Taking Kids Out of School In Texas

[txtinkerbell72]

Anyone else from Texas have trouble with their school districts for taking their kids to WDW during School time. (we went in September)

We actually had to go to court today because the kids missed 7 days in a row even though I had sent a note telling them about it and noone said anything to us.

The sad thing is my sister is taking the blame for all of it because she has conservator custody of the kids even though they don't live with her and my mom and grandma have school custody of them and gave their permission for me (their aunt) to take them.

They actually sent out warrants for her arrest and a cps case may be started.

So my question is: Has anyone else in Texas or anywhere else had this much trouble with the school district? and Does this seem totally extreme to ya'll? I remember when we were younger leaving school and going on road trips because my parents couldn't be off in the Summer.

 

[Va-bear]

I know it's that strict in this part of Virginia, but I've also seen plenty one here who have no problem.

Here it is stated clearly in the 'rule book' they send home early in the year that vacations are NEVER excused. My coworker also was taken to court - they had 5 unexcused days - 3 were for an out-of-state funeral (but, because she didn't clear it w/ the office first if was called 'unexcused'...the judge did dismiss it when he found out it was their grandmothers funeral).

Well....home things clear up ok.

 

[KristaTX]

Two years ago we planned a trip with 3 other families, and planned to leave the day after school got out at the end of May. I had the rooms booked, and everyone had put it down on their calendars. One of the families had children (kindergarten and 2nd I think) in a "year round" school that didn't get out for at least a week after everyone else. At first they figured they would just miss those last several days and it would be no huge deal at such a young age.

However, we ended up moving the trip to be after those kids got out of school because our friends found out about the threat of being fined or even taken to court. Luckily we didn't have airfare booked yet, and the room reservations could be changed.

I can see both sides of the issue. Our friends' kids would have been fine academically, and yours probably were, too. However, some people would totally take advantage of that situation and the kids would miss so much school that they'd end up not okay academically, or perhaps even socially.

But they can't really just say, "Okay, if you have all A's and B's, you can miss school for vacations. But if you aren't an A/B student, then that's tough luck for you and we'll take you to court if you miss." There has to be some sort of general policy that applies to everyone. Having poorly educated children has a long-term negative impact on all of us.

There's probably some happy medium, kind of like adults have with their jobs where you get a certain number of days to miss a year.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Yes. When we were in TX every absence needed to be documented. In HS you could flunk all your classes for missing more than 7 days unexcused. Everytime my HS dd was sick she went to the doctor so she could have a documented excuse.

You are told this upfront.

Here in MO., my dd missed 6 days of school in her last semester and we got a note in the mail that any other missed days needed to be documented otherwise we would be up for review. She was in 6th grade.

 

[EMom]

Memorize the phrase, "Follow the money."

Texas schools get $X per student for every day they attend school. Once Edgewood v. Kirby came along and redistribution hit, schools started getting tight-fisted because they had to hold on to money any way they could. If your kid is absent, the school gets no money for that day. Simple as that. Before Edgewood, TX schools weren't that hardnosed about kids taking off for vacation. After Edgewood, the rules changed.

Many schools dock your grades if you have an unexcused absence. Some give a zero for all work missed during the absence, some just take off a percentage. DD's school takes off a percentage.

One year, we took 6 days off to go to WDW and those were the only days she missed that year. We had no serious consequences from that. Last year, we took off 2 days at Thanksgiving and she was sick 2 days. Another day, she came in late because she had been out sick the day before and had been to the dr. and put on antibiotics. I kept her home a full 24 hours. She arrived after the magic 9:00 roll call and thus was counted ABSENT all day, even though she was there. If you're not there at 9:00 for roll call, they get no money. So that adds up to 5 days, even though I dispute the day she came in late as being absent.

Here's the rub......We evactuated after Hurricane Ike for a week. We had no power for 2 weeks. I won't go into too much detail, but those of us without electricity had it rough. Complete darkness, close to 100 degrees, couldn't call for police or ambulance since land lines and cell phones weren't working, got one bag of ice at most per day, food was still in short supply, houses were being broken into even with the owners there because you were sitting ducks, etc. Because of the burning of debris and generators running, I was having horrible problems breathing, but couldn't call for help if I needed it. After one week, we found out we'd have no power for a second week. DD and I had to get out.

Every school decided whether or not to reopen. DD's school had power after a week and opened, but about 40% of the students lived in homes without power. The elementary we're actually closest to didn't open for 2 weeks, because just like us, they had no power. The SUPERINTENDENT himself assured those of us without power that there would be "absolutely no negative conseqences" if we evacuated and our children could not attend school. We were lead to believe they wouldn't even be counted absent. DD and I left and came back in a week when the power came back on. The kids at her school did little to no work during that week. The school had opened to "get things back to normal." Let me add that I took her to a city where she did something educational every single day. The trip of a lifetime.

