for any written excuses received after the three (3) school day period. NOTE: A parent or guardian signature on the excuse is necessary. After the third unlawful absence, the administration may consider options that include the following:
- Student Attendance Improvement Plan (SAIP)
- Summons for a court appearance with the District Justice where fines may be levied
- Phone call to children's protective services and/or other agencies
- Certified letter regarding the possibility of a Superintendent's level hearing
- Certified letter regarding the possibility of a Board hearing
Every 30 days, a school administrator will evaluate the attendance record of each student. When a student has reached ten absences in total, the school district will require medical documentation of absence. This will commence after the first 30 days of school. Also, the school may issue a medical alert to any physician who excessively excuses student absences.
Unexcused Absences:
An unexcused absence shall be defined as:
- Absence from school with parent/guardian consent for reasons other than those considered excusable.
- Leaving school during school hours without permission from the administrator.
- Absence from school without knowledge/permission of parent/guardian (truancy).
- Absence from school without knowledge/permission of school authorities.
- Absences from school without written parental excuse submitted within 3 school days of the absence.
Appointments:
Parents are encouraged to make all student appointments after school hours. Valuable educational time is lost due to appointments made during the school day. When a student must be released from school, the student must present a note signed by the parent/guardian. The note must include a contact number to call to verify the appointment. After the appointment, the student must return to school with an excuse from the office where the appointment was kept. If the student does not produce an excuse, the time will be unexcused. An early dismissal of three (3) or more hours duration will be treated as a half-day of absence. Students shall not be dismissed during school hours for non-school activities, such as private music lessons, dancing lessons, Scouts, etc. Students shall be released from school only to their parents/guardians or to persons authorized by their parents/guardians.
Educational Trips (Policy #205)
The Board of School Directors recognizes that trips by students during the school year can have significant educational value. Parents/Guardians shall be permitted to request that their child be excused from school attendance for purposes of an educational trip. To be eligible, students must be accompanied on the trip by a parent/guardian or other responsible adult who is authorized in writing by the parent. The request shall be made in advance of the trip to the building principal. The building principal will review the educational merits of the trip and determine if it is in the best interest of the student. The responsibility to make up any work missed while on the trip shall rest with the student.
In an attempt to provide consistency in the approval or disapproval of such requests, the following guidelines are adopted as policy.
Requests for Approval:
The following procedure shall be followed in requesting approval for an educational trip:
- Parent/Guardian shall submit to the child’s principal a Request for Educational Trip form no less than five (5) school days prior to the proposed trip. Neglecting to gain prior approval will result in the recording of unexcused daily absences for those days absent.
- The principal receiving the request will notify the parents/guardians of the decision to classify the absences as either excused or unexcused. The decision will be based on the educational merits of the trip and the best scholastic interest of the student.
- Reasons for absences being classified as unexcused include but are not limited to substandard scholastic standing, poor attendance record of the student and unlawful/truant days.
- A student will be permitted to take no more than two (2) educational trips per school year. There will be a limit of a total of five (5) excused school days placed on these trips during one (1) school year.
- Requests for educational trips during PSSA testing are discouraged and may not be approved.
- The student is responsible for all schoolwork missed while on the approved trip. The same parameters that apply to the make-up of work from any other absence shall also apply in this case. (The school will not provide lesson plans for trips in excess of five (5) school days.)
- If the absences for an educational trip are defined as unexcused, the student will not be permitted to make up missed work.