Harwood Union Unified School District: Updated student attendance procedures
September 25, 2025Dear HUUSD Families,
Regular school attendance is essential to student learning and well-being. Vermont law requires that students attend school, and our district has updated our Student Attendance Procedures (see Policy F25:Student Attendance and Procedures F-25P) to promote consistency across our schools and to partner with families in supporting student engagement.
Our approach is grounded in three key principles:
Support, not punishment: We focus first on identifying and addressing barriers to attendance.
Partnership: Schools, families, and community agencies work together to support students.
Consistency: Attendance procedures are applied uniformly across schools.
Please note the following key points in the Attendance Procedures.
Please contact the school whenever your child will be absent, late, or dismissed early.
Repeated tardiness, even if short, still disrupts learning. To support student learning and success, HUUSD will treat 3 unexcused tardies like an unexcused absence. Unexcused absence from school for a significant portion of the day (50% of the school day or more) will be treated as truancy.
Any absence where we receive no communication from a parent/guardian will be automatically considered unexcused.
See the list below, which is also included in our student/family handbooks, for further definition of excused and unexcused absences.
Excused Absence, Late Arrival, or Early Dismissal from school
Sick-Physical Health or Sick-Mental Health (up to 5 consecutive days without a doctor’s note)
Single Medical Appointment (defined as brief, singular appointments)
Scheduled court appearance
Driver’s license road test appointment
Required attendance by a military recruiter
Religious holiday (on the day of the holiday only)
College Visit (for Juniors and Seniors only)
Family Emergency (defined as severe accident, serious illness, death, or funeral of a close family member)
School-based trip or activity
All other reasons are considered unexcused.
Truancy Response Plan
Our Student Attendance Procedures outline the steps HUUSD will take to collaboratively work with families to support students in attending school. These include contact from the school after 5 unexcused absences and, should a student reach 10 unexcused absences, scheduling a meeting to further discuss and support student attendance. Please note that under state expectations, we are asked to refer continuing student truancy to the Vermont Department of Children and Families (DCF) and the State’s Attorney.
Thank you for partnering with us to support your child’s learning.
Sincerely,
Michael G. Leichliter, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools