Attendance

In the event of an early dismissal, or if schools are closed due to inclement weather, or any other emergency, it is the normal procedure to cancel all evening activities. There may occasionally be an exception to this rule, however, it is safe to assume that after-school activities will be cancelled.

Parents are encouraged to call the school office when their child will be absent from school but you must still send a written note as well.

Excused absence includes the absence of a pupil for any one of the following reasons: illness, quarantine, death in immediate family or a prior approved educational trip.

Unlawful/Unexcused (unlawful are for 16 years or younger based on compulsory school age per School Code and unexcused are for 17 years or older) absence is the absence of a pupil for any reason other than those classified above or failure to turn in a written excuse in a timely manner (see Required Notes below). Students will not receive credit for any school work assigned on unlawful/unexcused absences, unless within 3 school days that student voluntarily attends a staff determined make-up session and completes and submits the assignment at the end of the make-up session for a class they missed. In addition to measure taken based on district attendance policy and the PA School Code, other punitive measures will result when unex- cused/unlawful absences accumulate.

An accumulation of 18 unlawful/unexcused absences may result in a loss of credit for the year.

Required Notes - After each absence a student is given three (3)  days to turn in a written excuse to the office upon their return. If note(s) are submitted after three days, the absence becomes unexcused or unlawful. Although a phone call is encouraged to the school for each absence, a written excuse within 3 school days is still required. A doctor’s certificate shall be required for absence due to illness, for three (3) or more consecutive days, or for a shorter period if requested by the school.

After three (3) days of unexcused/unlawful absence, an official three (3) day notice as required by Pennsylvania law, is served to the parents/guardians. This constitutes a first offense. This first offense notice is considered a warning.

After the first offense, any half (.5) days or more constitutes an additional offense. If additional offenses occur, the parent/guardian is subject to a fine or imprisonment in accordance with the compulsory attendance laws of Pennsylvania. An accumulation of unexcused/ unlawful absences may also result in other disciplinary measures.

After a student has accumulated a number of absences that exceeds the ten (10) absences for the current school year, the district shall require the student to submit a doctor’s note for each subsequent absence within three (3) school days, or that day will be recorded as unlawful/unexcused. Any absences from school (tardy or early dismissal) that are not accounted for by an appropriate note are accumulated as unlawful/unexcused attendance.

On occasion when weather or some other emergency necessitates a delayed opening of school, the following procedures will be used:

1. Notice of a delayed school opening will be announced over local radio and television stations, posted on the district website at www.cdschools.org and relayed via the district-wide parent notification system. Please do not call the school office or the Transportation Department.
2. The announcement that “the opening of the Central Dauphin School District” will be delayed by two (2) hours, indicates that the school staff and all pupils (both transported and walkers) are to arrive at school two (2) hours later than the usual start time. Afternoon dismissal will occur at the regular time.
3. In the event of a two (2)-hour delay, the following Modified Kindergarten Schedule will be in effect:
   AM Kindergarten – Arrive 10:45-11 a.m., Dismissed 12:45 p.m.
   PM Kindergarten – Arrive 1:45-2 p.m., Dismissed 3:45 p.m.

No lunches will be served to kindergarten students. Please do not call the school office or the Transportation Center.

Should there be an occasion when weather or some other emergency necessitates an early dismissal from school, the Blackboard Notification System will be activated and the following guidelines will be followed:

1. Notice of an early dismissal from school will be announced over local radio and television stations (see “Public Announcements” section) and posted on the district’s website.
2. The announcement that “the Central Dauphin School District will have an early dismissal” indicates that your child’s dismissal will be earlier than normal, and that he/she could be arriving home early. The actual time of arrival may vary due to weather conditions.
3. “Bus riders” will be taken to their regular designated bus stops.
4. If parents or guardians are not at home at the time of an early dismissal, they are responsible to make provisions for the care of their children with friends or neighbors.
5. Latchkey programs do not operate in the event of an early dismissal.

At the Elementary Level – Physician/dental appointments may be considered an excused absence. Written notice from parent/ guardian is required to permit the early dismissal. A written excuse is required upon the return of the student. This excuse may be provided by the physician/dentist or the parent/guardian. If a student has been placed on doctor’s notice, a parent note will not be accepted.

