ATTENDANCE
School Attendance Regulations/State of Hawaii Department of Education
HRS (Hawaii Revised Statutes) 302A-1131 attendance: a child who is 6 years of age and not yet 18 on January 1st of any school year, is required to attend either a public or private school unless properly excused from school.
HRS 302A-1135 a parent/guardian who does not enforce child’s regular school attendance may be guilty of a petty misdemeanor for which the penalty is a fine of up to $1000 (HRS 706-640) or jail time for up to 30 days (HRS 706-663).
HR302A-1136 enforcement: places the responsibility for enforcing compulsory attendance with the Department of Education (DOE). Students with chronic absenteeism may be referred to Family Court.
HRS571-11(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.
School attendance is mandatory under the Hawaii Revised Statutes. Should a student continue to accumulate a record of chronic absences in spite of the school’s attempts to improve attendance, the school may file an educational neglect petition with the Family Court. If your child is absent or will be absent, please do one of the following:
* Notify the office and report the reason.
* Send a note to the student’s teacher through a sibling or a neighbor’s child.
* Send a note to the office with your child when he/she returns to school.
To assure the safety of the student and to prevent truancy, the School Messenger telephone system will call the home every day he/she is absent, unless previously notified. Parents are encouraged to plan vacations during non-school periods and maximize school attendance to support student learning and academic success.
Teachers will record students’ attendance at school.
Authorized absences may include: illness, injury, quarantine, death in the family, court attendance, medical or dental appointment that cannot be scheduled before or after school; emergency situation with proper notification from parents; family court hearings, and hearings involving foster children; religious observances; or special cases as approved by the principal. Excused absences for medical or dental related reasons require a verifiable note provided by a doctor or dentist.
Tardy
A student arriving at school after 7:45 a.m. is tardy and must report to the office for an admission slip. A student arriving after 11:00 am will be marked absent for the day. If a student is chronically tardy, his/her parents/guardians will be contacted to determine how to improve the student’s attendance.
Authorized tardies may include: all applicable cases listed under authorized absences; students detained by any other member of the school staff; or emergency situations as approved by the school administrator.
Early Release
Students are expected to stay in school to receive the maximum amount of instruction towards successful academic progress. Therefore, parents are strongly advised to refrain from releasing students prior to the end of the school day and encouraged to arrange appointments during non-school hours to the extent possible.
If a student is to be taken out of school before the regular dismissal time, the student’s teacher and the office must be informed as soon as possible. The parent or authorized adult picking up the student must report in person to the office and present a photo ID. If not the parent, an authorized adult is a person already listed on the child’s emergency card. The adult will sign the student out of school and the student will be issued an off-campus pass by the office. The intent of these procedures is to comply with the State’s truancy laws and to ensure the safety of the student.
Radford Complex Attendance Policy
The principals of the Radford Complex schools adopted this policy for all schools that make up the Radford Complex. If your family is taking an extended vacation or needs to leave the islands for emergencies, you need to inform the office. If the child will be out of school for 10 or more consecutive days, a parent must withdraw the student from school and upon return, must come in to re-enroll the student. There will be no guarantee of a previous classroom or course assignment upon re-enrolling.