What you should know before you plan a
Vacation/absences while School is inSession.
Attendance Awareness Grades PK-12
The district considers vacation days during class time to be unexcused absences. The number of vacation days will add significantly to the number of absences and can adversely affect their placement, particularly if they already have accrued many sick days or suddenly have an unexpected illness when vacation time is over.
After the 4th day your child will be flagged as being Truant
Truant: “Truantstudent”–anyenrolledstudent5to18yearsofage,inclusive,whohasfour (4) unexcusedabsencesfromschoolinanyonemonthorten (10) unexcusedabsencesfromschoolinanyschoolyear.
“Unexcusedabsence”–thenon-appearanceofanenrolledstudentonaregularlyscheduledschoolday.
Superior Court complaint:
If the parent of a child who is truant fails to attend a scheduled meeting or fails to otherwise cooperate with the school in attempting to solve the truancy problem, the school is mandated to file a written complaint with the Superior Court pursuant to Connecticut General Statutes s46b-149, alleging that the acts or omissions of the child are such that his/her family is a family with service needs.
Legal Reference: Connecticut General Statutes
10-184 Duties of parents. School attendance age requirements 10-198a Policies and procedures concerning truants
10-199 Attendance officers. Duties
10-200 Habitual truants
10-220 Duties of boards of Education
10-221 Boards of education to prescribe rules, policies and procedures 46b-149 Child from family with service needs.
* Note:The total number of days absent includes both EXCUSEDUNEXCUSED absences.
The State Board of Education definitions establish two levels of criteria for an absence to be considered an excused absence.
Total # of Days Absent / Acceptable Reasons for aStudent Absence to Be Considered Excused / Documentation Required within 10 Days
Any dates 1 through 9
3rd consecutive / Any reason that the student’s parent or guardian approves.Written letter from parent/guardian.
3rd consecutive Day-Medical Letter, signed by Dr. which indicates your child is healthy to return to school. / Parent or guardian note only. Any 1-9 random dates
Medical Letter
10 and above / Student illness (Note: to be deemed excused, an appropriately licensed medical professional must verify all student illness absences, regardless of the absence’s length).
Student’s observance of a religious holiday.
Death in the student’s family or other emergencybeyond the control of the student’s family.
Mandated court appearances (additionaldocumentation required).
The lack of transportation that is normallyprovided by a district other than the one the student attends (parental documentation is not required for this reason).
Extraordinary educational opportunities pre- approved by district administrators. (Opportunities must meet certain criteria. See below for details). / Parent or guardian note and in some cases additional documentation
Vacation is not part of the 1-9 excused absences. Vacation is unexcused absence that can lead up to Truancy Referral.
Schedule Appointments: Consider scheduling your child’s appointment early in the morning and bring your child to school right after. Bring in a medical note upon their arrival and it will be an excused tardy due to a medical appointment verses an absence. You may also schedule the appointment towards the afternoon, bring in a medical note to show cause as to why your child was dismissed early. Early Dismissal days are best used to arrange appointments. The district school calendar has the year dates so you can plan accordingly. A copy of this attendance policy has already been sent home but should you need another copy the school can provide one. Log onto Kinsella the website or the Hartford Public Schools website. The district calendar for 2017-2018 school year is already posted on the Hartford Public Schools website.
Parents often see good attendance as a matter of complying with rules rather than providing their children with more and better opportunities to learn. Consequently, missing school is seen as a problem only if a child is skipping school or if the child misses several days consecutively. Few realize, that too many absences, even if they are excused, can quickly add up and hinder learning.Every absence has a detrimental impact on the student’s ability to succeed.
What absences contribute toward loss of credit?(High School)
Nearly all absences—including routine illnesses verified by a doctor (i.e. viral illness, strep throat, sinus infection), DMV or court appointments, etc.—contribute toward the loss of credit limit. The only exceptions are absences necessitated as a result of a chronic medical condition and absences resulting from a major medical procedure that are verified by medical documentation. Such documentation is to be submitted to the office within ten days of the student’s return to school.
What absences do not contribute to loss of credit?(High School)
Absences due to suspension from school, participation in an authorized school activity, observance of religious holidays, or as a result of the failure of sending towns to provide transportation for nonresident students shall not be counted toward the loss of credit.
When does my son/daughter lose credit in a course?(High School)
Students lose credit in a course when they exceed limits set in Board of Education policy (5113a). Specifically, students at the high school level who are absent more than six times in a 0.5 credit course (i.e., a half year course), more than twelve times in a 1.0 credit course (i.e., a full year course), more than 16 times in a 1.5 credit course, or more than 18 times in a course that meets daily for the entire school year will lose credit for that course. Students will lose credit in a course upon the fourth “class cut” in a full year course or the third “class cut” in a half-year course. Warning letters are mailed home to parents of students approaching these limits. Students who exceed these totals will lose credit and will receive information concerning the steps to follow to appeal that loss of credit.
Connecticut State Law says:
“Each parent or guardian of a child over 5 years of age shall ensure such child attends a public school regularly during the hoursand terms of that school.”
Your child must be in their homeroom class by 7:45AM Monday-Friday.
Consider planning family vacation during the holiday’s. Such as, Thanksgiving, 3-day weekend, winter and or spring recess.
Refer to the district calendar for closings.
Excessive Tardies (often arriving to school late)
Excessive tardies can lead to lost of instructional learning.
If you have further questions, feel free to contact me.
Vanessa Rodriguez, School & Family Support Service Provider
Monday-Wednesday at Van Block (Grades PK-8) (860) 695-4176 or room 122
Thursday & Friday at Locust St -High School (860) 695-2075
e-mail: V.R.
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