Attending school regularly increases a child’s chances of success in school. Regular school attendance is more than "best practice", it is also the law, per Virginia Code 22.1‐254. This code requires children between 5 and 18 years of age to attend school every day, all day.* YCSD has policies and practice in place to help support regular school attendance.
Students should stay home from school when sick. In additional to illness, absences will be excused for: injury, medical procedures, doctor or dental appointments, death in family or funeral, legal obligations, religious obligations, religious observances, military obligations, civic engagement activities (middle/high school only), and/or exceptional circumstances pre-approved by the building principal.
If schools do not receive written notification excusing the student absence for one of the reasons listed above, the absence will be unexcused. If a child accumulates five unexcused absences in a school year, the child is considered truant.
If a child is considered to be truant, the school division must work with the parent and/or child and develop truancy plans to improve the child's attendance as required by Code of Virginia §22.1-258. The same code also requires that a petition be filed with The Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court if attendance does not improve by the child's tenth absence.
Parents/guardians are asked to email the school attendance secretary and/or classroom teacher when their student is going to be absent, or send a note when the student returns to school. Parents who have not communicated an absence in advance will receive a phone call, email and/or text message each day a student is absent.
Attendance office email: (school initials)attendance@ycsd.york.va.us (example: YMSattendance@ycsd.york.va.us).
*Student Attendance while in isolation/quarantine due to COVID-19: Students who engage in daily, meaningful remote work will be considered present. If a student does not complete work provided by their teacher daily, the student will be marked as an unexcused absence until a note is provided.