NO WONDER PEOPLE SEND THEIR KIDS TO SCHOOL SICK!

[dman12323]

Last week, we only had school on Friday (Mardi Gras). Naturally my 5M got sick. Took him to the walk-in on Saturday--no flu, just a virus. Fever, barking cough, runny nose. He ran a low grade fever last night, so following the 24-hour rule, of course I kept him home. Kept home 6F, too, because same symptoms.

So, I do my due diligence and email teachers, asked if it would be excused. OF COURSE NOT WE NEED A DAMN EXCUSE.

FIRST OF ALL, walk-in clinics don't give excuses on Saturdays. SECOND OF ALL, I'm not taking them back to the doctor for a virus that is likely on its way out. I just spent $100 at the walk-in, I'll not fixing to pay another $40 co-pay ($80 for both) at the pediatrician...FOR A FUCKING SCHOOL EXCUSE. (I did email the ped's nurse explaining the situation and am waiting for a response.)

DoNt SeNd YoUr KiDs To ScHoOl SiCk BuT iT wOnT bE eXcUsEd UnTiL yOu PaY tO PrOvE tHeYrE sIcK

UPDATE: The pediatrician excused them! Suck it, bullshit truancy laws!

 

[katrina2017]

@dman12323 This is completely bonkers to me. An excused absence in my kids school is one in which I called and said “he won’t be in”. I excused him, I’m his parent, I get to make that decision.

I had a discussion with an American friend about truancy laws once and they completely blew me away. Yes, attendance is important. But -I- get to make those decisions.

 

[optimis2]

@katrina2017 This varies from state to state and even county to county. I only know that truancy is a thing because of friends getting picked up for it in high school in Manhattan. I came to the conclusion that if I was going to skip school, I should be quiet about it. Wouldn't you know it? If you're not being an asshole, the police don't care that you're skipping school.

 

[katrina2017]

@optimis2 This particular friend lives in a place that if your kid has too many unexcused absences, the parents will get fined and in some instances jail time.

This is 100% insane.

 

[dee1720]

@katrina2017 That’s how my school district was too. I don’t think it was ever really enforced though. Myself and several others skipped more than the allowed number of days in high school. Nothing ever came up it, except a note sent to our parents about our unexcused absences and what “could” happen. (Fines, can’t walk at Graduation, jail time, etc). To be fair though, that was in the early 2000s, east coast USA.

 

[jakefromsf]

@katrina2017 This is how it is in every state we lived in. We are now in a state that at least there are unlimited doctor excuse notes, five unexcused, and five parent. Last state, it was five of each max.

 

[apocalypes7]

@optimis2 In middle school I got detention for being absent or late. They mixed my file up with another student. It was the worst years because that student was a trouble maker but I was a goth, thus treated like crap.

 

[samsunguser]

@katrina2017 I'm in the US and all I have to do is send a note to school for it to be excused.

 

[aaronroberts327]

@katrina2017 I'm in the US. An excused absence in our school requires a note the day after explaining the absence even if you sent a note the day prior or called in to the attendance line.

Anything past three days requires a doctor's note.

 

[joelburntout]

@katrina2017 Yeah it does vary from state to state, but all students in the US public education system get funds from their states and the fed for attendance. All students must accounted for and must attend a certain number of days to be funded. That’s why schools and districts are bat shit crazy about excused absences and such. I agree with everyone here though, it should be parental decision regarding absences.

 

[summerw]

@katrina2017 At my high school, we needed the doctors note if sick, and if we missed school due to a funeral they wanted a copy of the death certificate.

 

[suterron]

@katrina2017 This blows my mind too. Where I live, it's totally normal to take kids out of school to go on vacations, or for any reason at all, especially in the younger grades. I keep my kids home when they are sick and I am grateful others do too. And for what it's worth, for kids who don't struggle, I don't really think attendance is that important at all until they get to high school. What they cover in the younger grades in a day is shockingly little!

 

[wowo]

@suterron We used to be able to do this in England but we can't any more, I used to book our holidays (vacation) in May when the weather stood a chance of being decent and they weren't charging those outrageous August school holiday prices (in England is not uncommon for holiday prices to double during school breaks). They brought in a law to stop you doing it when our son was maybe 8? But, it was up to the school to report you, his headmistress booked our last holiday as unauthorised absence but didn't report it so we didn't get fined.

 

[redeemed20300]

@dman12323 As a Canadian this is completely bananas to me! What? We don’t have this up here, and if we did at least visits to the doc are free.
Is it.. all just a huge con to get you to pay more money to doctors offices? What’s the logic???
I too would also be so mad.