School Attendance Policy Rant

[Sharon A.]

Originally posted by kamgen
As a former teacher, I am sure some of my old colleagues would flame me for this...BUT...who do schools these days think they are??????????? When did parents lose the control of what their children do????? I feel that it is up to the parents when children miss school, and by all means if you feel your child is too sick to go, keep them home. And for other reasons kids miss school (appointments, family trips, meetings, etc), it is up to the parents, not the school. I beleive that the politics that are the public school system is on a power trip. JMHO.
I feel that as long as a student completes their assignments on time and in a satisfactory manner, it should no matter how many days they miss school. I have known kids that missed 15 days of school and got all A's, while kids who were there all the time failed. Being physically "in school" doesn't mean they are "there" mentally.
had to vent!!!!
Kamy

Kamy I couldn't agree more (even with the former teacher part). As long as the student can demonstrate knowledge of the material and completes assignments, then the school should have no right to fail him.

 

[Miss Jasmine]

Here is another reason why this policy makes me MAD:

http://www.floridatoday.com/!NEWSROOM/sportstoryA19958A.htm

Since when did school become the parents. This policy has been reversed in other areas it was enacted, I only pray that this is the only school year we have to deal with it.

 

[kamgen]

Thanks Sharon!

Miss Jasmine-I completely agree!

This is always a difficult situation. But, i think parents need to stick to their guns and make sure that things are in the best interest of their children. And all children are different.

Kamy

 

[Mermaid02]

I think schools do this precisely because they get peeved that kids can miss so much school and still ace their classes.

It's obvious by the tone of some of the posts that some of you don't believe her son was sick- just because YOUR child may not be sick as often as hers or mine or XYZ's does NOT mean they are not legitimately ill. When my kids are sick I do the responsible thing and I keep them home..... I don't send them to school so they can infect Suzy and little Jeffy down the street and even old Mrs. Teachoftheyear.

School is NOT the most important thing in a child's life.... FAMILY is and do we ever take them out to do family things?? You bet we do. Do we make sure the work is made up and returned in a timely fashion? You better believe it.

This subject really gets me since my dd had pneumonia in 3rd grade. It was near the beginning of the year and I went in to get her homework.... pretty much the first meeting I had with the teacher.... she "thanked" me for coming to get Meg's work and I said, "No problem I don't want her to get behind and there sure is a lot of it" to which she said, "Well maybe if she sees how much she missed she'll DRAG herself in here next time she isn't feeling well." I was STUNNED to say the least. I put the books down and looked her square in the eye and said, "Megan is in the third grade- she does NOT decide when she will stay home. Her pediatrician and I decide when she will stay home."

Sorry this is so long- but this subject tends to make my blood boil.

 

[JerseyJanice]

Just last week, we received a note from our school asking us to PLEASE keep sick children at home so that they don’t infect the other students and the staff. The note gave a laundry list of symptoms, stating that if our children exhibited any one of them, we should keep the kids at home.

Last year, our school actually closed a few days so that it could be disinfected following a school-wide epidemic of flu.

Here’s hoping you win the appeal, Straycat. I think a parent should have the latitude to keep a child at home when that parent thinks the child is too ill to be there.

 

[Miss Jasmine]

ohh wait, I just thought of something else...this same school district decided it is ok for kids to come to school with lice as long as it is being treated "properly". I KID YOU NOT.

 

[Mermaid02]

GO TO SCHOOL WITH LICE?? What do they do at these school board meetings pass around a crack pipe????

 

[addicted_to_WDW]

LOL mermaid!

In our district, if you get lice you not only have to stay home to be treated but they inspect the hair when the kid gets back to school. I'm glad they are strict, because I went through head lice once with DS and it was a nightmare. Ended up shaving his head because those things were pesky. I hope to NEVER repeat that fun!

 

[Briar Rose 7457]

we have compulsory education laws in every state. that means the government has made a determination that, regardless of what the parents might think, a certain amount of education is required for every child.

part and parcel of that is a certain amount of classroom instruction. that's why in many jurisdictions parents who homeschool have to account to their local school board for the amount of instruction given, the material covered, the grade received, etc.

in other words, it is a legal requirement that a student attend a certain number of classes in order to be able to pass a class, unless that student had a legitimate excuse. while the OP might have felt that her son needed his rest, from the school's perspective the absences were unexcused since the child was well enough to attend class the rest of the day and did not present a note from a medical provider justifying the absence.


