School excuse wording

[soarinup]

I got our 7 day trip completely excused. I filled out a form in the office, his teacher added what she wanted, and the whole trip is excused as an "educational experience". Go figure! I was going anyway!

 

[Bummbok]

I think the most important part here is making sure you know what the rules are in the state/city/county you live in. Some places are more strict than others.

For example here its state law that school attendance for ages 7-17 is compulsory. Districts have to abide buy the states School Attendance Manual at a minimum.
All student absences shall be designated as either excused or unexcused. A student shall be excused for absence from school for the following reasons:
1) Illness of the student - limit of ten days per year in grades K-6 accepted without doctor’s excuse.
2) Medical or dental appointment – documentation from the doctor required.
3) Death in the immediate family.
The immediate family is defined as husband, wife, father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, nephew, niece, grandfather, grandmother, uncle, and aunt.
4) Quarantine by order of the Limestone County Health Department.
5) Religious holidays (prior written approval by principal required).
6) Court summons.
7) Demands which in the opinion of the principal merit absence with prior approval.
8) Absences which have an educational value as great as that received during an equal amount of time in school are at the sole discretion of the principal. The decision will be made on individual circumstances

Unexcused absences = truant
1 Day truant mom and dad get a letter
5 days truant Mom and dad have a compulsory meeting with the attendance officer, failure to attend gets you a court summons
7 days court summons.

Truant also gets you zeros for work missed. You have 3 days after an absence to provide proof or you are truant.

So in our case the principle has a great deal of discretion, but I can't fathom trying to book 180 days out and hope we don't get a new stricter principle...nor would I try to sugar coat what I was doing. I'd tell him/her the facts why I wanted to do what I wanted to do and let him make the decision. Worse comes to worse we don't go to WDW...I figure I lived for 18 years before I stepped foot on property and another 15 years before I became a regular guest my kids and I could manage and turn out mostly fine.

 

[aggiegirl1234]

Interesting thread! Just thought I'd jump in since I'm a former kid whose parents decided to take their children out of school for a week and a half at the end of September back in '96 (the castle was decorated like a pink birthday cake and I think at the time I thought that was how it must have always looked ). My dad waited until he thought my sister and I were old enough to appreciate Disney (and probably behave ourselves as well); I had just turned 10 and my sister was 13. My father planned the whole trip with some friends from church, and I think that's how they determined what time of year would be best.

We knew several months ahead of time when we would be going. I was going to start orchestra in the fall at school, so my mother got me violin lessons all summer beforehand so I wouldn't fall behind everyone else during the time I was away. I think I actually got about a semester ahead because of it Since I'd be missing tennis as well, we brought our rackets so we could play in the morning or evenings while we're weren't in the parks. They spoke to my teachers as soon as school started, which gave the teachers a month and a half or so to prepare our homework; we drove all the way from Texas so I was actually able to complete everything in the car except for the daily journal I was required to keep.

I completed all of my homework and certainly was not behind when I returned to school. My teachers had no problem with me being gone, but the other kids were quite jealous I wasn't rusty at the violin or tennis upon returning either. I really don't think missing a week and a half of the fourth grade did any long-term damage either (I graduated from a good university with a master's degree and am now a CPA ).

I cannot think of one negative result from that trip, but what I can think of are all the great memories I made with my family on my first trip to Disney World. The parks weren't crowded at all, and my dad still comments to this day about how happy and well behaved I was. We got to do and see everything. One more thing...that was the trip that turned me into a little Disney monster Several of the happiest memories of my life were made with my family there. I had so much fun that I've gone back many times and plan to keep going back (at off-peak times too...I leave in 2 days for my next trip ).

So that's my story. I know every kid/situation is different. I think my parents knew that I could handle being away from school for an extended period of time and did a great job planning. And I was lucky that my teachers were so accommodating. So I say, have fun! Plan! Your kids are only kids for a little while. I hope your trip is as special as my first one was

 

[Colleen27]

Man things have really changed, I finished school in '02 and i dont think my mom had to do any of this!

It depends on the district; we don't have to do anything other than call the attendance line to verify the absences, though there is a form we can fill out at the middle/high school level for the student to take around to his teachers, simply to help with the logistics of getting assignments from 6 different teachers/classes.

