PALCS School Policies

State law requires Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School (PALCS) to be open 180 days a year and in operation for 990 hours. In compliance with this law, PALCS has established and published a 180-day academic calendar.

The attendance requirement is met by logging in to PALCSchool each school day listed in the academic calendar. As a virtual school, student attendance is verified by electronically logging in to PALCSchool. If a student fails to log in to PALCSchool, he or she is absent.

The Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School designates a classification of Academic Non-Participation for students who log in for attendance purposes but are not working or completing work in their courses. This designation is separate from the unexcused and unlawful absences.

Please note that, as part of your student’s curriculum, she/he may be required to attend virtual lessons/sessions one or more times per week. Absences from mandatory virtual lessons may adversely affect the student’s grade.

Attendance and participation in onsite state assessments are also mandatory. Each missed day of scheduled state assessments will be documented as one unlawful absence.

Occasionally, students are unable to log in and complete their schoolwork on a given day; this is considered an absence. Acceptable reasons for a student absence include illness or injury, medical appointments, family emergencies, observance of religious holidays, educational opportunities or family trips (see Student Educational Leave of Absence below).

In the case of a system-wide failure of PALCS that prohibits students from logging in to PALCSchool and completing their work, no absence will be charged to the student. In the event of such a school-wide outage that prohibits children from attending and completing their work, an additional school day will be added to the school calendar and families will be notified of the change.

In the case of a computer or technical issue with the student, parents are asked to immediately contact the Help Desk by:

1. Submitting a support ticket from the PALCSchool login page (underneath the fields for username and password, there is a note that reads, “Problems logging in to PALCSchool? Please click here to submit a HelpDesk ticket”); or,
2. If you are able to log in to PALCSchool, “Submit a Technology HelpDesk Ticket” is located in the “Quick Links” section which is displayed in the upper right hand corner of the lobby page.

If you are unable to submit a request for service ticket because of your technical issues, please call toll-free 1-877-725-2785, then press Option 3 or dial extension 1616 for assistance.

In all cases aside from a system-wide failure, a written excuse, outlining the reason for an absence, must be submitted online through the parent/guardian’s PALCSchool account to the Attendance Office within three days of a student’s absence. If the excuse is not submitted by the end of the third day following the absence, the absence will be unexcused.

To submit an excuse, the parent/guardian should select the “Attendance” icon on the left-hand navigation bar in the PALCSchool Lobby. You will be given a menu from which to choose the reason for your child’s absence.

While the school strongly prefers for parents to submit a timely excuse for each day of absence, it is possible for parents to submit one excuse for multiple consecutive days of absence. However, the Attendance Office must receive an excuse no later than three days after each absence. (Example: a student is absent Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. An excuse for the Monday absence is due by Thursday, even though an excuse for the Wednesday absence is not due until the following Monday.)

Additionally, parents/guardians of students missing more than three consecutive school days due to illness must provide a note from a physician in addition to the written excuse from the parent. A doctor’s note may be submitted to attendance@palcs.org.

The principal has the right to deny a request when, in the judgment of the principal, there is a pattern of excessive absences from school or the student is in poor academic standing. The principal also has the right to deny a request for a leave of absence that would occur during the first ten days of school, the last ten school days, or during standardized testing.

To request pre-approval for an educational leave of absence, a parent or guardian should select the “Attendance” icon on the left-hand navigation bar in the PALCSchool Lobby, then select “Submit Pre-approved Absence Request.”

Students whose parents/guardians do not formally request an educational leave of absence and are unable to complete schoolwork will not be granted an extension for submission of work.

Per the Pennsylvania Department of Education, a maximum of ten days of cumulative lawful absences verified by the parent/guardian (excluding absences that have been pre-approved by the principal) may be permitted during a school year. All absences beyond ten cumulative days may require an excuse from a physician.

Additionally, upon the tenth cumulative lawful absence and/or unlawful absence (see below), the parent/guardian will be notified in writing by the school regarding the student’s absentee record.

