I Want to Talk about School Attendance Policies
First, I know that school attendance is an essential piece of a good education. I was the kid that went years without missing a day of school. Many times, this involved me being sick and just keeping my distance from classmates and staying in for recess while everyone else went out to play.
But that was the 1980s.
That was a time when a note saying, “she needs to stay in for recess because she has a sore throat” didn’t cause a single eyebrow to raise.
Today, however, we struggle with the “keep them home if they’re sick,” but “you are truant if you miss so many days without a doctor’s excuse” policies.
I know there has to be some accountability because there are people that take advantage of more lenient policies, but I’m watching good, honest families get raked over the coals.
As for My Family…
I have three children. When one gets sick, I know a trifecta of sickness is about to rain down on us all. I find myself in urgent care three times within 7–10 days. It’s so bad that the staff and I are totally on a first-name basis.
I mean, I had to take one of my kids to urgent care today and the nurse said, “Oh hey! How is your other daughter feeling?”
That’s a sign that I’m there too much, but I digress.
The fact is that times have changed. There’s no hanging out in the classroom during recess in the 100-year-old smelly school building in the dead of the winter of 1987.
No, these days we deal with Covid and more emphasis has been placed on “if they’re sick, keep them home,” which is fine. I followed that anyway because I don’t want my kids getting teachers and other kids sick. Plus, I want mine to get well ASAP.
But going back to the kids getting sick one right after the other thing: we have had episodes where, when the last one gets better, something else hits them and we’re doing it all over again. The next thing I know, I’ve been in urgent care six times within a month with my kiddos!
And really, I don’t feel that some of these urgent care visits are necessary. I’m whipping out $50 copays left and right because of how strict the attendance policy is. I feel like I’m contributing to longer waiting room times for others. Luckily, my kids do get helpful medicines when they go, which are usually the prescription counterparts of some OTC meds.
And yes, the staff has made me feel somewhat better in our conversations. Several of them have told me that it’s a very common thing because parents are either close to using up their parent note allowance or they already have.
Pick One (1–4)
So, here are the options we parents have to choose from:
- Use up the parent note allowance (5 notes) and pray
- Run out of parent notes and into unexcused absence territory where you get letters threatening action for truancy.
- Send your child to school so the school nurse has to send them home (excused)
- Choose not to send your kid sick or use what parent note allowance you have left (if any) and spend $50 for an excuse, the 12th negative Covid test, and another bottle of Bromfed to add to the collection.
It’s obvious which route I go, but not everyone can.
I wish there was some sort of middle ground. Yes, kids with health issues get through with statements from doctors. Others, like mine that are making up for the time they didn’t get sick during Covid lockdowns, have parents that are choosing one or more of the above options.
And who knows how many more co-pays I’m going to have to throw out between now and the last day of school.
Stay tuned for a May follow-up on how we survived the attendance policies of 2022–2023 and the overall financial impact. I have a feeling that there will be a few bruises and skinned knees that will heal just in time to do it all again for the 2023–2024 school year.
If you like me or you just feel sorry for my copay situation, especially after the first of the year deductible reset, you can:
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