At the Secondary Level – Physician/dentist appointments, college placement and job interviews may be considered an excused absence provided a written parent/guardian request, prior to the appointment, is approved by building principal or designee. The request should state the reason for the visit, the name of the physician, dentist, college representative or potential employer, date and time of the appointment and how and by whom the pupil will be transported. A written excuse is required upon the return of the student. This excuse may be provided by the physician/dentist or the parent/guardian, college representative or prospective employer. If a student has been placed on doctor’s notice, a parent note will not be accepted.

Early dismissal for any other reason other than those listed above will be considered a tardy unless special arrangements are made and approved by the building principal.

Policy – Pupils will be permitted to take an educational trip and/ or participate in educational activities, in accordance with district procedures. Parents must obtain and submit the proper district request form to the school office prior to the planned trip or activity.

Students must submit an educational trip form prior to “Take Your Child to Work Day” in order for the day to be excused. If students have already utilized their educational trip days then it will be an unexcused absence.

TRIPS: No educational trips will be approved the days PSSA tests are scheduled. Educational Trips must be educational in nature and the student must be supervised by one or more adult family members. Total number of days will not exceed more than five (5) days total for the year.

ACTIVITIES: No educational activities will be approved the days PSSA tests are scheduled. Three (3) excused absences (occasions) will be permitted for educational experiences that are through a district program or a district recognized educational program that provide enrichment, placement opportunities or acceleration in those areas identified within the school curriculum and/or encourage or reward individual achievement or special skills. The pupil must be an active participant in the event and provide documentation of his/her involvement upon returning to school. Parents must submit the appropriate documentation before the trip and receive approval from the principal prior to attending the educational activity.

REQUEST: Request for Educational Trips or Activities forms must be submitted prior to the trip. A total number of days missed cannot exceed 5 days total, separately or in combination for both Educational Trips or Educational Activities in any one school year.

No pupil will be permitted to leave the school property during the school day without the permission of either the school principal or the school nurse. Leaving school property without permission may result in severe disciplinary measures.

Pupils may be excused from school to observe major religious holidays. For the full or part-time excusal of a pupil from school or a session of school to observe a religious holiday, it is necessary that the pupil present a written request by the parent/guardian to the school office prior to the date of the absence.

Public announcements of school closings, delayed school openings or early school dismissals will be made over the following stations. Television: WHP 21, UPN 15. AM Radio: WHP 580. FM Radio: WRBT 94.9, WHKF 99.3, WRVV 97.3. Announcements also will be made using the Blackboard Notification System, posted on the district website (www.cdschools.org) or by calling the Patriot-News Inside Line at 255-1201, mail box #2901.

Should there be an occasion when weather or some other emergency necessitates a school closing, the Blackboard Notification System will be activated and the guidelines below will be followed:

1. Notice of a school closing will be announced over local radio and television stations (see “Public Announcements” section) and posted on the district’s website.
2. It is important in an emergency situation to keep telephone lines open.

Please do not call the school office, homes of school officials or the Transportation Center.

Tardiness is the late arrival (signed-in) to school without proper cause on or before 10:30 AM for secondary or 11:45 AM for elementary. A pupil is tardy if not in the homeroom/classroom when the bell signal for the opening of school session is given. In case of tardiness, the pupil must report to the office before going to homeroom or class. Any early dismissal that is unexcused will be recorded as a p.m. tardy.

At both the secondary and elementary levels, unexcused tardy time is considered unlawful absence time from school. Therefore, accumulated tardy time may be pursued in Truancy Court under compulsory education violations.

At the Elementary Level – After the third (3rd) unexcused tardy, a “Building Principal’s Letter” will be sent to the parents/guardians. After the fifth (5th) unexcused tardy, a “District Official Tardy Letter” will be sent to the parents/guardians and a parent/guardian meeting will be scheduled with the school counselor. After the eighth (8th) unexcused tardy, parent contact will be made through a tardy letter, a parent/guardian meeting will be scheduled with the school principal to discuss possible interventions to address the tardy situation, and a counselor-student meeting will be scheduled.

At the Secondary Level – After the fourth (4th) unexcused tardy, a detention is issued. After the fifth (5th) unexcused tardy, an information letter is sent to the parents/guardians. Continued unexcused tardies will result in further disciplinary action.

Accumulated/Habitual tardiness to school will result in disciplinary measures up to and including suspension and parent/ guardian notification.