Taking Children out for Vacation and Absences

[MiknMinMouse]

ARGH ~ I got a letter from my son's school this week stating that I needed to watch his absences so they do not become excessive. He's missed 3 days of school this year (1 unexcused because we were out of town and 2 sick days). That really blew me away, 3 days and they're wasting my time and paper sending me a letter. Apparently you get a letter for every 3 days they miss. Mind you my son is a straight A student taking all honors classes. I called the attendence office and they said they were allowed to miss 10 days per semester. My question was why then was I getting a letter after 3 days. But alas I had spoken with an answering machine and the answer I received was two days later left on my voice mail. I'm taking my son out of school in January to go to Disney. He'll miss 5 days. I have to fill out a form to get PERMISSION to take MY SON out of school. That completely burns me up. It's my child. I understand the funding issues and all of that hullaballoo but it's my child and he's a straight A honor student for pity's sake. Does anyone else have to go through hoops when their children miss school?

 

[Christine]

Well, I wouldn't call it "hoops" but I do have to fill out some forms if I want to take my child out of school for a vacation.

Basically, it is the law that every child receive some type of education whether it be public school, private school, or home school. Education is not an "elective" in this country. So, besides the "money" factor, I do believe it is the schools responsibility to keep track of absences, manage absences, and decided whether to excuse or not excuse an absence.

You do not "need" permission to take your child on vacation. But you do need to explain to the school why he will be out. Based on that explanation, the school can make a determination if it will be excused or unexcused. If it is excused, your child will be able to make up any missed tests and work. If it is unexcused, you child will get zeros for everything done during the 5 days he is out. They just want to make sure you are aware of that.

I was fortunate that the public elementary school that my kids attended (when we were doing Disney trips during the school year) always let the absences be excused. It is their call. I'm sure that if we had been abusive with the attendance they would not have excused them.

I honestly don't see why you are upset about this. Your child missed school for being sick and once for being out of town. So what does it matter if the school lets you know that they are tracking it?

 

[Planogirl]

Same thing in Texas except that absences for vacation are automaticaly unexcused. I don't mind personally since I'm made aware of it going in.

 

[xCourxCorex]

Forget forms, at my school, if you miss 6 days for vacation(for classes you take every day like math, science, English, etc) you automatically fail for the term. And if it's a semester course, like art, you only get 3 days of absence. Therefore, we are restricted to summer vacations.

 

[cardaway]

Things have got pretty messed up. The school system has lost touch with who they work for.

Not everybody can or wants to take vacations during school vacations. In our case, my wife (home daycare) is in more demand during school vacations, and I can't get away during most of the school breaks.

 

[Castlebound]

Do you have your flame suit on? The threads about taking kids out of school for something as "silly" as a family vacation get pretty heated. There are several people who feel that there is never a good reason to take a vacation during school.

We have taken our kids out of school for a family vacation every year since DS started kindergarten. DS is in 2nd and DD is in kindergarten. Thankfully our kids go to a private school so we don't have to deal with the No Child Left Behind junk. My DH can not take a vacation during June, July or Augest or the last week of any month or the last month of any quarter. That doesn't leave us with many options! We do follow our school's policy of letting the teachers know about the vacation and completing all the school work in a timely manner. Unfortunately for you your DS does go to a public school and you do have to jump through their hoops to take your DS out of school for a vacation. Whenever you get you school handbook at the beginning of the year it states the schools policy on absences and vacations. Before planning any vacation you have to check the policy and follow that policy. I'm sure your and/or your DH have vacation policies at work and you have to plan around those also. To me it is the same thing.

 

[NMAmy]

When dd was younger, we'd take her out of school for vacation. My ex had her for school breaks and most of summer vacation so I didn't have much option. Her teachers were all very helpful and supportive. She did well in school and I was able to help her with her homework.

However, she's in high school now. I'm just not comfortable taking her out of school to go on vacation.

Unfortunately, as Castlebound said, it is like work where you have to work around whatever policies are in place. If you don't follow the policies, your child is the one to suffer the consequences.

 

[MoniqueU]

Our school districts policy is 10 days per year or you get turned in to DCFS. Excused or unexcused. They don't care. Some of you have very lax attendence policies compared to here wher they have really tightened things up.

 

[golfgal]

You have to look at the big picture here, yes, your son may be a straight A honor student and you are aware of his absences but that is not the case with every student and you can't expect the school to 'know' that you know your child is gone from school. Parents will let kids skip school because they are "too tired", didn't want to study for the test they had, to get their hair cut or their nails done, to go to tanning appointments, etc., etc. The school can't pick and choose which kids they "think" are gone for the wrong reason so they have blanket policies. If your child had skipped school on those 3 days and you didn't know he was gone from school, wouldn't you be upset if the school didn't let you know he wasn't there (even good kids skip school so don't think your son wouldn't do it).