Add the 5 days I detailed (2 Thanksgiving, 2 sick, 1 late counted as absent) and the 5 we evacuated and you get 10 days. At 10 days, I got a nastygram warning me DD had missed 10 days and had excessive absences. WTH???? The superintendent himself told us we were free to leave with no consequences. I'd call potentially being hauled to court a "negative consequence." I had to sign the letter and return it. So I did. I added a note reminding them I'd had the superintendent's PROMISE of no consequences and that I'd have to make the judge aware of this if I went to court. Never heard another word about it.

Thank goodness I'd kept a copy of the email from him.

 

[DisnyMama]

We lived in McKinney, TX 2006-2008 during Ds's freshman and junior years in hs. He missed alot of school due to migraines in which he was hospitalized once for 3 days and had tons of doctors appointments during those two years and many missed days of school. As previously said, TX schools DEMAND doctors notes after I think it was 15 days with just my parent note. It was all about the money they get from the state.

 

[mrsv98]

I tell you, the day the school threatens me with action for taking MY child out of school at MY discretion is the day she starts homeschool! There is no way I would put up with the state dictating how we chose to raise our child....geesh!

 

[m&m's mom]

I agree it is strict here but I just totally roll my eyes at the "They're my kids and I can do what I want"... If you feel that strongly about not following the rules- home school away.

 

[disney1990]

You can blame a lot of this on No Child Left Behind. Schools can lose money based on attendance figures.

Here in the county we live in (in Maryland), a child is not allowed to make up any of the work or tests that they missed while they were out for a non-excused absence. Any test that they missed, they automatically receive a zero for it.

 

[tasha99]

I tell you, the day the school threatens me with action for taking MY child out of school at MY discretion is the day she starts homeschool! There is no way I would put up with the state dictating how we chose to raise our child....geesh!

I agree. My son is already in private school, but if he weren't, that would be the day I'd unenroll him from public school and put him in a private school. It's ridiculous that a government run amok would sue a parent for taking a child on vacation. It isn't about the welfare of the children, either--it's all about the money.

 

[Bojo]

Isn't this ALL about money? Isn't that a prime reason to vacation during off season; because everything is cheaper?

 

[Mom-to-2-Princesses]

EMom -- thanks for the interesting description of how the system works in Texas. What an acccounting nightmare for the schools and the state! Seems like they could come with an easier way to determine the numbers.

And if that was how it worked in Michigan it would be awful right now. Western Michigan got hit BIG this week with the flu (H1N1 and other), attendance was awful and some schools had to close for the rest of the week.

 

[MiniGirl]

Isn't this ALL about money? Isn't that a prime reason to vacation during off season; because everything is cheaper?

On the school's part, it is definitely all about the money. However, people vacation during the off season for many different reasons. We do because we don't like the crowds and the heat that come with WDW in the summer. My dh also cannot get a summer vacation at his work. Many people are in the same boat and just simply cannot get time off work during the summer. I also know there are many servicemen/women stationed in Texas. Military families can only take a family vacation when family members are on leave, and in the military, that does not mean traditional school holiday time.

This school policy was not the main reason we started homeschooling, but I will admit that freedom from it is quickly becoming one of my favorite things about homeschooling and will be the hardest thing to give up should my children ever go back to a traditional school. In fact, we just got back yesterday from a quick overnight trip to WDW, and it was so nice not having to worry about what the girls were going to miss at school or counting days to see if we were still under the limit.

 

[Chris2597]

We have lived in Tx for 35 yrs and my 3 children went through TX public schools. The youngest graduated 3 yrs ago. We took them out of school on a couple of occasions for trips with no problem. I cleared it with the teacher and principal prior to the trip. The kids usually had to do a report on an educational part of the trip. My grand-daughter started kinder this yr and my dd told me that the school strictly adhere's to the no vacation rule. I guess things have changed in the last few yrs.

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

We are in Indiana. Most of the schools in our district are Four Star Schools which are schools who are in the top 25% of all Indiana Public Schools in four categories. One of those categories is attendance rate.

In our school district the attendance goal is 97%. To reach this goal every student needs to be in school 175 days out of the 180 school days, thus leaving a student only 5 days to miss school in order to meet the attendance target.

