Question about no child left behind?

[jpaxton1118]

We are planning on going down May 5-12. My son will miss 5 days of school and this might cause a problem because of the no child left behind rule. He is in first grade and he is doing great in school. We will only have two weeks left of school when we get back.
What kind of trouble can we get into by taking him out?

 

[carmiedog]

None that I'm aware of. I work for public schools and parents take their kids out for vacations all the time. I'm not sure what that has to do with NCLB. Unless your child has a lot of absences already, there shouldn't be any problem. (Some administrators might not like it and might let you know their opinion, but there's nothing they can do.) Go and have fun!

 

[Candid]

I doubt there will be a problem. Kids in DS's school go away on vacations all the time. DS's principal filled out the guarantor part of our passport applications and she said she hopes we have fun when we go. She wasn't concerned about it in the least.

 

[Cindy's Mom]

We are planning on going down May 5-12. My son will miss 5 days of school and this might cause a problem because of the no child left behind rule. He is in first grade and he is doing great in school. We will only have two weeks left of school when we get back.
What kind of trouble can we get into by taking him out?

No child left behind rule makes sure every kid, regardless of socioeconomic status gets a far shot in life.

Not sure how it applies to taking your child out of school for vacation

 

[MeMom]

It depends a lot on your district and your principal. For the most part, if your child is doing okay in school and does not have numerous prior absences, most principals and teachers would be fine with it. If any student in my class told me they were going to WDW for a week, I'd tell them to save me a seat, because I was coming, too! By the way, in teaching circles, you often hear No Child Left Behind referred to as No Teacher Left Standing! There's so much paperwork and so many stipulations, obligations, and requirements. Many teachers will probably tell you it has taken the fun out of teaching.

 

[almburr]

At our school if you are planning to go somewhere you have to have all the work done before you leave.

I dont know if I like NCLB program. There seems to be a lot of problems.

 

[HopperFan]

It will depend on your State and your school district regulations. Here the no child left behind and annual yearly progress has severely affected our ability to make decisions regarding family travel. After they were enacted everything changed for us. The policy gets complicated for schools/teachers when you look at dollars they can lose, test scores they must achieve, progress percentages they must make, and the scores of paperwork for all etc. To make sure schools are making children take full advantage of the education, including be there for all tests, the STATE law is.....you miss 5 days or more in a school year of unexcused absences then you can be turned into the Court System for a misdemeanor charge. Penalties are fines, imprisonment and community service. Vacations are considered unexcused. There are few absences that are excused. No, I am not joking....I wish I were. It is State law. It is clearly printed out in detail in our Student Handbooks we receive and sign that we received.

NOW, some teachers/principals are willing to work with you and some are not. Last year I took my middle schooler for 3 days to WDW for a very special celebration. Her teachers approved months in advance because they said she was a good student, done with testing by then and they understood the event. I don't think it ever got to the Principal. I know my Dsis took her young ones out for four days last winter, again excellent students, and worked close with her teachers.

To the OP I see you are in Atlanta - if you are in public school, my laws are your laws ! I would check with your teacher in private to see how she/he thinks it will/can be handled.

 

[princesspwrhr]

The Georgia DOE just passed (last year I think) rules/laws/policy stating that students with more than 5 days unexcused absences can be brought up on truancy charges. Vacations are considered unexcused. There is a very short list of what is 'excused'. http://public.doe.k12.ga.us/_documents/doe/legalservices/160-5-1-.10.pdf

Here's the link with the article http://public.doe.k12.ga.us/pea_policy.aspx?PageReq=PEASchoolAttendance then on the right you can click and read the actual state law. At the top of the right column is a drop down menu to find your county and their attendence policy.

 

[jpaxton1118]

Yes we do have very strick rules here in Ga. My problem is, my son was sick a lot this fall because of his asthma and the weather changing so much did not help. Right now they are putting in an application for him to go into the advance program. The teacher said something about a judge that handles this kind of situation. My son is smart and he should not be punished because he was sick. I just don't think that is fair. His work did not suffer and I stayed in touch with his teacher and had him make up any work that he missed.
I am so confussed I just don't know what to do. I think it is crazy. We are going with my parents who have already paid for the hotel and their tickets. The only reason they are going is for us.

 

[jpaxton1118]

I can't seem to find on the website is illness is considered excused or unexcused? He has only been out for sickness.

 

[carmiedog]

Holy carp, all you Georgia parents! I think your best solution is to move to Ohio.

 

[lastminutemom]

Hi.

One of the problems in Georgia is that our unified application for NCLB doesn't differientate between excused and unexcused abscences. Schools are held accountable for attendance and poor attendance can result in a school not making AYP.

Do you mind sharing what district you are in? I can perhaps provide more insight.

 

[jpaxton1118]

I am in Douglas county school system. I love the school he is in and he has a great teacher.

 

[lastminutemom]

No intimate knowledge of Douglas -- but I have some suggestions for you.