Legally your child is required to be in school on school days. If you are taking him out of school the school needs to know that. It isn't just about funding it is about the LAW. If your child is gone from school for a week and they didn't know about it, you would have all kinds of legal issues to deal with. You son could be arrested for failure to attend school even after 3 days of unexcused absences. You have to get the same "permission" to take days off of work. Did it occur to you that it is the same for kids in school. It doesn't matter that he is "your" son, you are still responsible to the school to let them know where he is or at least to let them know you know he is gone. It is the same notification you would have to give your employers.

 

[Beth76]

I'm worried about this too. My son starts K next year and we're planning on taking a cruise with friends the week before xmas. I have no idea what days he'll have school that week, if any or what the school policy is on that. I hope it's not too strict especially since we're talking about Kindergarten.

 

[Free4Life11]

When I went to school, all you do is turn in a note when you return. I missed 5 days for a vacatoin and just turned in a note saying I was gone for family reasons. EDIT - actually come to think of it I think I turned in a note before hand. But when you miss one day, you just call in and then bring a note the next day (though I skipped a lot in high school and rarely brought in notes.)

I always did well and school and the breaks we got were at (a) the most expensive times and (b) the most incovenient times (Christmas and Easter) since my dad was a pastor.

My sister missed 5 days and believe it or not was still the valedictorian of her 8th grade class. As long as your child can maintain their grades, who cares?? School takes up far too much time as it is (in Chicago we didn't get out until the end of June -- flippin ridiculous!!) so I think taking a vacation is perfectly fine.

 

[diznygirl]

The solution, of course, is to live right near WDW. Then you will not have to take your kids out of school to go!

The funny thing is, our school district allows 15 absences per semester. That's right - 30 days a year! Like, where am I gonna go spend all that time????

 

[Chicago526]

I don't mind the schools tracking absences or giving parents grief when it becomes truely excessive. It's when they don't allow parents to take their kids out of school, period. That drives me nuts when I hear that!

No kids yet, but when the time comes, if DH and I decide that the best time to take a vacation (anywhere, not just Disney) is during school, then my kids are being taken out of school, and that's the end of the story. If the school (or district) has a problem with that, I'm more than happy to take my child (and the funding that goes along WITH my child) out of public school and put them in private or home school them. I'm toying with both idea's anyway. But not everyone has that choice, and when I hear about districts that don't excuse absences for ANY reason it just makes my blood boil. There is a balance between being too lax and too stringent, and I do have sympathy for districts that have problems with parents that allow their kids way too many days out of school. But this boils down to the schools telling parents how to raise their kids, and that's just not right.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

you are really setting yourself up for some blasting by even bringing this topic up.
---
I've always thought that these types of rules do nothing but highly frustrate the group of students and parents who are for the most part people who care and try to follow rules. Believe me, DCFS has far bigger problems to address than a Mom who wants to take her kid to WDW during January. What a total waste of time and resources that is just to create a huge pile of paperwork for somebody's files.

the parents and students who don't even show up to register for classes until after Labor Day as it is -- make all the rules you want, they'll still be in school only when it is convenient for them.

Hey, if it is too much of a problem just do what alot of the parents around here do to get around the rules. The day before vacation show up at your kids school and announce that they are withdrawing to be Homeschooled. They day after your vacation, take them back in and re-enroll them. It costs $83 here for that registration fee.

 

[Rock'n Robin]

I'm a teacher and I am not going to flame anyone, but I'd like to explain why we have the "family vacation" forms in our district. If we didn't have the forms, some kids would just take off for a week without any prior explanation, even if they knew about the vacation for months. I am talking about the same irresponsible parents who let their kids take off days because they were up late watching the NCAA tourney or whatever. There has NEVER been a time when a family vacation was not allowed. We can write notes on them, such as "failing class" or "already missed 3 days", but as long as the vacation fits the parameters described in the handbook (only one per year, 5 days out max unless discussed w/ administration) the vacation is allowed. It is not as if we can stop someone from taking a vacation. Now if my own child brought home this form and 3 teachers had notes on it that the kid was not passing, I would rethink the whole thing. But that is just me.
Another reason for the form is so the child can get the homework ahead of time. Will he or she do it? Some do, some don't. But if the form is not filled out ahead of time, WE ARE NOT OBLIGATED TO LET THEM MAKE UP THE WORK. That translates to a lot of zeros in the gradebook. If we have filled out the form, we are obligated to let them make it up when they get back.
You read some of the attitudes about teachers and you realize why there is a teacher shortage. I have never had any problem with a kid leaving for a week to go somewhere with his family. I did have an issue when parents let a kid miss a week to go to Cancun with his hockey team, but the mom was on city council and no one in administration had the cajones to say anything to her (she was lying and saying it was a family vacation). I do have an issue when families take 3 vacations in one school year and sit home all summer. What kind of message does that send?
Robin M.

 

[chasbos]

My kids go to a private school so the local school board rules do not apply to us and we do take school time vacations because it is used as a learning experience and they make up all work that is missed.

