In accordance with state law and Norristown Area School District School Board Policy, all children must comply with compulsory attendance requirements from age 6 to age 18. Specifically, a child who has attained the age of 6 on or before September 1 must enroll and attend school that year. For a complete review of the law, please refer to Pennsylvania Department of Education 24 P.S. §§ 13-1326 – 1354, which can be viewed here: PDE Compulsory Education Attendance Law.

The Norristown Area School District recognizes that attendance is an important factor in the success of our students, and has adopted an attendance policy to reflect that. You can view that policy in its entirety here: Policy 204 - Attendance.

• Attendance laws in the state of PA apply to all children between the ages of 6 and 18.

• NASD expects all students to attend school daily. If a student misses a day of school, an excuse must be provided via the Infinite Campus Parent Portal. A parent/guardian may also call the school building, and/or send a note with their child upon their return to school, but use of the Infinite Campus Parent Portal is preferred and will ensure the most accurate, up-to-date attendance data for your child. 

• An absence will be considered unexcused if an excuse is not received within 3 days of the absence. 

• An absence of 3 or more consecutive days requires a doctor’s note to be considered excused. 

• A parent/guardian excuse is acceptable for a maximum of 10 absences per school year. Beyond 10, a doctor’s note is required for all absences. 

• If a student accumulates 3 unexcused absences in a school year, they are considered truant. 

• If a student accumulates 6 or more unexcused absences, they are considered habitually truant.

• If a student is truant, the following procedures are in place:

  • Letter/notification to parent after 3 unexcused absences

  • Letter/notification to parent after 6 unexcused absences

  • Development of a School Attendance Improvement Plan (SAIP) 

  • Student/family referred to school-based and/or community-based attendance improvement programs

  • Referral to Office of Children & Youth (OCY) Truancy

  • Citation Issued

It is the goal of NASD to avoid these additional consequences by creating systems to improve attendance, ease parental reporting of absences, and to provide clarity on excused/unexcused absence regulations. 

Regular attendance is important for your student, and as such, NASD encourages all trips and vacations to occur on non-school days. However, we understand that there are times when it may be necessary for your student to miss school due to non-school sponsored travel. Should this be the case, you must submit a written request in advance of the scheduled vacation to be considered for approval by the principal.