As far as justifying it as an educational trip I think the schools have set that game up, not the parents. I don't know any parent who wants to spend time thinking up flimsy justifications of the educational value of any vacation but so many districts require it (or appear to, via "educational trip approval forms", which implies the school will withhold approval if the trip isn't sufficiently educational) that parents feel obligated to come up with something to fill in that blank.

Amen to the above. My dh is a high school math teacher. Being on the spouse of a teacher side of things, I am amazed at how many families take their vacations during school time and EXPECT my dh and all of their other teachers to prepare the work they will be missing in advance - and then request him to stay after school when they get back to take missed tests or quizzes. You may be only thinking about your own family taking a few days, but in his 8 classes of 30 kids, even if only 10 families are requesting that, that's A LOT of extra work! And in this day and age and working climate (especially for teachers in Wisconsin), you don't tell those parents no - not if you value your job.

If you as family decide that you want to take your kids out of school, that's your choice and you're perogative as a parent - and I don't judge you for that. However, I don't think that a teacher should be expected to ensure that your children don't fall behind BECAUSE of that trip. Because my dh is a teacher, we always take our Disney trips during the summer. It's sometimes a bummer, but that's just the way it is for us.

I suppose it depends on the expectations set by the district to begin with. Every one of my son's academic teachers maintains a class website with the plans for each day of the week described in detail. At the middle & high school teachers are expected to do so as just part of the job, and some even upload worksheets and other handouts so parents can print missed work without needing to contact the teacher to get it. They also have one planning period during the day and a required number of non-school hours they have to make themselves available to students (2 or 3 IIRC, and they set their own schedule similar to college prof's office hours); depending on the teacher that might be either before or after school, usually two days a week. Everything my kids have ever needed to do to catch up, in 8 years of taking our annual "big" vacation during the school year, has fit easily into that time.

 

[tyniknate]

I'm sorry, but I totally disagree. Your husband chose to became a teacher and with becoming a teacher, all of the things the job requires. He knew ahead of time what the requirements would be and still chose the profession. It requires that you provide assignments to children who are out of school. Frankly, I don't believe it is the teacher's business as to why the child is not in school, as long as the student is not suffering in the grade department. The very well paid teachers in our district thought nothing of shutting down the school for 2 weeks last year by striking about their healthcare premiums. I fail to see a difference between teachers striking about salary/premiums and children going on vacation during the school year because that is when their parents are able to take vacation.....it's both financially based.
Please don't act as if teachers are anymore overstressed or overworked than any other employed person. I find it insulting, as do many others. I have a job to do, and I do it without complaining every step of the way. It isn't too much to ask of others to do the same.

Amen to the above. My dh is a high school math teacher. Being on the spouse of a teacher side of things, I am amazed at how many families take their vacations during school time and EXPECT my dh and all of their other teachers to prepare the work they will be missing in advance - and then request him to stay after school when they get back to take missed tests or quizzes. You may be only thinking about your own family taking a few days, but in his 8 classes of 30 kids, even if only 10 families are requesting that, that's A LOT of extra work! And in this day and age and working climate (especially for teachers in Wisconsin), you don't tell those parents no - not if you value your job.

If you as family decide that you want to take your kids out of school, that's your choice and you're perogative as a parent - and I don't judge you for that. However, I don't think that a teacher should be expected to ensure that your children don't fall behind BECAUSE of that trip. Because my dh is a teacher, we always take our Disney trips during the summer. It's sometimes a bummer, but that's just the way it is for us.

 

[Brian Noble]

It requires that you provide assignments to children who are out of school.

In some districts, and possibly most of them, this is not true---not if the absence is unexcused. In almost any district, it needn't be done in advance if doing so is an unreasonable burden (i.e. the assignment is not ready yet).

I love WDW. I really do. I love taking my kids to WDW. I love doing that when there aren't tons of other people doing that.

But, lets be honest here: it's vacation, not a semester abroad. Are there "learning opportunities"? Sure. Is it "an educational trip"? I think if we looked hard in the mirror, we'd agree that no, it is not. Now, some teachers/administrators might be willing to call it educational in a wink-wink nudge-nudge sort of way to work within the bounds of a district's (or state's) enrollment policy, but that's a different question.

 

[goofy4tink]

I'm teaching my kids every min of the day. Especially when we go to Disney.

As a parent of a 38 y/o, a 35 y/o and an almost 18 y/o, I also spend every day teaching. But, that isn't going to amount to a hill of beans when my 18 y/o can't figure out the stuff that was covered in her Algebra ll class while she was in WDW.

