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​​ATTENDANCE POLICIES

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Hawaii Board of Education Attendance Policy
Hawaii Board of Education §302A-1132, states that “all children who will have arrived at the age of at least five years on or before July 31 of the school year, and who will not have arrived at the age of eighteen years, by January 1 of any school year, shall attend either a public or private school” and that parents or guardians who care for the child must ensure that they attend school unless exempted by law.
Hawaii Board of Education §302A-1132, states that enforcement for enforcing compulsory attendance is placed on the Department of Education (DOE). Reference: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov

Pearl City Highlands Elementary School Attendance Policy Absences:

  • Attendance is processed and maintained on a daily basis.

  • Students are considered absent when they are not physically present for that school day or if they have not completed at least one-half of a school day (7:50 - 11:00). Please use consideration when scheduling appointments and early release from school.

  • Excused absences may be considered with a doctor’s note or court appointment for one of the following reasons:

    • Medical or dental reasons, injury, quarantine (i.e. chicken pox, measles, fever, etc.) Please submit a note directly from your doctor/dentist.

    • Court appointment/subpoena

    • Special cases approved by school administration

  • For 3 or more consecutive absences, please submit a doctor’s note.

  • Call the school before 8:30 a.m. on the day of the absence with the following information:

    • Child’s Name

    • Grade/Teacher

    • Date of absence(s)

    • Reason for absence

    • Identity of the person calling

    • Phone number (if leaving a message on the school answering machine

    • Homework request

  • If your child is absent for a period of 2 weeks or more, your child will be disenrolled from school.

 

Homework Requests:

  • Will be provided upon request from parent/guardian by 8:30 a.m.

  • Homework should to be picked up from the office after 2:05 p.m. (12:40 p.m. on Wednesdays)


Early Release:
Early release is a request to have your child leave the school campus before the official school end time (2:05 Mon/Tue/Thu/Fri; 12:40 Wed). Please call the school before 8:30 a.m. when requesting for early release with specific time and reason for the release. If an early release is known in advance, a note to the office is preferred. Exceptions will be made for emergencies.

Trips:
Trips during the school year are discouraged, however parents must notify the school in writing as soon as plans for any extended absences due to family vacations or trips and/or sports competition events have been made. Teachers are required to provide make-up work for excused absences only.

Tardies:
Students who arrive at school after the official start time of 7:50 am are considered tardy and must:

  • Report to the office upon their arrival to receive a tardy pass before reporting to the classroom.

  • If the tardy is due to a medical/dental appointment or court, please bring an official doctor/dentist or court note.

Please call the school before 8:00 a.m. if your child will be late to ensure that a lunch will be ordered, if needed. The school will only excuse tardies when an official note is submitted and are for the following reasons:

  • Medical/dental appointment with a note

  • Special cases as approved by the school administration


Further Action:

Unexcused tardies and absences may affect a student’s performance and achievement. The following may occur:

  • Close monitoring of the student’s attendance – absences and tardies

  • Parent conferences

  • The student, parent, or family may need to seek further assistance from other agencies through the school.

  • School level sanctions may be implemented.

  • A petition may be submitted to family court.


Pearl City Highlands Elementary School Plan of Action
*Note: When receiving attendance letters (Notification, 1st Notice, 2nd Notice), no distinction will be made between excused or unexcused absences and/or tardies.

Absences:

  • 5 Notification letter

  • 10 1st Notice letter

  • 15 2nd Notice letter

  • 20 Referral to Family Court

Tardies

  • 5 Notification letter

  • 10 1st Notice

  • 15 2nd Notice


Consequences for attendance concerns range from Interventions with the Counselor, Referral to School Social Worker, Mandatory Parent Conferences, Home Visits, Voluntary Attendance Service Plans, Attendance Contracts and will occur if deemed necessary. If excessive tardies and absences persist, a referral to Family Court will be made.

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