Attendance Guidelines and Procedures
Attendance Procedures:
At the beginning of each class period, the teacher will take attendance for all students in PowerSchool and will use the following codes:
- PRE or BLANK – The student is physically present in class. It is the default in PowerSchool. This means that if there is no entry listed in the system, the student was physically present in class.
- UXP – The student was absent from class. If this code appears, the student was marked absent from class by the teacher.
Absence Procedures:
All Students:
When students are physically absent from school they will be marked absent by their teacher (UXP). Students who are absent from more than two blocks in a day will be considered absent from school.
When a student is absent from school for legitimate reasons, they must have a parent/guardian complete an EHS Excuse Blank and submit it to the Main Office or their grade level assistant principal’s office upon return/arrival.
Students or parents may also scan or take a photo with a smartphone of the EHS Excuse Blank and email it to EHSAttendance@eastpennsd.org or fax a completed EHS Excuse Blank to the Main Office fax at (484) 519-3932 within three (3) school days of said absence. Failure to return an excuse blank will be handled as per district policy and applicable state law regarding unexcused absences.
Legitimate reasons for absences include:
- Personal illness
- Death or serious illness in the family
- Observance of religious holidays of the student’s own faith
- Educational activities pre-approved by the district and/or building administration (to be completed on a College Visit/Trip Request Form) – links are provided below:
Vacation Request Form
(also used for college visits)
Vacation Request Form (Spanish)
- Special circumstances such as a court summons, doctors’ appointments, or other emergencies that the school principal deems appropriate
Once a valid excuse has been received, the attendance code will be changed by our office staff from UXP to EX (excused).
Students who are absent or late for twenty (20) days or more, regardless of the reason, must bring in a Physician’s note for each additional day or period of absence. Parents and students will be notified by certified mail after the 20th occurrence.
Any student who misses 10 consecutive days of school may be automatically withdrawn from school per a high school administrator. This includes students who will be going on trips for more than 10 school days. In such cases, students may be dis-enrolled and parents required to re-enroll the student upon their return from the trip. Please refer to the Emmaus High School Discipline Code for information on penalties for unexcused absences.
Please note that beginning in 2020-2021, mandatory school age in PA is through age 18 or the student’s graduation from high school.
Tardy to School Procedures
Students arriving late to school at any time during the day will enter the building at the Main Office entrance. Students will sign in and be provided a pass to their designated class.
When a student is late to school for legitimate reasons they must have a signed EHS Excuse Blank from a parent/guardian and submit it upon arrival following the same protocol for absences. Failure to return an excuse will be handled per the student discipline code regarding unexcused/illegal absences.
Legitimate reasons for tardiness include:
- Tardiness due to late transportation provided by the school or other school related actions which will be considered excused and not recorded against the pupil’s tardy record
- Medical appointments with doctors, dentists, or other medical staff, if accompanied by a note on medical office letterhead stationery
- Illness of the pupil, if accompanied by a valid parental excuse blank.
- Special circumstances such as a court summons or other emergencies that the school principal deems appropriate.
A student will be considered tardy if reporting to school anytime after 7:23 a.m. Refer to the Emmaus High School Discipline Code for more information on penalties for lateness.