I'm just sad that I don't think we'll be able to take off from school again except maybe the last day before school vacations because our youngest just really needs the classroom instruction too much based on some particular learning difficulties she has. It's just become too hard for her to keep up after missing a few days. It's just what we have to do as her family.[/QUOTE

as someone who works in a school and reads the absent excuses from parents, i'll tell you that the schools can't really do much if you choose to take your child out for vacation for a short period of time. it may or may not show on a report card as an unexcused or excused absence. Schools need to be informed since they do take attendance each day and it helps to know why students aren't in school and saves the secretary a phone call home to find out why a student is missing. When taking your kids out of school becomes a real issue, is when there are chronic absences (truancy and court), or as the pp who I've quoted above says that missing classroom instruction will hurt her child and make school more difficult for her child. (major respect for this parent/family)
I highly doubt colleges are scanning transcripts to see how often a child was absent from school and basis acceptance on this. they get their full tuition money regardless of how many classes a student attends.

They may not see those uexcused absences, but they will see the lower grades due to an overage of unexcused absences.

Does anyone really do homework at Disney? I mean really? My parents took me out of elementary school a few times for Disney trips when I was a kid, but did I sit in our room at the Poly at 10pm after MK fireworks and do homework every night? No, I did not.

It either got done in the car on the way home or after I got home.

My dd always has. She will take books with her, if she ends up going, in Dec. Then she will text friends to see what was done in class that day and spend some time each night going over it.

you say schools can't do much, are you aware that they don't have to give you the work ahead of time, are you aware that they can give it upon return and if out three days, require it back in 3 days & take credit off for it being late.. legally? These are things schools can do and that reflects on the child's grades... so while colleges are not looking at their absences they are indeed looking at their grades and credits. Too many unexcused or excused absences (19 total per year in my district) while in high school and you will not get your credits for that class.. and that will be seen on your transcripts for college without a doubt.. and this is coming from someone who has college age children, and who also works in the classroom...and has worked with the social service worker at the school due to the excessive absences of some students.

So while that one week trip to Disney, the few long weekends, the trip to the doctor, the dentist, the 2 week flu....etc.. they tend to add up.. also in my district, 2 tardy's equal an absence as well.. they all add up..

When my youngest was in her senior year, she was out 4 excused days by December. I rec'd a letter in the mail to notify me of it. Letting me know that if she reached 19 total for the year, it would effect her graduation due to credit denial. These were excused absences. She was sick and we had doctor notes.

Our school system also has that 19 day plan. Love it. I don't have to worry about coming up with valid reasons for my dd missing school.


Here's the thing. Every parent should be able to decide when they vacation as a family. And they should be able to decide if missing school is going to be an issue for their kids. Most school systems have either a handbook or other guidelines that outline what is expected. School systems differ....so while one parent may 'have' to have a reason to take their child out of school for vacation, another parent at a different school may not have to.


My issue??? The prevailing mentality that 'my family deserves to vacation whenever we want. Our kids learn all sorts of great stuff at WDW so they aren't really missing that much by not being in school. And we ask for all their assignments before we leave anyway, It's our right to get those homework assignments early.'
Just drives me nutty. THe entire holier than thou attitude here is nuts. I don't particularly care if you take your kids out of school. As long as you are knowledgable about your particular school districts are, and you are within those guidelines, fine, have a ball.
It's all about choices...we all make choices, and we have to live with the ramifications of those choices.

 

[leebee]

I'm sorry, but I totally disagree. Your husband chose to became a teacher and with becoming a teacher, all of the things the job requires. He knew ahead of time what the requirements would be and still chose the profession. It requires that you provide assignments to children who are out of school. Frankly, I don't believe it is the teacher's business as to why the child is not in school, as long as the student is not suffering in the grade department. The very well paid teachers in our district thought nothing of shutting down the school for 2 weeks last year by striking about their healthcare premiums. I fail to see a difference between teachers striking about salary/premiums and children going on vacation during the school year because that is when their parents are able to take vacation.....it's both financially based.
Please don't act as if teachers are anymore overstressed or overworked than any other employed person. I find it insulting, as do many others. I have a job to do, and I do it without complaining every step of the way. It isn't too much to ask of others to do the same.

