The school denied our vacation request

[disneysnowflake]

I was told that the school would have to approve our vacation 30 days before we left.
School starts on the 31st. The new principal suggested I send in a letter stating where we were going and what dates before the start of school.

I received a call from the principal today stating he was going to have to deny our request for the vacation. He says he believes my son would need the school time. If we take the time off it's unexcused. After the third day we'd be turned into the the truant officer. Sigh.

So, what do you suggest I do?
Our trip is the first week of October.
We can't get a refund on our tickets. I honestly don't think it's a problem, but the school denied it.

What should I do?

 

[ziggystardust]

I don't know the answer, but I was never aware that if you chose as a parent to take your child out of school, that you would have to get permission.
In my day, if your parent wrote a note, that meant excused.

Maybe you can say that the trip is educational. Have your son do a project on the countries in Epcot. Or learn phrases in different languages. Maybe that will help.

 

[Pir8girl]

Go on your vacation. Don't allow someone else to dictate your plans.
You are the parent.. not the principal. My husband's mother and three of his siblings are teachers. Several of my close friends are teachers and two are principals. They all take their kids out of school for vacations.
Is a three week trip to Disney a good idea? Probably not. But a week vacation is imho fine. The school will hurt itself if it marks your child truant as they will not be receiving their funds for seat time.

Pirate Girl

 

[eddieras]

may i ask how old your child is?
i agree with ziggystardust= this should be up to the parent- afterall, if the child can take the time off and get all the work done and it doesn't cause additional work for the teacher, then what's the problem

 

[java]

How old is your child? I would never ask "Permission" to go on vacation. You know your child. Does he do well in school? Sounds like the principal is being a bit of a bully.

 

[dzneprincess]

HOw many days of school is your child going to miss? I say go anyway. Get on the internet and search for the truancy/absentism policy for you school district and see what id the worst that can happen. In my case it was a fine of $25 to $100 with possible jail time no more than 30 days. I decided to take my kids anyways. If the school wanted to put me in jail for taking a family vacation then I was certain I'd at least get a small mention in the ticker on Cnn! LOL " Mom in Georgia gets 1 month jail time for taking kids to WDW" LOL I was concerned about what would happen when we got back. I made sure the principal and all the kids teachers knew we would be gone and WHY. I did not attempt to lie about it. My kids missed 5 days of school. ( The amount that they said they would refer to a truancy officer) I knew when we got back there would be a supeona for me! LOL I was so very glad that there was only a note from the school district making me aware of the attendance policy and going over the "consequences" again. I say go, as long as it is only a few days. I am certain that this crackdown is for those kids who are habitually tardy or absent, and not meant to punish those of us parents who not only care about our childrens education, but also about the now almost defunct family vacation.

 

[cindym]

I think with the advent of the no child left behind laws you will see more of this happening. I am a retired teacher and I know how much pressure the schools are under now. All absences are counted against the school and can cause their ratings to be lowered. In my state of Ohio the absent rate is one of the indicators that we must pass. The number is set quite high so schools are discouraging absences for non illness. This might be the reasoning the principal is using especially if he is new!

 

[TAKitty]

As a teacher, I find this insane! You are the parent.

 

[indigoxtreme]

Call the school board get their address and send them a copy of the request you sent to the principal. I know when we submitted request for Band Trips we had to point out the educational parts and what the child or children would learn. So the epcot idea is a good one. Point this out to the school board. Have them approve the trip, them the prinicpal will have to accept their decision. Give precise info and do not dwell on the cancellation problem. (They do not care about that). They want to know how the lessons learned relate to the school year your child is in.

 

[always quiet]

YIKES!! Our district has a policy that yes, they will approve a family vacation during the year but they remind you that if your child misses 15 days in one semester, they have the right to refuse to pass them to the next grade, regardless of their grades. I remember going to the orientation for the middle school. The principal said, "Yes, your child can go on vacations during the year and they must make the work up when they get home. Don't try and tell us that Bobby's going to be doing homework everynight while in Disney World!"

 

[andromedaslove]

If it were me I would go anyway. I have two children and granted they are not in school yet, but there is no way a school or principal is going to tell me that I can't take my child out for a family vacation. I do feel that education is very important, but I also feel that family time is just as important if not more. As long as you make sure your child makes up all of the missed work, I don't really think it is ANY of their business. Let them report you, what is truly the worst that can happen? Do you think they would actually put you in jail for taking your child on vacation to WDW? I'd definately like to see them try.

Dana

 

[Goobergal99]

Ha! ha! I agree, I would be going, even if DD had an "unforseen extended ilness" we would be going to Disney. I for one could care less anyway, who does he think he is. you are the parent, so tell him to go ahead and report you. I am sure the system has bigger problems then whether or not you took your family to WDW instead of sending your child to school on time. Sheesh the nerve of ppl

 

[jeankeri]

We will be taking our boys out of school the first week of December for our next trip to WDW (did the same on out last trip!). Knowing what the course work is like at this time of year (no projects due, no national tests being taken, etc) I know it is fine for them to miss time. I would thing very hard about a spring/end of year trip where they would be missing days. They could easily not go on vacation and miss a week of school for illness. I say go, the decision is yours. Have a great time.

