Under state law, excused absences include:

• Illness
• Family emergency
• Death of a family member
• Medical or dental appointments
• Authorized school activities
• Educational travel* (with prior approval from the building principal through a written application), and
• Court hearings as required by a county, youth agency or juvenile probation office

• Parents will be notified by phone call and/or email on the evening of the child’s absence. 
• Notifications may also come from other staff.

Contact the attendance office at your child’s school.

Notes may be submitted by paper note (you may download templates on this webpage), electronically via our Student Absence Excuse Form, through Class Dojo, Remind, or email.

Parent and healthcare provider notes must be turned in within 5 days of your child’s absence. Up to 10 parent notes may be submitted each year, after which a healthcare note will be required.

An educational travel form or college visit form must be submitted for approval. Please download the form here or contact your school’s attendance office for a copy.

Please contact your child’s teacher, counselor, social worker, or attendance office.

School anxiety is common. Please reach out to your child's teacher, principal, or guidance counselor to learn ways to combat school anxiety. 

Additionally, here are some good tips and resources. 

Sometimes students forget to hand in notes. That’s OK. We will work with you to correct the attendance records. Please contact your school’s attendance office for guidance.

SAIC stands for Student Attendance Improvement Conference. 


This conference is designed to determine the root cause of a student's truancy and to create solutions for improved attendance.

• Home Access Center (HAC)
• Report Card

“Compulsory attendance” refers to the mandate that all children of compulsory school age, having a legal residence in Pennsylvania, must attend a day school. 

In Pennsylvania, that means a child who has attained the age of 6 on or before September 1 must enroll and attend school or begin a home school program that year.

Additionally, any student less than 18 years of age must comply with compulsory school age requirements. 

When a student reaches 3 unexcused absences, they are considered truant.

If they reach 6 unexcused absences, they are considered habitually truant.

A student is considered chronically absent when they have missed 10% or more of school days during the school year.

All absences, both excused and unexcused, count towards chronic absenteeism.