Excuse letter for school

[LIsa Serrano]

HI everyone,

My family and I will be going to Universal Studios in early December to celebrate my daughters 15th birthday. I have 2 other daughters as well, 10 yrs and 16 yrs. I wanted some input on how I can create an excuse letter for their school for the absence. I know I have seen a few online for Disney and how that can be educational but I would like some input for Universal Studios. We will also be visiting SeaWorld while we are there. Can anyone help with this? Thank you for any advice.

 

[StirlingSilver83]

I have never really written a letter to my sons school when I pulled him out for Disney. I don't know what your school's rules are concerning excused absences but in my sons school pulling him out to go to Disney World is not an excused absence. We usually plan for these things really far ahead and I make sure my son goes to school and doesn't miss many days so that he does have enough days that he can miss that are not excused absences. Now he's only in 3rd grade, so I don't mind pulling him out for a family vacation. I don't know how I would when he enters into middle school or high school though.

 

[LIsa Serrano]

I have never really written a letter to my sons school when I pulled him out for Disney. I don't know what your school's rules are concerning excused absences but in my sons school pulling him out to go to Disney World is not an excused absence. We usually plan for these things really far ahead and I make sure my son goes to school and doesn't miss many days so that he does have enough days that he can miss that are not excused absences. Now he's only in 3rd grade, so I don't mind pulling him out for a family vacation. I don't know how I would when he enters into middle school or high school though.

Thank you for your input. It has been about 5 yrs that we have had a family vacation to Florida. I know I have heard other students getting the absence approved for certain vacations as long as there is an educational aspect for it. My girl do very well in school so I know missing a week will not harm their grades. I know I will ask for work missed and have them work about 1 hr a day on school work while we are there. I just want to make sure they are aware of the absence before we go.

 

[kohlby]

It's going to depend on your state if it's excused or unexcused. My state would not allow it as an excused absence, even if it's educational, as they require drs notes to be excused. (So this trip could mean a high schooler not getting course credit if the trip is long enough!) However, not all states are the same. Hopefully your state still allows this as an excused absence, as schools are cracking down more every year. (And it's often out of public school's hands, as it comes from the state's laws often). I'd go the Sea World route if you're going to education. Disney is easy to do for education - Epcot and Animal Kingdom have quite a bit - and there are the Y.E.S. classes, but US/IOA is much harder. There are some education programs in US/IOA. Maybe they could take one, though I haven't looked into dates and availability myself: https://www.universalorlandoyouth.com/Education/Education-Programs/Default.html

edited to add: It looks like those programs are just for groups. I wonder if there are any homeschool groups planning trips for that time that are open to all.

 

[LIsa Serrano]

It's going to depend on your state if it's excused or unexcused. My state would not allow it as an excused absence, even if it's educational, as they require drs notes to be excused. (So this trip could mean a high schooler not getting course credit if the trip is long enough!) However, not all states are the same. Hopefully your state still allows this as an excused absence, as schools are cracking down more every year. (And it's often out of public school's hands, as it comes from the state's laws often). I'd go the Sea World route if you're going to education. Disney is easy to do for education - Epcot and Animal Kingdom have quite a bit - and there are the Y.E.S. classes, but US/IOA is much harder. There are some education programs in US/IOA. Maybe they could take one, though I haven't looked into dates and availability myself: https://www.universalorlandoyouth.com/Education/Education-Programs/Default.html

edited to add: It looks like those programs are just for groups. I wonder if there are any homeschool groups planning trips for that time that are open to all.

Thank you for the information. I'm sure I can use some of that information to help with my letter.

 

[RMulieri]

I have taken my DD out of school many times and never wrote one of those " how Disney/Universal" trips can be educational. ..The teachers and principal are well aware that they are family trips no matter how much your child might or might not learn from it ..Our district requires notice of the absence at least 3 DAYS PRIOR . Our school has paperwork to complete for it and up to 7 days is excused. NOW...Middle School and High School are a bit different so we cant take ours out anymore without dealing with serious consequences fo r her.You are going to have to check what your school policy is and take it from there.

 

[saskdw]

I always get amazed when I read these threads. Where I'm from in western Canada we just say were going on vacation see ya when we get back.

We pay the teachers and administrators salaries, they have jobs because of us. They don't get to dictate when we take holidays. Schools here wouldn't dream of trying to make a big deal about it.

 

[Bluer101]

(To person)

My child will be absent from school on (insert dates) for family matters.

Thank you,

(Sign here)

Sorry, but it's non of their business what you pull your child out of school for.

 

[RMulieri]

I always get amazed when I read these threads. Where I'm from in western Canada we just say were going on vacation see ya when we get back.

We pay the teachers and administrators salaries, they have jobs because of us. They don't get to dictate when we take holidays. Schools here wouldn't dream of trying to make a big deal about it.