So... your job requires you to come in early and stay late, after working hours, to redo what you did last week? Your job requires you to do the very exact same meeting, project, whatever because coworkers who are expected/required to be present or participate choose not to because there is something else they'd rather be doing? Your job requires you to have projects finished a week in advance of when you are actually presenting it? Of course, you buy all your own office supplies, paper, pens, laptop/computer, etc., too? I am guessing you also listen to your clients, distributors, suppliers, whatever yell at you and be insulting and tell you you ruined their business's future, too? I find it insulting that you lump teachers all together, and seemingly have no respect for the profession.

 

[39CINDERELLA]

my letter simply states that my child will be with me on such and such date! I do not feel the need to tell anyone where I am going.....go ahead flame if it makes you feel better. That is how I am. Have been through too much in life to live in fear of what others think! Life is way too short, precious. Our family time is more important to us than missing a couple days of school.........

 

[tyniknate]

But I said nothing of it being an educational trip. What I said was that the contract in my district requires you to provide my child with his assignments if approval for the trip has been given in advance. Please just do so, and without passing judgment or becoming snarky about doing it. I'm tired of (some) teachers implying that I'm a bad parent because I choose to spend time with my children. I don't tell you when you can take your vacation, please don't tell me when I can take mine. I'm only asking that you follow your contract and do as you agreed when you took the job. I'm also asking that you don't presume to know the situation behind why I'm choosing to do what I am doing. You have no idea about my finances, medical status, work situation or many other parts of the equation.

In some districts, and possibly most of them, this is not true---not if the absence is unexcused. In almost any district, it needn't be done in advance if doing so is an unreasonable burden (i.e. the assignment is not ready yet).

I love WDW. I really do. I love taking my kids to WDW. I love doing that when there aren't tons of other people doing that.

But, lets be honest here: it's vacation, not a semester abroad. Are there "learning opportunities"? Sure. Is it "an educational trip"? I think if we looked hard in the mirror, we'd agree that no, it is not. Now, some teachers/administrators might be willing to call it educational in a wink-wink nudge-nudge sort of way to work within the bounds of a district's (or state's) enrollment policy, but that's a different question.

 

[soarinup]

my letter simply states that my child will be with me on such and such date! I do not feel the need to tell anyone where I am going.....go ahead flame if it makes you feel better. That is how I am. Have been through too much in life to live in fear of what others think! Life is way too short, precious. Our family time is more important to us than missing a couple days of school.........

I know, right? The schools feel they own your child for the school year. I know there is a legal issue in reference to truancy, but it is MY child.

 

[Brian Noble]

my letter simply states that my child will be with me on such and such date! I do not feel the need to tell anyone where I am going.

And that's fine. However, if your district/state imposes consequences for pulling your kids out without giving a reason, you need to be ready to accept them on your kids' behalf.

 

[Brian Noble]

I know, right? The schools feel they own your child for the school year. I know there is a legal issue in reference to truancy, but it is MY child.

In some sense, they do. Other people are paying, in part, for the education of your child. Truancy laws, etc. are in place in part because people want their money's worth. That, in turn, imposes some obligations on you and your family to attend school within the rules/laws that your state and district have established. If you do not like those rules/laws, seek to have them changed, find a private school with rules more to your liking (and pay for it) or homeschool (and devote your time to that).

In short: you don't get it both ways. If you want the state to pay for your kids' education, you have to accept some limits. If you don't want the limits, don't use public education.

 

[tyniknate]

I didn't choose the profession, you did. My job requires me to deal with the drunks driving on the highways to keep your family safe. My job requires me to deal with the drug abusers in the community to keep your family safe. My job requires me to deal with the man who rapes his child while his wife watches and sees nothing wrong with it, simply because the child asked what sex is. My job requires me to deal with the screaming parents who say "Drugs...Not my son". Ummm the same son who was just caught shooting up in the alley? My job requires me to deal with parents who have thrown their baby so hard that it has permanent brain damage. My job requires me to be in contact with society's worst elements so you and your family members don't have to deal with it. I chose my profession and I deal with the long hours, the work I do on my own time, the time spent away from my family and all other parts that aren't necessarily what I signed up for, but do anyway without complaining every step of the way. All I'm saying is this.....you chose your profession with all the good parts and all of the bad. Please just step up and do it without being snarky and complaining all the way. And by the way....I have teachers who my sons and I adore. They truly care about the job and the kids they are there to teach. There are others, though, who ARE there counting the days and paychecks until retirement and nothing else motivates them. Same within every profession. Just do the job you were hired to do.

