Attendance Policy

Hawaiʻi State Compulsory School Attendance Law 

The Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes, Section 302A-1132 states:

“Unless excluded from school or excepted from attendance, all children who will have arrived at the age of at least five years on or before July 31 of the school year, and who will not have arrived at the age of eighteen years, by January 1 of any school year, shall attend either a public or private school for, and during, the school year, and any parent, guardian, or other person having the responsibility for, or care of, a child whose attendance at school is obligatory shall send the child to either a public or private school.”

The State of Hawaiʻi Board of Education Policy 106-3 states:

“The Department shall make every effort to ensure and enforce student school attendance in accordance with the compulsory attendance law.”

• Parents or guardians are legally responsible to ensure that their child attends school every day.

• Students must be physically present in school for at least half of the school day to be marked present.  Any student who leaves school before, or arrives after 11:00 a.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and 10:20 a.m. on Wednesday will be marked absent.

• If a student leaves school before 11:00 a.m.; then returns to school after an appointment; the student is considered present for the school day.  The Hawaiʻi Department of Education recognizes the importance that consistent school attendance can have on a child’s education.  Any student with 15 or more absences is considered “Chronically Absent”.  Also, the school’s performance rating will be impacted if there are a high number of chronically absent students.

• For reporting purposes, there is no distinction made between "excused" or "unexcused" absences.  Students are either present or absent.

• Students and parents are discouraged from requesting off-campus passes and early release from school. The instructional day should be respected. Personal and medical appointments should be scheduled for non-school hours. Permission for students to leave campus must be requested of the principal in writing by a parent or guardian. Parents should also pick up and sign out the student through the office. 

Attendance Procedures: Absences

In order to ensure students’ accountability for their attendance and safety, parents or guardians should adhere to the following procedures:

• Call the school at (808) 509-1100 before 9:00 a.m. to report a child’s absence stating:

  • Child’s first and last legal name

  • Grade Level and/or Room No. of homeroom/advisory

  • Date(s) of absence

  • Reason for absence

• If you call the school when our office is closed, you are able to report an absence by leaving a message. Please provide the information above.

• A note explaining the absence must be presented to the homeroom/advisory teacher when the student returns to school.

Excused Absence

In the event of an absence, it may be excused if written documentation (*Note below) is provided. Written documents must be submitted within three (3) days upon student’s return to school, and the absence must be for one of the following reasons:

• Illness, injury, quarantine (chickenpox, measles, etc.) verifiable by a doctor’s note. A doctor’s note is required for 3 or more consecutive days of absence.

• Doctor/Dental appointment verifiable by a doctor’s note

• Death in the family

• Court attendance verifiable by a court document

• Special case approved by the Principal – for example:

  • The child is seeing their deployed parent off or welcoming them back, or a family member is receiving an award at a ceremony, or a naturalization ceremony; the principal may approve this as an excused absence. The notice should be given prior to the event.

  • A family crisis/emergency has occurred and the child must be with the parent for the day; the principal may approve this as an excused absence.  Parents should call the school as soon as possible.

  • Severe weather conditions.

• Authorized school activities which may include, but are not limited to on-campus activities (i.e.: parent involvement, meetings, etc.) and off-campus activities (i.e.: field trips, student council, etc.)

• Other activities approved by the school principal prior to the activity or absence.

*Note:  The note from parent or guardian must include the information cited in "Attendance Procedures: Absences", plus the parent or guardian’s signature.

Unexcused Absence

All student absences not covered above in "Excused Absence" are considered unexcused. These are events that may occur during the school day, but are considered unexcused:

• Babysitting siblings or other children

• Caring for the elderly or any family member

• Entertaining visitors or guests

• Kept at home to clean house

• Family vacations (on/off island) trips*

• Parent request without explanation

• Personal business

• Youth camp*

• Sports competition events*

This list is an inexhaustive sample of reasons considered "unexcused"; other reasons could be taken on a case-by-case basis.

• Parents must notify the school in writing when plans for any extended absences due to family vacation, youth camp, and/or sports competition events (i.e. Little League World Series, etc.)  The school administration has the discretion to determine if the extended absence will be excused or unexcused, especially if student academics are adversely affected and/or if attendance is a concern.  Parents should meet with the school administration and teacher to discuss educational arrangements.  Parents, as much as possible, please plan family trips during intersessions or holidays.  When children miss several days of instruction they have difficulty catching up, progressing, and maintaining the rigors of standards-based education.

Requesting Homework

If a child is absent from school for three (3) or more days, the parent/guardian may request homework by calling the school office by 8:30 a.m. on the third day. You may pick up the homework at the office after 2:30 pm on the day of your request.  Call the office to confirm that there are assignments for your child before coming to school.  No make-up work will be provided for suspensions, class cuts, or truant days.

Attendance Procedures: Tardy

Students are expected to report to school on time. School begins at 7:50 a.m. All students arriving at school after 8:00 a.m. must report to the office for a tardy slip before reporting to class. To be excused from being tardy, a student must present a medical slip.

All excused absence reasons apply. Other reasons must be reviewed by an administrator before the tardy is excused. The student’s tardiness is considered excused if the student:

• Brings a verified doctor/dental, court, or parent note using the same information as with an "Excused Absence"

• Brings a doctor's note that is required for 3 or more consecutive tardy days.

• Is detained by school personnel.

• Is delayed by the school bus.

• Is delayed by unusual weather conditions (approved by administration)

Unexcused tardy reasons include, but are not limited to: 

• Overslept/late start

• Car trouble

• Missed the bus

• Babysitting

• Personal business

Truancy: "The State of Hawaiʻi Department of Education, defines truancy as unauthorized absences from school. Currently, Section 302A-1135 of the Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes states: If any child of school age persists in absenting oneself from school, the family court judge, upon a proper petition, citation, or complaint being made by the schoolteacher or any other officer or agent of the department, or police officer, or any other person, shall cause the child, and the father or mother, guardian, or other person having charge of the child, to be summoned to appear before the judge. Upon its being proved that the person responsible for the child had not used proper diligence to enforce the child's regular attendance at school, the responsible party shall be guilty of a petty misdemeanor. This section shall not apply to any child not liable to compulsory attendance at school."

Disciplinary action for absences, tardies, and truancy:

The following proactive steps will be used to help you and your child understand the importance of daily school attendance, because a child’s learning is continuous and filled with daily activities to maximize their potential. Because avoiding these steps is important, please contact the counselor or school administration at any time to help you.

1st notice: Written

• A counselor-generated letter will be sent home via the teacher to notify you that your child has been absent for 5 days.

• The DOE does not differentiate between excused or unexcused absences.

• The parent signs the letter and returns it to the teacher.

2nd notice: Conference

• Administrator/Counselor will call to schedule a conference with parent/guardian after 10 total absences.

3rd notice: Home Visit

• After 15 total absences an administrator and counselor will conduct a home visit.

Family Court Referral

Students who have accumulated ten (10) or more unexcused absences may have a Family Court Petition filed against them and their parents for non-compliance with the State’s Compulsory Attendance law for their child’s absences/tardies/truancies. The school will proceed on a case-by-case basis. Students who have a high rate of excused absences may also be summoned to Family Court.