What happens if you have to cancel your trip? Do you lose $750 in airfare?

[kldmom2000]

We booked our trip in March for 9/29-10/04. Our city instituted a new attendance policy that goes into effect this September. They do not permit more than 10 absences during the entire school year or you will be automatically held back. My DD was to miss 4 days of school (my DH is unable to take vacation time during any school vacations so we had no choice) She is going into 1st grade....

Today we found out she will be having to see a few different specialists @ Boston Children's hospital (hopefully nothing very serious)... but for us to go to Boston Children's, it's literally an ALL day affair-we've just gone through an onslaught of tests last year for my younger DD who has a kidney disorder and we would literally be there from leaving the house to beat traffic @ 6am and then get home at 4pm most of the time. This means that my DD will be missing a few (or more) days of school.

Now I'm second guessing our trip that we've been waiting 2 yrs for.... if I cancel, I'm assuming I lose the airfare from Delta? We did not be the refundable anytime tix as we did not expect to have this come up.....I don't know yet if we are going to cancel, but I'm leaning towards it...... My girls will be crushed if we do

 

[KimWDW]

Can you switch to school vacation week instead? If you change flights (rather than cancel them altogether) Delta will probably just charge you a fee (around $25, I think).

I hope everything goes well with your DD. She's in good hands. Boston Children's Hospital saved my life. The best hospital on earth, IMO.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

It is absolutely RIDICULOUS that absence due to real medical problems would cause a child to be held back if he/she keeps up with schoolwork. Where were the parents when your local school board decided this insane policy?

You and other parents need to complain to your school superintendent right now.

As for your airline tickets, call Delta. You usually have a penalty for changing and will have to pay the difference between the price of the tickets you already bought and the new tickets if they are more expensive. I'd wait to take action though until after I complained to the school district.

 

[Lewisc]

I agree a school should make accommodations for a child that has medical issues. Those accommodation's may include school provided home tutors or even relaxing the 10 day absence rule. I'm not sure how that give a parent grounds to fight the policy in order to take 4 days off for a family vacation.

Some schools have gone so far as to send out a memo that specifically says family vacations, including Disney, is not an acceptable excuse for missing school.

In this case the child wouldn't be left back for sickness but rather for using sick days for a vacation.

Sorry but I think this family is being responsible in looking to cancel the trip. It's only first grade. I might take the postion the trip was planned prior to the new rules and try to work with the school.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

FYI - My response was only regarding the issue of 10 days missed of school per year leading to grade failure, no matter what the reason, not that families should be able to pull their kids out of school whenever they please for whatever reason and not expect consequences.

 

[mickeyfan2]

I would think they mean 10 unexcused absences. A Dr. not should do to get her to the next grade. I would take the trip. It is only 4 days.

 

[NJDad18]

I would think that preplanned trips to a hospital would constitute an excused absence which should not count towards the 10 days. The 10 days are most likely unexcused absences, which the WDW trip would count against.

It sounds like this family really needs a vacation.

You can change your airline tickets before you fly. You would be responsible for paying the difference between the old and new tickets and you would have to pay a change fee which is anywhere from $25-$100 per ticket. I'm not sure what Delta would charge, check their web page.

 

[NJBILL]

I am a School Board member in NJ.

Generally, STATE law dictates over local or school policy.

What state do you live in?

What city is instituting this 10 day rule?

 

[Dopey Sharon]

I would find out what they mean by "10 absences". When my kids were in school, doctor's appointments weren't counted towards the "10 absences" policy, since they were considered "excused absences".

 

[zurgswife]

Do your DD's medical issues impact her school work and or attendance throughout the year. In that case I would look into a 504plan that might be able to build into it excused absences for medical reasons. My kids are Type 1 diabetics and if they were in public school they would qualify for a 504 plan and medical appointments or absences related to there illness are not counted against them.

 

[justplaingoofy]

I would call Delta to check ...

I think it would be a $50 fee per ticket, plus the difference in fare. (if you purchased them for $200, and the new fare is $250 then you would have the difference of $50 per ticket plus the change fee)
I would think they would issue a voucher in the amount good for 1yr. I think if you paid $200 per ticket, they would subtract the $50 fee so you would have a voucher for $150...

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong... But I would definitely call Delta to get the exact rules

Good luck with whatever you decide

 

[CarolA]

It is absolutely RIDICULOUS that absence due to real medical problems would cause a child to be held back if he/she keeps up with schoolwork. Where were the parents when your local school board decided this insane policy?

You and other parents need to complain to your school superintendent right now.

As for your airline tickets, call Delta. You usually have a penalty for changing and will have to pay the difference between the price of the tickets you already bought and the new tickets if they are more expensive. I'd wait to take action though until after I complained to the school district.

Hmm.. I don't think so. It's the VACATION on top of the medical that will cause the kid to be held back, NOT the medical.... So when Mom calls to complain she has to say. "My kid has 10 medical appointments and I need an additional week for Disney" Not going to get much symphathy there.

Now I agree that if your child has a major illness and can make up the work that automatic failure is not good. But a major illness and a "family vacation" pretty much are different reasons. And as Zurgswife has pointed out there are ways to deal with the illness issue.