 

[experiment626mom]

Sounds like the principal has a Hitler complex. I would really need a good explanation on why he has denied this. I agree with another poster that said to send the letter to the school board.

Go on your trip and have fun!

 

[jonestavern]

When DS was in middle or elementary school we got all of his homework well ahead of time so he could begin working on it. He kept the class bear, I took photos & he kept the bear's journal, 1 entry per day. I know parents here who have their children learn a little in each Epcot country & AK & write a journal page a day. Or interview CMs, airline stewards, etc on voice tape or by video, on a common subject ie what is yr job, where is yr home state/country etc or how a ride or 2 actually work...
Work up an educational 'proposal', present it, registered mail, & be sure to mark it 'cc' to yr kids' teachers, principal, guidance counselors, school board. Get a teacher's help w/this- the educators love those 'packets"!
I'm sure others on this board could help you better with who else you might want to cc
Yep, it sounds like days absent would be held against the school, but like so many things in 'no child left behind' it needed a little more thought!

Jean

 

[Honeybehr1]

I will be taking my child out of school for 5 days as well. I will give the teacher a week or so in advance because I dont want her to say anything to my son. The trip is a surprise and he will find out the day before - he isnt big on flying so why worry him to far in advance.
He has missed 2 days of school due to illness. 1 in K and 1 in 2nd. None in 1st so its not like he stays home all the time. In K he faked being sick and I found out later that day so I "home schooled" him and he said it was too much work and he would never fake being sick again. And he hasnt obviously.

I say go have fun. You know your child better than anyone else. Sounds like a Principal that likes to show that he/she is the boss.

 

[pklein09]

As Mulan's grandmother would say, "Who spit in his bean curd?"

 

[disneysnowflake]

My son is 11 years old. He will be in grade 6 this year. We will be missing 5-1/2 days. Our plane leaves on a Friday afternoon at 2:30, so we'll take him out of school at 11:30am take him to the airport (school starts at 7:30am). We had planned to go on a Sat, but the Fri trip was MUCH cheaper.
Last year you didn't need permission.
This year is different. You have to have approval for being out of school more than 3 straight days.
My husband's friend is on the school board. The first meeting isn't until the 2nd Tuesday of Sept. We are leaving on the 30th of Sept.

 

[*Fantasia*]

I was told that the school would have to approve our vacation 30 days before we left.
School starts on the 31st. The new principal suggested I send in a letter stating where we were going and what dates before the start of school.

I received a call from the principal today stating he was going to have to deny our request for the vacation. He says he believes my son would need the school time. If we take the time off it's unexcused. After the third day we'd be turned into the the truant officer. Sigh.

So, what do you suggest I do?
Our trip is the first week of October.
We can't get a refund on our tickets. I honestly don't think it's a problem, but the school denied it.

What should I do?

I'm sorry... I don't know what to tell you. Bad that is sooo sad.. really sad. It's sad that you have to ask permission to do what you want to do with your child. You know what's best for you and your family. Your principal is dictating of what and what not. I hope you can still go.

I guess I'm lucky that my children is in Catholic school. They don't have any problems taking the children out for a family vacation. The school knows how important the education is, but at the same time, they are very understanding about "family time." In this world, with both parents working and the children's school and activities, it's very hard to find quality time~togetherness. So the school understand that sometimes we have to do what we have to do even if this means a week of from school. That's why I like the Catholic school so much. They understand about "family time."
But with me, as much as possible, I don't want them to miss any class, if they do, it's only for 2 or 3 days and not during a big test.

 

[seashoreCM]

I am guessing that, if you go on vacation, your child is going to regret it with the huge amount of school work hanging over his head, either having to be done at the resort each night or having to be done little by little before you go on the vacation.

Can you see yourself "home schooling" your child for at least three hours each day right at WDW, when you and he are not tired? That means morning or afternoon. What would DH/DW say when s/he reviews the time spent outside the parks versus your ticket budget?

Intentionally scheduling a vacation over known school days was a bad idea. But now that you have planned your vacation, it's up to you how you deal with the trip and deal with the consequences (appealing any sanctions?).

>>>we'll take him out of school at 11:30am ...
Risky. He/you could get detained at school with or without a huge argument in front of the principal, thereby missing your plane.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

1. Parent (after spending extra evening hours with the child prior to vacation trying to get a head start on the schoolwork that would otherwise be missed): "I'm going to bed. I have to go to work early in the morning. Be sure you do the dishes before you go to bed or else you are not going to Disney World!"

2. Child: "I'm too tired"

3. Repeat 1 and 2 with parent stamping his foot.

4. Parent: "That's it! You are not going to Disney World."

Problem solved.