I do sympathize with the OP -- last year, my then-6th grader was consistently late to school, missed homeroom a lot, and was occasionally late to her 1st period class as well. she had an "A" average in her 1st period class. nevertheless, the school made an issue out of her latenesses. no action was taken against her, the warning was sufficient to get her on the right track so that she'd get to school on time.

 

[Briar Rose 7457]

and one other point -- I would not want to be on the receiving end of a Child Support Services petition alleging "educational neglect."

 

[Pooh93]

{{hugs}} to you Straycat. You have a full plate and are a good mom. It's hard to play by the rules if you don't know what they are. Now, that you know, you can adjust accordingly. I hope you get this resolved without too much further hassles.

 

[Miss Jasmine]

Briar Rose, If you would ahve bothered to read the policy you will see that it doesn't matter why the student missed school and that a doctor's note counts for diddly. A missed day is a missed day and if you have 9 in one semester (4 in block classes) then you fail due to attendance. In December (for this semester) you get the chance to appear before the appeals board and make your case and show your doctor's note. Still the board could deny your appeal.

 

[vickyBaby]

Originally posted by Miss Jasmine
Briar Rose, If you would ahve bothered to read the policy

Briar Rose has a Juris Doctorate, Miss Jasmine.

What comprises your Curiculum Vitae?

 

[Miss Jasmine]

From Briar Rose:

from the school's perspective the absences were unexcused since the child was well enough to attend class the rest of the day and did not present a note from a medical provider justifying the absence.

Doesn't matter whether she had a doctor's note or not. All absences (minus religious holidays and court dates) are counted the same whether just out or out sick. A doctor's note does not come in to play until the appeals process and even then the appeals board can decide to still fail the student.

From the Brevard County School District attendance policy:

Each school should establish procedures to ensure good attendance. A student who is absent more than nine (9) days within a semester or more than four (4) days within a nine (9) week period for schools on a block schedule, will not receive a passing grade for the semester.
Absences due to court dates and religious holidays are not counted within the nine (9) days attendance policy. Medical documentation of absences will be approved on appeal.

And no I don't have a JD, I happen to live in this school district that Straycat is dealing with and my stepchildren attend school here, so I think I am very familiar with this particular attendance policy.

 

[Briar Rose 7457]

I read the policy, Miss Jasmine. medical excuses are accepted if properly documented.

if my child had been absent for one day less than the cut off point, I would make it my business to document the illness and address the issue with the school administration before a problem arose.

I understand the OP is a single mom with a lot on her plate. but given the polciy -- which, as Miss Jasmine proved, is readily available -- this could have been addressed before it became a problem.

 

[minnieandmickey]

I say go to the meeting and speak your case, and if they deny it seek legal representation. If anything I have learned since my kids have been in school you have to fight everything. If you want to go over the VP head call the Superintendent of Schools and talk to him/her or at least make an appointment to see him/her. I know in my school district there is a childrens welfare and attendance department at the district head quarters. The way I see it if it isn't in writing it isn't policy, and if they say it is policy now then they need to send an ammendment to all the parents of secondary students.

 

[Doctor P]

IMHO, the policy is very clear and is reasonable. It is clear that they will consider medical appeals and you should make one if appropriate. I'm sorry that you are having to go through this, but it sounds like this is a much greater problem than missing a few classes (i.e., some kind of chronic illness--even if it is just a virus or cold). Hope you get things worked out.

 

[kamgen]

IMHO, the problem stems from the politics of everything.

we have compulsory education laws in every state. that means the government has made a determination that, regardless of what the parents might think, a certain amount of education is required for every child.

in other words, it is a legal requirement that a student attend a certain number of classes in order to be able to pass a class, unless that student had a legitimate excuse. while the OP might have felt that her son needed his rest, from the school's perspective the absences were unexcused since the child was well enough to attend class the rest of the day and did not present a note from a medical provider justifying the absence.

Maybe these RULES need to be re-evaluated.

Kamy

 

[danacara]

Originally posted by Briar Rose 7457
and one other point -- I would not want to be on the receiving end of a Child Support Services petition alleging "educational neglect."

This is a BINGO point for a single mother.

 

[Miss Jasmine]

I swore I wasn't coming back to this thread, but I have one more thing to say...

Straycat is a single mom because her husband passed away. I don't think she has to worry about educational neglect. Oh please.

{{{HUGS}}} Straycat.

And with that I will no longer comment on the policy but will defend a friend if need be.