Truancy in schools

Do you think that it is unfair for schools to charge a student with truancy for being sick and going through all kinds of smurf?

My little brothers school is seriously trying to bring my mother and him up on charges because he has missed 14 days out of the year so far. We are just like excuse the smurf out of us for having our father be hospitalized several time, go on hospice and die and excuse him for getting sick. Smurfers. I really think the only time they should be brought up on charges like that is for skipping school but I also don't think the parents should be held at fault for their kids smurf ups. Most of the time these parents don't even know that their kids are skipping out on school. They should just charge the child and make them do like community service or something.

IMO it's BS but I also think school should be optional.

if you have proof or those things then the truancy charge wont hold up anyways so dont stress about it. I'm sorry about your loss.

I think it IS ridiculous. it's getting out of control with how the schools are.
when I was in school I remember only the unexcused absences hurt us, but if we had a legit excuse for missing ( doctors notes, funerals, family emergency..etc) they didn't care too much.

at our school, if you miss more than 10 days, you have to start getting doctor's notes every time the kid misses a day. i get it. some people keep their kids home for the smallest thing. but... if there is a valid reason, talk to the school and school district to see what can be done about having the truancy charges dropped or whatever. i'm sure there is something.

I'm not really sure, DD just missed a week and a half with the flu and she missed a few at the beginning of the year for being sick too and they haven't said anything about it yet. I'd be upset if they did though because I called when she was gonna miss and once she was finally able to get to the doctor this time with the flu it had already been three days and they told her to stay out the next week.

School is kind of a big deal.

If he can't attend class, then he should withdraw and make other arrangement to get his diploma.

If there is an actual reason for the kid to miss that many days of school then no they should leave the kid alone, especially if that is what he is going through. Also, isnt the school year half over? I could see if he missed 14 days at the very beginning of school but its already past the 100 days if Im not mistaken.

As far as kids skipping school parents work so they cant all walk their kids to class to make sure.. After they are dropped off it becomes the schools responsibility to make sure they are in class. The school I went to had atleast four teachers by the doors to watch the students and there was always at least two teachers every period that did not have a class so they were watching out.

That is horrible!

What happened to schools supporting students!?

If there are letters from doctors, they don't have a leg to stand on.

Quoting MommaNoodle:" at our school, if you miss more than 10 days, you have to start getting doctor's notes every time the ... [snip!] ... and school district to see what can be done about having the truancy charges dropped or whatever. i'm sure there is something. "

I don't know if it is all schools or not but I know mine in particular, if your kid even has the smallest thing wrong with them... a slight cough, sneezing, a runny nose... they MAKE you come and get your child.
BUT THEN they hold it against them for absences, how the hell does that even make sense?! They were well enough for school and you force them home.

Quoting loser mom:" School is kind of a big deal. If he can't attend class, then he should withdraw and make other arrangement to get his diploma. "

No he shouldn't. He is attending and passing all of his classes.
When I was a kid I was constantly sick (they finally removed my tonsils to fix it) and I had missed 40 days of the school year because of it yet I was making As in all of my classes. They tried to hold me back and my parents fought it and won. I don't see why you would want to punish a child because they are sick or are going through it. All schools want is the money they get for the kids going to school.

Quoting InkDMomma:" I don't know if it is all schools or not but I know mine in particular, if your kid even has the smallest ... [snip!] ... against them for absences, how the hell does that even make sense?! They were well enough for school and you force them home."

here, they send the kid home only if they have a fever or puke. so... it's not too bad. but.... my daughter has a tendency to puke when she just has a cold. i think it has to do with the mucus making her gag and then she pukes. but if you puke at school, they automatically think you have a stomach virus and want to send you home. not always the case with my kid, but they don't get it. i work there, though, so then i get to go home early, lol.

idk if they count it as an absence, though. i never kept track of it. i know my daughter stayed home a couple days when she was at her dad's and he had woken up late, so he just decided to skip work and then had her skip school. i yelled at him for it because then she was about to go over her 10 absences and it would be on ME for the truancy.  

Quoting InkDMomma:" I don't know if it is all schools or not but I know mine in particular, if your kid even has the smallest ... [snip!] ... against them for absences, how the hell does that even make sense?! They were well enough for school and you force them home."

They do that at his school too.

Quoting Raindancer:" No he shouldn't. He is attending and passing all of his classes. When I was a kid I was constantly sick ... [snip!] ... a child because they are sick or are going through it. All schools want is the money they get for the kids going to school."

are we talking about a kid in elementary or high school, or is this a college student?...

i understand why they would be wanting to hold back a kid who had missed that many days. they have certain material they need to cover and certain goals that the kid needs to reach before they can move on to the next grade. so, i get it.

Quoting Raindancer:" No he shouldn't. He is attending and passing all of his classes. When I was a kid I was constantly sick ... [snip!] ... a child because they are sick or are going through it. All schools want is the money they get for the kids going to school."

 
A school's funding is partly based on their student population. Do you believe it's fair they should be receiving money to teach students that aren't going to class? Point is... the schools get in trouble when students aren't there. That's why truancy is taken so seriously.

And btw, a truancy specifically means an unexcused absence. So I kind of raise an eyebrow when you say he has all these legit reasons to miss school.