Attendance Policy

Students shall to attend school daily and be in class on time so that optimum benefits of education can be achieved. Unexcused and/or excessive absences and tardiness are unacceptable.

Absences
Attendance records are maintained daily. If your child is absent, parents are to notify the school. Please call the office in the morning by 9:00 am at 254-7944 to report an absence. If you cannot reach the office staff, a note must be sent to the teacher explaining the reason for the absence. A note must be provided for any absence over 3 days. If your child is absent due to illness or injury for more than 5 days, a doctor’s note is preferred. Excused absences include illness or injury, death in the family, court appearances, or other special cases approved ahead of time by the principal. Unexcused absences include: vacations, babysitting, entertaining visitors or guests, etc. To be considered present, your child must be in school for at least 3 hours.

Tardies
School begins promptly at 7:55 am. A child is tardy when he/she is not in the classroom by 7:55 am. When your child is tardy, he/she is to report to the office before going to class. Your child will be given a tardy slip to give to the teacher. An excused tardy includes: medical or dental appointments accompanied by a note, delayed school bus, or unusual weather or traffic circumstances. An administrator must review all other reasons before the tardy is deemed excused.

Consequences
Families will be notified by mail of excessive absences and tardies. According to Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) 302A, “All school age children must attend either a public or private school unless exempted.” This statute also states that, “Any parent or guardian having the responsibility for the care of the child must send the child to school unless exempted by law.“ In addition, HRS 302a-1135 provides that a parent or guardian who does not enforce the child’s regular school attendance may be guilty of a petty misdemeanor. The penalty for a petty misdemeanor is a fine of up to $1,000 (HRS) 706-640) or jail time for up to thirty (30) days (HRS 706-663). Also pursuant to HRS 571-11(2), Family Court can place a child under its jurisdiction for truancy if the child is not attending school or is not receiving the educational services required by law. Therefore, per HRS 302-1131 and 302A-1136, the school is responsible to inform parents when their child reaches or exceeds 10 absences or tardies.

Students with persistent attendance problems are screened by the Attendance Monitoring Team (administrator, SSC, counselor, and School Social Worker). The screening process is to ensure that school attendance is a priority. The team also works to support students and families encountering attendance difficulties.

Perfect Attendance
In order to qualify for the perfect attendance awards, the student must remain on campus the entire day school is in session. The following criteria apply:

• No absence for the quarter.
• No tardies for the quarter.
• Students entering ‘Aikahi during mid-quarter are not eligible.