However, the truth is that if your kids miss a lot of school due to illness and then another chunk for vacation it does start to add up. (Maybe not in first grade however) I would guess a lot depends on your kids. I have friends who know that a week off would seriously hurt thier kids. (And then I have one friend who took her child out of school for a week for vacation and was shocked that the teacher didn't want to stay after class for another week to help her darling daughter who basically could not catch back up. Kid was in some advanced type of program and it moved at a good clip. Little girl was devestated by the C grade she finally was able to save)

DL will probably charge $50 per ticket and the ticket will need to be reissued within one year of the original issue date. (Not flight date, date you bought)

 

[NJDad18]

The change fee on a Delta flight is $50. It would be $25 if the changes were for the same travel days.

Here's the link:

http://www.delta.com/traveling_checkin/ticket_changes_refunds/ticket_changes/index.jsp

 

[Sandi]

She's in first grade for goodness sake. Four days of first grade (or ten days and more) is not going to make a difference. You can learn a lot at WDW in four days.

See if you can talk with the teacher and/or school principal to determine the real sanctions. I cannot believe that they would hold back a child to repeat a year simply for missing school 10 days. (Unless, perhaps, the school district is looking for more tax dollars and they only get it by getting the kids in the school. Let's hold everyone back!)

 

[Cora]

I agree with some of the previous posters, make sure that it is 10 UNexcused absences. We too have a similar rule (5 unexcused absences per term equals failure in the class(es) you missed), however, if you bring in a Dr's note those days are not counted.

 

[kldmom2000]

I just wanted to thank all of you for your input/information on the Delta tix/changing them. I felt like a horrible mom after reading CarolA's post, so I just wanted to "explain" myself and WHY we chose the 4 days in the fall to go.

Last year was the worst year. My youngest DD was diagnosed with a kidney disorder at age 2. She had to undergo the most brutal tests (MANY of them) and the poor thing had no idea what was going on. She may need surgery eventually as her left kidney has a function of only 21% and her right @ 79%. She has severe hydronephrosis and we have been followed very closely by a wonderful pedi urologist.

Also last year, "I" had a breast cancer scare as well as a few serious medical issues. I too had to undergo a mass of tests (MRI's, Mammograms, blood tests, etc) We are still concerned about the breast issue and I'm in the midst of switching GYN's.

Fast forward to this year, last month, my OLDER DD was also found to have hydronephrosis in BOTH kidneys and we have a consult next week in Boston w/ my other DD's urologist. TODAY she saw a dermatologist for some "bumps" all over her face that have been there for a few months.... turns out it's acne. She turned SIX on Saturday We now have to see a pedi endocrinologist also in Boston. They are suspecting the possibility that she might have precocious puberty... but the bloodwork was done today and we're waiting for the endocrinologist's office to call us back w/ a consult when they get the results.....

We were hoping that we could take a family vacation as we have truly discovered how short life is in the past year. My DH is self-employed and his business suffered greatly last year and has rebounded this year. Due to the nature of his business, he is unable to take vacation time when my DD is not in school for her school vacations. This was the one opportunity we had. My DD had perfect attendance in kindergarten last year and I do not intend to make it a habit to pull her out for vacation. We'd planned this vacation as a celebration for getting through the last year and celebrating what we have made it through. I do not feel anyone should criticize another person until you know the whole story. Sorry this got long-I just didn't want to be labeled a bad mom for taking my family on a much needed vacation after the year from hell....

We aren't sure yet where the vacation stands, but we will lose the $200 deposit as well and also the $150 for the MNSSHP tix on top of whatever airfare penalty we have to pay if we do cancel

Thank you to all for your help

 

[kldmom2000]

Oh, and I also wanted to add that I did look into the new policy further by researching it online in our city's school website and it does say that it's 10 UNexcused absences. I've just been nervous about the 4 days to begin with and then this all came about making me very concerned....

The trip is still up in the air.

Thank you though for all your help!

 

[CarolA]

My post was not in response to you, just in response to the automatic "kill the school board" response. (As I indicated I find it hard to believe that First Grade is going to be a crisis if they miss it!)


I thought you would get the $200 back if you cancelled within 45 days. So you have a little time there.

 

[kldmom2000]

My post was not in response to you, just in response to the automatic "kill the school board" response. (As I indicated I find it hard to believe that First Grade is going to be a crisis if they miss it!)


I thought you would get the $200 back if you cancelled within 45 days. So you have a little time there.

Thank you for taking the time to read my long saga!!!! Thanks also for clarifying your original post... I was a bit confused as I was only looking for info on Delta refunds and I took the post too personally I think. It's just been a difficult year and I didn't want appear to be someone who doesn't take their child's education seriously. We had no intentions of having her miss school, but this was the only opportunity we had to do a family vacation to Disney and it's been soooooooooooooooooooooooo needed.

I will have to double check the refund on the MYW package. My TA told me that if I cancel with more than 45 days, I lose $100.. if it's between 5-45 days, it's $200? I am now not sure if she has the correct info? Thanks for that information and I will check into that as well.

 

[CarolA]

Post over on the resort board. Those folks have the whole deal on what Disney refunds. Not sure what your TA might do though. Some of them have thier own rules.

The problem with your air tickets is just rebooking As long as your rebook within 12 months from your initial booking you will probably only lose $50 a ticket ($200?)

I do hope you can work this out. (Personally I think missing First grade isn't that bad, high school you are probably going to pay for it. I missed a week in High School to go to Spain with another high school. The only reason I could pull it off was it was Spring Semester of my Senior year so I only had a few hard classes. ONe was honors Spanish so she was great to work with. I had pretty much finished all the other required classes so I had some great things like "family living" and "study hall" LOL!)