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Gypsy, I agree you did the right thing. It is better to keep him home and let his immune system recover. All our kids would be healthier if everyone kept their children home for 24 hours after fever has gone.
To the poster that keeps talking about going to court....school districts have a protocol to follow when a student is absent; excused or unexcused. Where I live we get a letter after 10 absences. Standard procedure. I have a child that has missed many more than that school days in a school year. The school and school nurse are informed. Never has anyone said anything about going to court or wanted proof. And, I would never worry about that over my childs health anyway.
Legal proceedings occur when a school district suspects truancy, not illness.
To the poster that keeps talking about going to court....school districts have a protocol to follow when a student is absent; excused or unexcused. Where I live we get a letter after 10 absences. Standard procedure. I have a child that has missed many more than that school days in a school year. The school and school nurse are informed. Never has anyone said anything about going to court or wanted proof. And, I would never worry about that over my childs health anyway.
Do you have a reading comprehension problem? I have not once said that a parent shouldnt' worry about a sick child! I'm saying to make sure to collect documentation---just in case the sick days progress through the year since so many days are being missed so early in the school year. And different states have different laws so you might be doing someone a disservice by downplaying it for someone who lives in a more strict state.
Quote:
Originally Posted by renovating
Legal proceedings occur when a school district suspects truancy, not illness.
If a parent can't prove illness, they can't protect themselves from that. After a certain number of days are missed, it doesn't matter if the parent called the school nurse. The parents are asked to provide proof---months later. Seems you think that every state and school district is like yours. Some states laws might not be so strict. Some school districts might be more or less strict with a state. But people should be aware to check into their state laws and their school district policies ahead of time.
I'm lucky I never ended up in trouble like some parents I know who had children who were often sick. That's because I always took my son to the doctor anytime I kept him home from school. That's certainly not an example of not worrying about a child's health. If anything, I was more attentive to my child's health.
I am not paying a $20 copay for a nurse to take my kid's temperature and confirm what I already know: my child is sick. I think that a school going after parents for too many absences has got to be far from the norm. I've never heard of this happening for anything other than unexcused absences, which cause the schools to lose money. Sick days count as excused, so they get paid. My daughters go to school with a girl who has missed four months of school due to illness.
A parent who has a sick child who frequently misses school might have to worry, but not someone with an ordinary kid with ordinary illnesses.
Last edited by JustJulia; 11-02-2009 at 10:24 AM..
Reason: Clarity
Especially if that child is keeping up with his/her work. I cannot imagine any school district holding a child back because they missed 11 days (due to illness) instead of 10 and had all good grades. I know some states/districts are more strict than others but I tend to believe they "get" the difference between truancy and illness.
ETA - My DD missed a good amount of school her jr. year in HS due to major surgery, the tests that go along with that, as well as some illness. Her grades were good and we kept in touch with the school and her teachers. Never once was any of this questioned nor was I asked for any additional documentation. And this was high school not elementary school. She passed 11th grade, graduated on time and is in college on an academic scholarship....Parents need to go with their gut. I'd have kept my child home too given the OP's circumstance.
I am not paying a $20 copay for a nurse to take my kid's temperature and confirm what I already know: my child is sick. I think that a school going after parents for too many absences has got to be far from the norm. I've never heard of this happening for anything other than unexcused absences, which cause the schools to lose money. Sick days count as excused, so they get paid. My daughters go to school with a girl who has missed four months of school due to illness.
A parent who has a sick child who frequently misses school might have to worry, but not someone with an ordinary kid with ordinary illnesses.
I agree... also, bringing your child with a cold to the doctor is just exposing the child to all of the other germies in the waiting room. There's really no reason for that. Imagine if every parent brought their kid with a sniffle, cough, or elevated temperature to the doctor... the doc would never have time to see his SICK patients!
Shouldn't the district have a handbook that explains what counts as excused versus unexcused?
I've never heard of illness being unexcused unless the parent does not call the school; write a note; at times produce a note from nurse/doctor and the school is within their rights to need this information.
There are many parents who are struggling with parenting and allow their child to stay at home several times throughout the month, let alone the year, and never show any proof or bother to discuss with the school why their child was out for x amount of days. Those absences do & should count as unexcused.
I had a student whose mother passed away after a very rapid lung cancer bout. She missed 14 weeks & through effort given by herself, her father, myself, and the admin, #1) we DID NOT expect nor require her to make up 14 weeks of work (that is impossible & not logical) #2) worked out a plan that got her up to pace within the bounds of what she was dealing with yet moving her along.
I also had a student undergo major liver surgery & he missed the whole 1st quarter along with several weeks throughout the year. Again, same as above and he transitioned quite fine into 7th grade.
Another student who was diagnosed with bone cancer in 9th grade, missed his whole 10th grade year, and earned early acceptance into a major Ivy League school.
The issues come in with parents and students who abuse the system. They are not the norm, but have ruined it for everyone else. And that is why there is so much red tape in public schools anymore.....
If your child is SICK, keep them home. Show respect & call the school informing them they are sick. They go back when they are HEALTHY. It alleviates them going back & getting sick within days due to being pushed back into school too soon.
On a side note, I ventured out to Wally World this weekend & was amazed with the number or hacking coughs I heard and sneezes coming from kiddos. I'm on higher alert, but can't help but wonder why the little girl is bending over coughing & spitting stuff into a tissue as her mom looks at reduced Halloween candy......
A classmate in my daughter's class doesn't have immunity. There will be more auto-immune kids, it's just the fact that autoimmune diseases are on the rise.
So in addition to weighing if my kids could go to school borderline or just after the flu, and having concerns about her classmates - we have to think about this boy especially. His parents start every year with a leaflet asking all the parents to inform the school even if their kid is not sick, but was exposed to someone sick in the family. They make the decision then, if to keep the boy at home or not.
Shouldn't the district have a handbook that explains what counts as excused versus unexcused?
I've never heard of illness being unexcused unless the parent does not call the school; write a note; at times produce a note from nurse/doctor and the school is within their rights to need this information.
That's what I'm saying. And the examples of extreme absences you gave are all the types of illnesses where the school would have had proof of illness---cancer, liver surgery. The schools won't hold it against a student if there is legitimate provable illness. But some children miss a lot of school due to colds, allergies, flus, etc., and the parents dont' save any proof of illness. When they get to 25 missed days, the school has a right to require proof. And if a parent didn't take the child to the doctor throughout that time, the parent is screwed. I'm just WARNING people since they are starting to talk about keeping children home anytime they are sneezing now that H1N1 has scared everyone. By March, they could very well have a child that misses over 25 days at this rate.
I DO think that missing more than a couple days in a row is likely to cause the school to ask for a doctor's note. I vaguely remember having to get a doctor's note to get one of my daughters back into school after being out for several days. (Chicken pox? Flu? Can't recall.)
As far as I know, schools get paid by the day per student. That's the big reason they push so hard for kids to be in school: they lose money if your kid is not there, except for excused absences. I imagine that each school is accountable to the state in the same way each student is accountable to the school. A reasonable amount of illness is not given a second thought, because who has the time to look into each absence? But more absences than is normal, or missing long stretches of time? Sure, the school is going to ask why, just as the state will probably ask them. The schools just want to cover their rears and get paid.
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I have not once said that a parent shouldnt' worry about a sick child! I'm saying to make sure to collect documentation---just in case the sick days progress through the year since so many days are being missed so early in the school year. And different states have different laws so you might be doing someone a disservice by downplaying it for someone who lives in a more strict state. 