First, you need to figure out which administrator you need to talk to about this at your school. At our elementary school, it would be the counselor, but at yours it might be the principal. (EMPATHY moment here -- you need to understand, that in Georgia, school principals and administrators are under tremendous pressure to improve education. This has resulted in, sadly I might add, a whole one size fits most pressure applied to schools. Thus, your principal might have the highest performing school in Douglas County -- but gets the same speech from the Super. about attendance as the principal at the lowest performing school. Similarly, most principlas feel as though they can't apply some rules (like attendance) to some kids and not others. Stepping off soap box now)

Do not expect the administrator to be nice, kind or understanding. You need to state your case.

Your case is this -- the trip was planned and paid for long before your son got sick and missed days. (You can add that the child did all his work and stay on track.) You did not understand the consequences for the school of abscences. (Sidenote again, by this time of the year, the principal should have an idea of how their attendance is looking for the school year-- so he/she may not care -- but don't count on it.)

Also, the trip is after the CRCT and frankly, at most schools lots less instruction is going on.

In Fulton and DeKalb, many principals would insist on your withdrawing your child and reenrolling them after you return. I do not know if Douglas Co. is playing the game this way. There is no harm in this -- it is just your time when you go to reenroll him. You may want to offer this.

You need to be concillatory and tell them that it won't happen again. You won't pull him out for vacation now that you understand the rules.

 

[HopperFan]

(EMPATHY moment here -- you need to understand, that in Georgia, school principals and administrators are under tremendous pressure to improve education. This has resulted in, sadly I might add, a whole one size fits most pressure applied to schools. Thus, your principal might have the highest performing school in Douglas County -- but gets the same speech from the Super. about attendance as the principal at the lowest performing school. Similarly, most principlas feel as though they can't apply some rules (like attendance) to some kids and not others. Stepping off soap box now)

This is the major problem !! Same rules across the board, which isn't fair for those families who are making sure their students are performing ! They law needs more flexibility. Administrators are managers more than educators anymore, and are under huge pressure in many areas !

Sickness should be excused and not count against you. BUT that doesn't mean the week you want to pull him will not be a problem. Five days are what qualify you for truancy referral, plus your administrator can give your son zeros for each day and not allow you to make it up. That could hurt his placement you are looking for. Again, not agreeing, but they making it very difficult for families. I've heard of the folks doing the unenroll, re-enroll thing.......sounds like alot of trouble, and I guess I would ask if I did this what affect does this have him overall. Some families have told me they were told there would be no guarantee on return that their child would go to the same classroom/teacher, same level etc. They will go to the room with the most space at the time.

 

[jpaxton1118]

I guess the best thing to do is talk to the counsler. I have a feeling that our trip is now ruined. This was going to be the only year we were going to do this.

 

[jpaxton1118]

What do you think will happen if we did it anyway. I mean there is only two weeks of school left. Do you think that we would really be in big trouble.
I know I just need to talk to the counsler.

 

[lastminutemom]

This is the major problem !! Same rules across the board, which isn't fair for those families who are making sure their students are performing ! They law needs more flexibility. Administrators are managers more than educators anymore, and are under huge pressure in many areas !

Sickness should be excused and not count against you. BUT that doesn't mean the week you want to pull him will not be a problem. Five days are what qualify you for truancy referral, plus your administrator can give your son zeros for each day and not allow you to make it up. That could hurt his placement you are looking for. Again, not agreeing, but they making it very difficult for families. I've heard of the folks doing the unenroll, re-enroll thing.......sounds like alot of trouble, and I guess I would ask if I did this what affect does this have him overall. Some families have told me they were told there would be no guarantee on return that their child would go to the same classroom/teacher, same level etc. They will go to the room with the most space at the time.

Other than classroom placement, the unenroll/reenroll thing generally won't have much impact on an elementary school child... and most administrators are good people who will try and put the kid back in the same classroom. In the original posters situation, given that it is the last three weeks of school, there shouldn't be new students arriving to enroll.

 

[lastminutemom]

What do you think will happen if we did it anyway. I mean there is only two weeks of school left. Do you think that we would really be in big trouble.
I know I just need to talk to the counsler.

If it looks like you will be in big trouble, simply withdraw your child from school and reregister at the beginning of the next year.

I believe that the school has the option to report you to the social worker/judicial system or not and given that you sound like you are a good parent and you are going to go in, hat in hand to the counselor and explain what happened, you should be ok. I think you just need to be empathic to the school's position and explain that you are new at this school thing and made a mistake (one that cannot be easily undone) and that you won't make the same mistake again.

In DeKalb, for a referral to be made, the abscences have to unexcused, most of yours were excused.

 

[NotUrsula]

Before you get too frightened, remember that "may" is the operative word when it comes to things like threats of having to appear before truancy court. If you politely make your case, in writing, and make sure that the school has dated copies (preferably with your copies dated and signed), then no truancy court in the country is going to be very hard on you, and most won't even bother with you, beyond perhaps levying a fine and sending a warning letter. Truancy courts have MUCH bigger fish to fry with kids who are out for months at a time and parents who couldn't give a flying flip about it. A parent who has asked in advance for just a few days and made sure arrangements are made to have work accounted for is not going to draw maximum penalties.

If there turns out to be an issue about monies lost, I would reimburse the school for that amount.