School Attendance Question

My son's high school policy states if a student misses 8 days of a class in the semester that their grade is reduced by 50%. Does not matter if the absences are excused or not - 8 days per semester, per class is the limit.

It is their way of holding the student back without actually holding them back since a 50 is a failing grade and they would have to re-take everything.

Crazy, huh? So my son will go to school sick - not big sick, but low grade fever, stopped up head, I wish I were still in bed sick. He has not missed a day yet this semester.

They can, especially if it is not something serious.
I missed 67 days in high school one year and passed with A's and B's, even without a tutor. I had serious medical issues and treatment was not working. It was documented and I did all the work.

I would contact the school and find out what the actual guidelines are and if you can petition for the student to be excused for certain medical absences. In our district, if your child is going to be out a lot for something, you can request a home tutor so the absences don't count against attendance. Usually that's reserved for big things, like cancer treatment or recovery from surgery.

First... talk to the school.

Our school's policy is 10 days per semester (even with medical purposes). Our daughter was out sick last spring which put her in jeopardy. She was in 10th grade at the time, all Honors student, cheerleader and great grades.

Each time she was absent, I contacted each teacher for assignments.

I went to the administration, provided all the Dr. notes AND bills where it was clear that she was sick and not just sitting out becuase she didn't feel well a day or 2.

When honest parents do this, administration makes exceptions. It is those who simply blow off school who end up repeating the grade.. they tend to be the ones who routinely cut school and face truancy, parents are not involved much or at all or just look at the school as a babysitter, they tend to not like school, not do well socially or academically and are pretty immature for their age, hence.. REPEAT the grade.

My daughter's friend had an awful bout with mono and missed woefully more than the 10 days per semester. They did the same thing we did, provide the hospital bill along with all the other bills and Dr. notes and she was also sent on to 11th grade.

I would talk to administration now so they have a heads up and know what is going on now vs waiting until they send you the truancy letter and tell you that credits will be lost due to being absent.

Good luck..

Oh my, this makes me troubled. I would schedule an appointment with the principal to discuss your concerns. I know your daughter has many days left, however this a concern for you, and I think you should clear it up now.

As I read the other responses from other states I was surprised at how many said it was required that children attend a number of days and pass tests in elementary school. In my experience children who were home sick were given home tutoring by the system. Children who failed tests were given help to match their learning styles, so that they could pass the test. I understand and appreciate when school administrators work to get truant students back to school, but children should never be blamed for being ill or unable to learn material. And holding children back as a punishment is not effective education. Sorry if I am reading anyone's responses incorrectly, in fact, I hope I am.

Yes they can. It is mandatory that they attend. There are 3 requirements to pass to the next grade - 1) grades, 2) attendance, 3) meet minimum requirements on No Child Left Behind testing.
Plus every day they miss costs federal education dollars to be taken away from the state and your district. They take attendance very seriously.

A lot of districts have policies like that, but it's worth asking if it's unexcused absences, or excused absences. For instance, when we had a family vacation that happened during school time (due to my husband's relatives coming from out of the country to visit - we had no say in the scheduling of this visit), I asked the teachers if they could just send the kids' school work for the week with them, so we could home school while on vacation. Because we did this, in the eyes of the school it didn't even count as an absence. They still got their federal money because we were still doing all the work and turning it in. It may be the same for your daughter. When it comes right down to it, they want their money and they want their test scores. As long as they have both, they'll leave your kid alone.

It wouldn't be the teacher making the student repeat a grade - it is the district. Check the school handbook. You should have gotten one at the start of the year, or, most schools post it online. Or check with the attendance office. They will know for sure.
Medical excuses will excuse the student from some amount of make-up work, but the absence itself still counts.

I know at our school any amount of days over a certain number must be accompanied by a doctor's excuse. Best to call your school specifically and ask them.

In our school district it is UN excused absences that count. There was a kid out for 3 months due to surgeries and he passed to the next grade with lots of home work and catch-up work for tests, etc. If you have a doctor's note or some other appointments count (like funerals, lawyer's office, etc.) then the absence is excused. The state of Massachusetts allows something like 5 unexcused absences before a letter goes home asking for an explanation and parents get called in to the discussion. This is to prevent kids just not going into school after getting off the bus. I would check the policy carefully.

THe first time we lived in VA I took my daughter out of Kindergarten and sent her to MN with her dad for two weeks. (He had come off deployment and went to Gma's) She also missed a week after the hurricane, Isabel. So when we got her back to school we were met with the guidance counselor, principal, truant officer for the district, and a social worker.

They were afraid this would become a habit and she would have to be held back. I got real snippy and said "really, test her right now today and tell me where she is academically." Every one in that room knew she had already passed her kindergarten benchmarks, they take them in the early Sept, then they take them again in MAy.
It was a huge stiink, but since my daughter was so far ahead they couldn't have held her back even if they had wanted too. It would not have been in her best interest. So says No Child Left Behind.
They have to take it case by case.