Part of the problem in the states is that the schools here get funding from the government based on attendance of students. Kids not coming to school=less money.Not to mention thanks to Common Core and standardized testing, half the time the kids are preparing for the annual standardized tests or taking benchmark tests to see how they compare to other kids in other areas..it is a load of BS .When I was a kid our parents took us out all the time and no one batted an eye

 

[saskdw]

Part of the problem in the states is that the schools here get funding from the government based on attendance of students. Kids not coming to school=less money.Not to mention thanks to Common Core and standardized testing, half the time the kids are preparing for the annual standardized tests or taking benchmark tests to see how they compare to other kids in other areas..it is a load of BS .When I was a kid our parents took us out all the time and no one batted an eye

That wouldn't float here. Any government that brought that in would be voted out the next election. Our education tax is built onto our property taxes and is based on home/property value.

 

[Capang]

Chances are even if your trip is educational the absences won't be excused. Just let them know when you will be gone. I know some states, like Ohio, the funding is based on property tax (which was ruled unconstitutional decades ago) and two "count weeks" in the fall and spring. Schools also can be dinged on state report cards if overall attendance is less than 93%. All of this means less funding for schools. There can also be consequences if too much school is missed for any reason, excused or otherwise. Give your child's school plenty of notice and enjoy your trip. Make sure your child doesn't unnecessarily miss school the rest of the year and it should be fine.

 

[Darcy03231]

You really need to find out your district policy. For ours those days would be unexcused. It's up to the teacher if they want to give or accept work for those days. If they don't your child gets a zero for anything missed.

 

[mellyf]

I always get amazed when I read these threads. Where I'm from in western Canada we just say were going on vacation see ya when we get back.

We pay the teachers and administrators salaries, they have jobs because of us. They don't get to dictate when we take holidays. Schools here wouldn't dream of trying to make a big deal about it.

As a teacher, it's not remotely up to me whether an absence is excused or not, and it's not up to my administrator either. It's up to my district, which bases its policy on what the state dictates. I always tell my students/parents to have a great time.

 

[kohlby]

When I taught, it wasn't up to me either. The only part up to me was that an unexcused absence meant that I did not need to provide make-up work. Technically, I could give the student zeros for all missed work. No matter what the reason, I always provided make-up work since I cared about the student learning - not why the student wasn't there. (I even provided work for suspended students who were not there due to their fault). The administrators didn't get to decide either, as they had to follow state law. The school went as far as having a couple Saturdays during the year where students could come and sit in a room for several hours to make up unexcused absences. The school didn't want the kids not to get credit, but they had to follow the state laws. (I'm in South Carolina. I've noticed that SC has much stronger laws than many states in regard to public school absences).

 

[Bluer101]

When I taught, it wasn't up to me either. The only part up to me was that an unexcused absence meant that I did not need to provide make-up work. Technically, I could give the student zeros for all missed work. No matter what the reason, I always provided make-up work since I cared about the student learning - not why the student wasn't there. (I even provided work for suspended students who were not there due to their fault). The administrators didn't get to decide either, as they had to follow state law. The school went as far as having a couple Saturdays during the year where students could come and sit in a room for several hours to make up unexcused absences. The school didn't want the kids not to get credit, but they had to follow the state laws. (I'm in South Carolina. I've noticed that SC has much stronger laws than many states in regard to public school absences).

This is a very positive solution for teachers and staff that care about the kids vs the numbers. If the kids show that they want to learn and make up work then it's even more important to embrace this work environment.

I understand the importance of the numbers and such, but we have to get back to old school teaching and upbringing. Our government steps in way too much these days.

 

[saskdw]

As a teacher, it's not remotely up to me whether an absence is excused or not, and it's not up to my administrator either. It's up to my district, which bases its policy on what the state dictates. I always tell my students/parents to have a great time.

I get what you are all saying. It's not like that here. The School Board does not dictate when people go on holidays. The heads of the SB are elected officials. They are not about to start telling Doctors, lawyers, business owners, etc when they can take holidays. And they certainly aren't going to tell them their kids get a zero if they go. There would be some School Board people out of work pretty quick!

 

[DisneyOma]

I get what you are all saying. It's not like that here. The School Board does not dictate when people go on holidays. The heads of the SB are elected officials. They are not about to start telling Doctors, lawyers, business owners, etc when they can take holidays. And they certainly aren't going to tell them their kids get a zero if they go. There would be some School Board people out of work pretty quick!

It's the same here in the US (at least in my state) but there are federal guidelines to be met that have nothing to do with the local elected officials.

Was looking at comparisons for education between countries - there really isn't a standard international education, which is very interesting!

 

[dixonsontour]

Interesting how things differ. In England they have recently introduced parental fines for unexcused absence. In the past a head teacher could authorise up to 10 days absence but that has gone. Only exceptional circumstances can be authorised. Fine is £60 a parent per child. Some areas like my area are not fining until 1 week absence. The newspapers are full of stories.

 

[snoopboop]

We pay the teachers and administrators salaries, they have jobs because of us.

Wow. Just... wow.

 

[DisneyOma]

Wow. Just... wow.

I know, I thought the same thing - "one of those parents"