Now, if the school boards rules were no vactions during school we would not take them. If adults can not follow rules and guidelines how do we ever expect our children to?

Yes, they are YOUR children but they are also a member in OUR society. And I would really like to live a society that can follow some simple rules and accept that we do not always get to do what we want to do.

 

[Chicago526]

I'm a teacher and I am not going to flame anyone, but I'd like to explain why we have the "family vacation" forms in our district. If we didn't have the forms, some kids would just take off for a week without any prior explanation, even if they knew about the vacation for months. I am talking about the same irresponsible parents who let their kids take off days because they were up late watching the NCAA tourney or whatever. There has NEVER been a time when a family vacation was not allowed. We can write notes on them, such as "failing class" or "already missed 3 days", but as long as the vacation fits the parameters described in the handbook (only one per year, 5 days out max unless discussed w/ administration) the vacation is allowed. It is not as if we can stop someone from taking a vacation. Now if my own child brought home this form and 3 teachers had notes on it that the kid was not passing, I would rethink the whole thing. But that is just me.
Another reason for the form is so the child can get the homework ahead of time. Will he or she do it? Some do, some don't. But if the form is not filled out ahead of time, WE ARE NOT OBLIGATED TO LET THEM MAKE UP THE WORK. That translates to a lot of zeros in the gradebook. If we have filled out the form, we are obligated to let them make it up when they get back.
You read some of the attitudes about teachers and you realize why there is a teacher shortage. I have never had any problem with a kid leaving for a week to go somewhere with his family. I did have an issue when parents let a kid miss a week to go to Cancun with his hockey team, but the mom was on city council and no one in administration had the cajones to say anything to her (she was lying and saying it was a family vacation). I do have an issue when families take 3 vacations in one school year and sit home all summer. What kind of message does that send?
Robin M.

Now, requiring a form to filled out ahead of time is just fine! No reason for the school not to know that Johnny will be missing class for a week. It's when it's not allowed at all that its a problem!

 

[Daxx]

Teacher here and I'm not going to flame.

Perhaps there's a reason (besides notification) for having to fill out a vacation form. In my area, schools do not get "paid" for students who are absent (illegal or otherwise). The schools receive X amount of money per student per day ...and when they don't show up and it's an illegal absence, our school does not get that money. I think that your school might do this to determine how much money they will be "out" of and how to budget for the month?! I am not sure, but I'd bet they have a pretty good reason to want to know.

I know that if a child shows up for school, even if they're there for 2 minutes, it's considered a day attended and, although they might leave sick, b/c they were there, we'd get paid for that student for the day.

And, receiving a letter might just help parents know where their kids are at w/regard to absences. Example -- I had a student last year who almost failed Kdg. b/c of attendance. You are allowed to miss 30 days of school. If you miss more than 30, you are automatically held back. Not my rule -- the State's rule. Mom seemed surprised to find her child missed 5 days she was ok, when it was 10 days she was mildly surprised. She was stunned when he missed 15 days, shocked when the 20 day letter arrived and was utterly astounded when her letter came in March stating that her child had missed 28 days and could only miss 2 more w/o having to repeat the grade. She was mad that he missed so many days -- but whose fault was that!? She was notified every time he missed 5 days. Of course, all of these absences were unexcused. Meanwhile, he passed Kdg. by the seat of his pants. Funny how, when in March, Mom found out he could only miss 2 more days that his attendance became regular. He ended up missing a total of 28 days that year.

Also, I think it's helpful to admin. and teachers to know when there will be an extended absence. Imagine the child is sick for 3 days and you don't hear from parents ... then sick for 5 days and you can't get ahold of anyone ... you begin to wonder what is going on. I think it's helpful to have this paperwork in writing, in advance, to let teachers and staff know what is going on. Also helps me, as a teacher, to prepare materials for the child who is out.

While I don't like parents to take their kids out of school for extended vacations, what can I say or do? According to school policy, I do not have to prepare or give any materials to that child if they're out on vaca. I do it anyway, just to be sure the student is up to speed w/what we're doing in the class.

ETA -- The school might say no to a vacation if there are any State exams being given during the time you'd be away. While there are make-up times for those who are ill, I don't know that they'd want you gone on vaca. for that. Just a guess. I don't give State exams in Kdg., so I'm not sure.

 

[Beth76]

I just looked up my school district. It turns out that my son will miss 4 days of school before our cruise (they have the friday before xmas off) and that he is allowed (per current rules) 5 days for family vacations. And a total of 10 days per semester of excused absenses. So we should be fine. Whew. I can live with that.

 

[Daxx]

he is allowed (per current rules) 5 days for family vacations. And a total of 10 days per semester of excused absenses.

Hey - no fair! I don't get 5 days off for family vaca. as a teacher!!!! That's ok -- I'm not complaining. But, it would be nice!!!!