Then why does the admin tell me my DD has to bring a doctors note for her absence to be excused when I check her out? Please feel free to contact them directly if you would like to argue your point...South Forsyth High / HomePage
Missing School for Softball
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Then why does the admin tell me my DD has to bring a doctors note for her absence to be excused when I check her out? Please feel free to contact them directly if you would like to argue your point...South Forsyth High / HomePage
Cannonball
Ex "Expert"
- Feb 25, 2009
- 4,887
- 113
JAD, no I don't care to argue with them. Disregard any advice I might have given. In fact, everyone can disregard any advice I might have given.
- Apr 14, 2011
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I've been reading this conversation the last couple of days and it's been quite interesting. I'm not sure where some of you are from, but just calling a student absence in without an excuse is not going to be considered an excused absence in California. The Ed Code is specific about what can be considered excused. Parent knowledge of an absence doesn't mean it's excused, only that you know the student isn't there. If you rack up enough unexcused absence, then your student is considered truant. Also, the biggest difference is that the Ed Code requires that teachers allow make up work only for excused absences, and not for unexcused absences (doesn't mean you can't work with a teacher to allow the work to be made up).
In my district, where I'm responsible for attendance at 60+ schools, a showcase, or any other type of tournament style games would definitely not be considered a "campus visit." A campus visit means you are visiting the actual college campus you are interested in. The Ed Code doesn't exactly excuse campus visits, however there is a section in the code that says a student can be absent for "justifiable personal reasons" when requested in writing and approved by the administrator. This is what allows a campus visit, or even any non-school athletic events to be excused. Students at schools with a sports-friendly administrator have an easier time of getting this approved. I've seen some school principals that go as far as requesting a letter from the college to prove that the student is going on a campus visit...which tells me that that specific administrator only approves official campus visits, so that unofficial visit by that 9th grader that is about to get verballed technically wouldn't be approved.
Spoken like a true school district person, I always suggest that students at least go to school for a small portion of the day...technically even 10 minutes allows for your school to get ADA...and we know every dollar counts.
And finally, no, I don't always practice what I preach. Although I will take her to school for partial days if I can, I too will be calling my DD in sick if she has to miss an entire day...since there is no requirement to provide a doctor's note at her school. In case anybody is wondering, the Ed Code doesn't require a note, but that doesn't mean schools/school districts can't have policies to require it.
In my district, where I'm responsible for attendance at 60+ schools, a showcase, or any other type of tournament style games would definitely not be considered a "campus visit." A campus visit means you are visiting the actual college campus you are interested in. The Ed Code doesn't exactly excuse campus visits, however there is a section in the code that says a student can be absent for "justifiable personal reasons" when requested in writing and approved by the administrator. This is what allows a campus visit, or even any non-school athletic events to be excused. Students at schools with a sports-friendly administrator have an easier time of getting this approved. I've seen some school principals that go as far as requesting a letter from the college to prove that the student is going on a campus visit...which tells me that that specific administrator only approves official campus visits, so that unofficial visit by that 9th grader that is about to get verballed technically wouldn't be approved.
Spoken like a true school district person, I always suggest that students at least go to school for a small portion of the day...technically even 10 minutes allows for your school to get ADA...and we know every dollar counts.
And finally, no, I don't always practice what I preach. Although I will take her to school for partial days if I can, I too will be calling my DD in sick if she has to miss an entire day...since there is no requirement to provide a doctor's note at her school. In case anybody is wondering, the Ed Code doesn't require a note, but that doesn't mean schools/school districts can't have policies to require it.
Greenmonsters
Wannabe Duck Boat Owner
I did not check the link, but how speciic are they? PhD's are doctors, too. You probably know someone who is or you'll likely run into one on a campus visit. If it has to be a medical doctor, you may have a friendly ally in a local dentist or veterinarian. A note from Doc Gooden, Dock Ellis, or even Doc Watson might by had for a small fee.
Why are the damn edu-crats going after the student-athletes? I think its cuz its an easier and safer bust than trying to catch the punks smoking/selling/growing weed in the bathrooms. Of course I could be wrong.
Which proves what I have said all along, too many administrators could give a crap about the student actually learning it is all about getting their funding and looking good for their overseers.
- Apr 14, 2011
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No...what I'm saying is if you are going to screw your kid out of their education for a day, why screw the school too? When we go to our next showcase in Vegas, we can just as easily leave early Friday and skip school the whole day so we can hang out in Vegas before the softball chaos starts. Or I can send my kid to school and take her out at a reasonable time. She wins because she was there for school, and the school wins because they still earned ADA. At the same time, when we go to Arizona for that showcase, we'll be leaving Thursday after school so we can be there Friday morning at 8am. A partial day just isn't possible.
- Nov 18, 2013
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Interesting how different it is by state. I read JAD's link and it's very specific and detailed about what constitutes an excused absence and that more than a few will get you fined or jailed. In comparison my kids District policy is very vague. Any absence can be excused with a letter or a phone call from a parent. No reason needs to be given. If a teacher thinks it's getting excessive the student and family will meet with school officials. If absences continue to be excessive after that they may bring in a truancy officer to discuss other potential ramifications.
It would be interesting to know if either method is more effective.
It would be interesting to know if either method is more effective.
A lot of school administrators think education should be the #1, #2, and #3 priority and that "travel sports" are a waste of time....as for the doctors excused absences, see my previous post regarding Friday afternoon visits to a sports chiropractor on our way out of town to a tournament. I would not consider this a cheap solution, but we consider it a win/win.
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In defense of my DD's school district, her HS is one of the largest in the state (@ 3000 students), with a very diverse student body, so I can only imagine the number of excuses the administrators would hear if they did not have strict guidelines.
Screwing your kid out an education for a day? As I said before if you cannot balance athletics and academics in High School then you have no business playing college softball. As to screwing the school, this further illustrates my point that too many educators are concerned with keeping their jobs and pleasing their overseers instead of teaching. Maybe make up the dollars by firing a useless administrator or bad teacher?
NJ teacher who was late 111 times says he was eating breakfast
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