My other daughter had a friend in NC with an aggressive cancer and she missed over 70 days of 8th grade. She had a district supplied tutor but she couldn't keep up. She was held back.

Your child will need a doctor's note if she is out for periods at a time. I have a friend whose daughter gets stomach migraines and will miss a week at a time but she has never fallen behind, so they can't say anything. She has a doctor's note, it describes everything to the school.

The school will take this on a case by case basis. I would not worry at this point. Yes, she may miss more school but she has an equal chance of not missing much more. If she's kept up academically, I suggest the school will pass her. The rule is a guideline which makes it easier to retain a student who doesn't keep up after 20 absences.

When she is absent, do you get make up work for her? My granddaughter missed a week of school and neglected to complete her make up work. Her teacher said she would have to fail her but gave her a chance to catch up first.

The reasons for retaining a student are many. If your daughter is able to keep up academically there would be no reason to retain her. I'm sure the school takes many facets into consideration.

However, since you're this concerned, I suggest that you make an appointment to talk with the principal so that you'll have a better understanding of her school's policy.

Later: It is also our schools policy that a child is not to come to school if they have a fever over 100 degrees and they have to be fever free for 24 hours before returning. Sick children do not belong in school.

They don't want you to send your kids sick, But there are alot of people who lie and take advantage and say their kids are sick and they aren't. If you are taking good care of your child, healthy food, good sleep, clean enviroment. I'm sure it will be fine. 20 Days IS A LOT!!

I've honestly never heard of such a ridiculous policy. Are you sure you understand it correctly? If you have a doctor's note for absences, they usually don't count towards a total. If you keep your child home more than 20 days a year just because they have a fever...well, you're keeping them home too much. A fever really isn't a reason to keep a child home. Nor is a cold, etc. Puking? Sure. So sick with the flu they can't hardly breathe? Yup. Sniffles and a fever? No.

So, I guess I'd check with your district administration to get the specifics on their attendance policy, because I'm sure if a child was hospitalized for three weeks with something (over 20 days, etc) but was doing their schoolwork, not falling behind, and had a doctor's note requiring the absence...I'm pretty sure they wouldn't hold them back.

Our district's policy states that a child must be fever free 24hrs before sending them back to school. Your school probably would send your child home if they knew she had a fever any way.
Also our district requires a child to have a doctors note to return to school if they have missed more than 10 days throughout the year. You also must have a doctors note if they are absent 5 consecutive days. You should ask for your districts policy.
My daughter has already missed 11 days of school this year and the cold season hasn't even started yet. Ugh!!! She was diagnosed with chronic sinusitis so she will probably be up at the 20 day mark.
IMO it makes no sense to hold back a child that knows the material. I can not imagine this happening. I think the schools may have state attendance goals that they are trying to achieve.

It's not the teacher who would keep him back if it's school policy, teachers hands would be tied. Ask to talk to the school principal to get an accurate interpretation of the policy so you know exactly what it means, maybe there is some leeway built into it that you're not aware of.

I would make sure that when your daughter is out for 3 or more consecutive days you pick up her schoolwork, and turn it back in when completed. My sister does this with my 10 year old nephew as he's asthmatic and also tends to catch a lot of what goes around, and they often turn into something serious. He's already missed 10 days since the end of August, but also does quite well academically and has kept up with the rest of the class. Being at home sick doesn't mean they can't do schoolwork and read books, so if the policy is in place because of students getting behind this would eliminate that concern.

Every district is different. Contact your principal and work with them. She's only used 1/3 of the absentee days.

If you are active and getting the assignments from the teachers and she is completing them - their might not be a problem - I don't know. Please contact your principal and share your concerns!

GOOD LUCK!

The state of Texas has this mandate in place and individual districts can elect to choose a 'set number of days' or a percentage of the days school was in session. But I'm sure it is a case by case basis, the rules are made to be adjusted.

It's the law. Ask your school district if they miss those days if they can do summer school to make them up.

Also even being 5 minutes late is counted as a half day absence then if she has appointments and stuff they can add up too.

There are laws (I beleive most of them are state, maybe some federal) that will NOT allow schools to hold back a student for medical reasons. In most districts a medical absence is one that is determined by a doctor. If you decided to keep you child home because of a fever, that is NOT medical.

The high schools in our district have a policy that if a child has more than 7 unexcused absences during a semester, the child will not receive credit for that class. If you don't have enough credits, you don't graduate.

Since you have concerns you should contact the principal or the BOE (this has nothing to do with the teachers) and discuss them. Often there are policies in place, however, many things can be decided on a case by cases basis. My daughter was chosen to represent our state at a nat'l conference in TX, and will be missing 3 days of school. I talked with the principal, since this is an educational experience, similar to a field trip, it will be considered excused.