A conference may be requested by school administration when a student has cumulatively missed 15 days or more.

After 20 or more days of cumulative absences, the division principal, counseling department and school administration will undertake an informal review of the student’s record, including days of absence and other factors, and a recommendation will be made regarding possible retention in the current grade for the next school year. Such a recommendation may include a failing grade and/or no course credit for impacted courses. If the principal and Director of Academics support the recommendation, the parent/guardian shall be notified in writing of the consequence. The decision of school administration is final.

Absences that are not recognized as acceptable under the Pennsylvania School Code, or are lacking documentation, are considered unexcused and unlawful. This includes, but is not limited to, absences where a written excuse is not submitted within three days of the student’s absence.

Upon the third unexcused and unlawful absence, a letter will be sent from the Director of Academics (or designee) by certified mail to the parent/guardian. This letter is known as a First Offense Notice, per the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

If the child continues to be truant and incurs additional absences after this notice has issued, the school will offer the student and parent the opportunity to attend a student attendance improvement conference.

Upon the fifth unexcused and unlawful absence, PALCS shall request a conference to discuss the cause of the child’s truancy and develop a written School Attendance Improvement Plan (SAIP) to resolve truant behavior. Issues to be reviewed at the school/family conference include the appropriateness of the child’s educational environment, current academic difficulties, physical or behavioral health issues, and family/environment concerns. At the end of the conference, or in the absence of a conference, a comprehensive SAIP will be developed. All parties, including the school representative, the child, and the parents and/or family, will begiven the opportunity to participate, agree to, and sign the SAIP.

If a child accumulates six unexcused absences, he or she is considered by the state to be habitually truant.

For habitually truant children under fifteen years of age, the school will refer the child to either:(a) a school- or community-based attendance improvement program; or, (b) the county Children& Youth Services (CYS) agency for services. Additionally, the school may file a citation against the parent of a habitually truant child under the age of fifteen in magisterial district court. For habitually truant children fifteen years of age and older, the school will either: (a) refer the child to a school- or community-based attendance improvement program; or, (b) file a citation against the student or parent in magisterial district court. If the child continues to incur absences or refuses to participate in a school- or community-based attendance improvement program, the school may refer the child to the county Children & Youth Services (CYS) agency for services.

Students who have not complied with compulsory attendance requirements (including the SAIP) and have met the maximum truancy of 10 consecutive unexcused absences will be withdrawn from PALCS and the school district of residence will be notified.

Special note about students who transfer to PALCS during the school year with an excessive number of absences: Students who enroll in PALCS during the school year who bring with them an excessive number of absences, as determined by PALCS administration, will be automatically enrolled in a School Attendance Improvement Plan (SAIP). The SAIP will clearly state the number of absences permitted, the likelihood of grade level retention, and whether or not the student will be required to attend additional programs such as a Summer Bridge Program (summer school).

All students are required to not only log in to school each day but also to remain current with school work and assignments.

“Current” is defined by actively participating and submitting work assignments on time. When students are not actively participating in their online classes and/or are not submitting assignments by the due date or progress check, they are considered to be a non-participant in the academic environment.

Additionally, some students are required to participate in “live” virtual lessons/sessions. Students who do not attend these required sessions may accrue academic penalties.

At the discretion of the school’s division principal, guidance and academic team, students designated as Academic Non-participating will follow a process designed by the school to 4 engage the student in the learning environment. This process includes: 1) establishing parent contact; 2) providing support through the counseling department; 3) mandatory participation in a PALCS Eagles, Bridge to Student Success (BtSS) or Student Opportunity for Academic Recovery (SOAR) program. These programs offer comprehensive support for students and families who are struggling in the cyber environment.

If the aforementioned process is found to be ineffective by the school’s division principal, guidance and academic team and the student is still considered to be Academic Non-participating, the school will report all such incidents to outside agencies, such as Childline, to provide families and students with additional support beyond the capacity of the school.