So... your job requires you to come in early and stay late, after working hours, to redo what you did last week? Your job requires you to do the very exact same meeting, project, whatever because coworkers who are expected/required to be present or participate choose not to because there is something else they'd rather be doing? Your job requires you to have projects finished a week in advance of when you are actually presenting it? Of course, you buy all your own office supplies, paper, pens, laptop/computer, etc., too? I am guessing you also listen to your clients, distributors, suppliers, whatever yell at you and be insulting and tell you you ruined their business's future, too? I find it insulting that you lump teachers all together, and seemingly have no respect for the profession.

 

[Brian Noble]

But I said nothing of it being an educational trip.

Sorry, my post contained two different points: the "obligation" to provide assignments, and the broader question of whether or not WDW is "educational". Only the first part applied to the bit of yours that I quoted. I should have made that more clear.

 

[39CINDERELLA]

They may not see those uexcused absences, but they will see the lower grades due to an overage of unexcused absences.



we took our daughter out every year for family time. She did not suffer lower grades. She even went through high school with honors and AP classes! Then went on to college with a great $ award because of her great academics!

 

[goofy4tink]

They may not see those uexcused absences, but they will see the lower grades due to an overage of unexcused absences.



we took our daughter out every year for family time. She did not suffer lower grades. She even went through high school with honors and AP classes! Then went on to college with a great $ award because of her great academics!

And that's wonderful...congrats to both you and your dd. BUT....if my dd, in our school system, misses more than 19 days of a class (and that's just one class) and those absences are unexcused, she gets points deducted from that class. So, even if she gets an A in Spanish, she's going to end up with a B if they deduct points due to absences. And you multipy that by every class if she misses an entire day!!! So, yeah, her grades will drop.
BUT...we don't allow that to happen. She used to be able to take 'mental health' days...but if she wants to go to WDW and miss those 3 days, then, no mental health days for her!!! Again, it's all about choices. We have to sign a contract, every year, acknowledging that we have read, and understood, the school handbook. Then, there are no reasons for complaint down the road.

 

[chartle]

I know, right? The schools feel they own your child for the school year. I know there is a legal issue in reference to truancy, but it is MY child.

So then as posted above you then have to except whatever school or legal repercussions there are if your child's absence is marked unexcused which is the definition of being truant (Truancy is any intentional unauthorized absence from compulsory schooling). That could mean nothing to getting zeros on all work including tests to you being taken to criminal court and fined.

If you don't follow the law you either change the law, move or home school/cyber school your kid.

 

[Minnesota!]

That letter is ridiculous. People who send it are not going to be taken seriously.

If you have to pull your kids out, just do it. Don't try to justify it so much as an educational trip, because really it's not.

Agreed!

So... your job requires you to come in early and stay late, after working hours, to redo what you did last week? Your job requires you to do the very exact same meeting, project, whatever because coworkers who are expected/required to be present or participate choose not to because there is something else they'd rather be doing? Your job requires you to have projects finished a week in advance of when you are actually presenting it? Of course, you buy all your own office supplies, paper, pens, laptop/computer, etc., too? I am guessing you also listen to your clients, distributors, suppliers, whatever yell at you and be insulting and tell you you ruined their business's future, too? I find it insulting that you lump teachers all together, and seemingly have no respect for the profession.

Except for buying my own supplies...yes, my job involves all of this.

Teachers choose their profession just as much as I chose my profession. You can't start whining about it if you knew going in what it entailed.

My BFF is a teacher and I will say the same thing to all teachers that I say to her "suck it up...this is what you signed up for. If you hate it...get out".

These are some of the exact reasons I refuse to send my kids to public schools....the way the school (government) think they own your kid.

My school sends you off with a wave and a "have a great time". No funding to worry about, no absence policies that hover over your head.

 

[Brian Noble]

These are some of the exact reasons I refuse to send my kids to public schools....the way the school (government) think they own your kid.

And this is a perfectly reasonable way to approach it. If you don't want someone else calling the shots, pay for it (or do it) yourself. But, if you are going to let someone else do the paying (and the doing) then you have to accept that there will sometimes be facets of it that you don't like.