That said, we have taken DD out of school for 2-3 days, in conjuction with our Fall Break, to go to WDW. She is in 7th Grade now and missed days for vacation in 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 6th Grades. We have never had a problem with it although when she missed 3 days in 2nd Grade we did get a 'friendly reminder' of the attendance policy. DD's attendance has always been good - most years the only days she missed were the 2-3 for vacation.

As you'll see from my ticker we are planning a trip for next year, when DD is in 8th Grade, and she will miss 3 days of school. Once she starts High School I don't think she'll be missing school for vacations - there is just too much work.

 

[tasha99]

Isn't this ALL about money? Isn't that a prime reason to vacation during off season; because everything is cheaper?

I suppose you could view it that way. The year I took DS out of school it was because that was the only time my job would let me go. I could have gone in the summer, but I would have been fired.

It didn't work out that well for DS, who does struggle a little in school, so we've decided that off season vacations are not for us--we'll just not go in the future. However, that was a parental decision, not one from the school.

 

[LaurenLC]

I suppose you could view it that way. The year I took DS out of school it was because that was the only time my job would let me go. I could have gone in the summer, but I would have been fired.

It didn't work out that well for DS, who does struggle a little in school, so we've decided that off season vacations are not for us--we'll just not go in the future. However, that was a parental decision, not one from the school.

So, if you missed ‘X’ amount of days at work you'd get in trouble, right?
Isn't your child's 'job' to go to school??
So if your child misses ‘X’ amount of days of school (unexcused) shouldn't they get in trouble too???
I love vacationing just as much as the next person, but school is not a suggestion it's mandatory. If you don't like what the state is asking of you, then maybe you should home school your children, or look at a VERY laid back private school......
But no worries, the state is still going to get money from you to pay for the schools.

 

[tasha99]

So, if you missed ‘X’ amount of days at work you'd get in trouble, right?
Isn't your child's 'job' to go to school??
So if your child misses ‘X’ amount of days of school (unexcused) shouldn't they get in trouble too???
I love vacationing just as much as the next person, but school is not a suggestion it's mandatory. If you don't like what the state is asking of you, then maybe you should home school your children, or look at a VERY laid back private school......
But no worries, the state is still going to get money from you to pay for the schools.

Umm . . no. Accommodations can be made for kids who miss a few days whereas an employee may not have anyone to take over his or her duties. It's a completely different situation. I think a certain number of family vacation days should be considered excused, especially in the younger grades. And my son's school, while not especially laid back, didn't have a problem with him missing school. I'm not sure why you're saying I should home school my children considering we didn't have a problem.

 

[Gina]

Texas here too, and I usually push it right to the max of 10 unexcused days out, or come close to it. I always get that stupid letter, and it goes straight in the trash. My son (8th grade) knows that if his grades slip, the trips go bye-bye. Most of his teachers are usually fine with us going, because I explain to them ahead of time where we're going and the educational opportunities in store.

The district itself, I'm not worried about. That would totally be worth missing a day of work to take allllll of our photo albums to court and tell a judge about all the different countries and cultures DS has already gotten to experience. He has memories he'll keep for a lifetime... but he would be hard-pressed to tell anyone what he learned in any given week at school. I'm not dissing education -- we're in an amazing district -- but real-life learning is just as important.

And as other posters have said, going in the summer is out of the question for us. I hate heat to the point of only going outside long enough to get from the door to the car in the summer, I don't do crowds, and since I work for an A/C company we're only allowed to take vacation between November-February.

 

[aprilgail2]

I tell you, the day the school threatens me with action for taking MY child out of school at MY discretion is the day she starts homeschool! There is no way I would put up with the state dictating how we chose to raise our child....geesh!

I think its nuts that schools are allowed that much power over a familys rights. It is NOTHING like that here! I always take my daughter out for vacation- normally I just call and said " my daughter won't be in for the next week...ok bye" no grilling or questions asked! As far as excused or unexcused- I guess that would be hard to tell for the school since again--when I call I say "my daughter wont be in today" I do not say if she is sick or what she has- that would violate HIPPA laws IMO to have to disclose every illness to her Dr. I know at my job they are not allowed to ask us what is wrong with us when we are out sick as per HIPPA.
In kindergarten she did miss like 36 days of school- only 5 were for vacation, the others were all sick days- after 30 days missed they have the option to keep the child back if he/she is not up to class level. I knew that when I got the sate for her surgery that she would be going over and it was the last 2 weeks of school she would miss so I went to the school and asked if they were going to keep her back because if they were then I wanted a home teacher to come to the house those last 2 weeks so she would have credit for enough days---they said she was just fine and moving up to the next grade so I didn't have to bother with that nonsense!