Part 2 of 30 days of jail for my daughter missing school.....
By Erilyn
@Erilyn (3020)
United States
May 3, 2007 8:33am CST
I told everyone I would let them know how it goes so here it is. After contacting the school and getting no real answers I contacted the school board to see what they had to say about the letter I recieved. I got the run around for a couple of days then finally I was able to talk with someone.
I was told that 3 of the absenses in question were NOT becasue of the days she missed for being sick. They were for days she spent in ISS (in school suspension).
I asked why I recieved the letter then if she was in school during that time. and was told that her being in ISS was an unexcused absense because she was there becasue of her behavior.
Of course at this point I was livid, as those of you who saw the first post know that she had gotten in trouble for being sick at school. I brought this point up and was told that it doens't matter what she got into trouble for.
So I then asked them how can they hold it against her if she was in school, she was in ISS becasue she got sick and the teacher yelled at her for disrupting class and wouldn't let her go to the nurses office. I was then told it was up to the teacher how she handled her students.
I was then told that after her 3 day ISS unexcused that becasue she didn't bring in a doctors note it was considered unexcused also. I explained the situation to him about her not being able to go to the doctor because I was waiting to hear about ins for her. So then I asked him what I should do then, should I keep her home when she is sick, or send her to school to face going into ISS for being sick at school. And he said I should take her to the doctor when she is sick and provide a note.
SO basically I really didn't get any answer to the problem about her being sick, and it was my tough luck that I could face jail time for her missing school when 3 of those days she was actually at school. All I really got was the run around for all this. And people wonder why more kids are being home schooled every year.
2 people like this
4 responses
@prestocaro (1251)
• United States
4 May 07
How frustrating! This sounds like the perfect opportunity for you to get involved in the school board, lol! Some schools and their bureaucracies are just so backwards and twisted. I think as long as she is in some kind of school (even in school suspension) she can't be counted as truant. That is a state-sponsored facility to keep track of students with discipline problems. I'm positive that if you speak to the judge on the matter he will see it your way. You may want to go to your local library or the schools library and find the school charter to check up on the facts.
If I were you, I'd be trying my hardest to get the teacher disciplined in some way! They can't just decide that a sick child is a disruption. There is something seriously wrong with that.
On another note, I used to have the first day vomit problem as well. The pill fixed it for me. Keeps all the hormones at a stable level and I discovered when I went to get put on it that not only was I having extreme nausea with my period, I also was suffering from ovarian cysts. So, to make your child's like easier, you may want to put her on the pill. Or the ring, I highly recommend it, it is so simple and no nonsense. I'm sure your daughter's gyno will have his/her own suggestions as well.
1 person likes this
@prestocaro (1251)
• United States
4 May 07
I meant to say "so, to make your child's LIFE easier"
1 person likes this
@Erilyn (3020)
• United States
4 May 07
After looking at everything I decided homeschooling would be the best option for us. I have talked with her about it also and she agrees that seh would be better off. She wants to graduate when she is 16 so she doens't have to deal with school and all of that.
I am planning to take her to the doc to see what her options are. I have a hard time with the idea of my 14 year old on the pill though. With her it could cause more problems then it could solve. She has a habit of not taking medication, lying about taking meds cause she forgot etc., so if I were to do something like that I would prolly opt for the depo shot. She hasn't seen a gyno yet as she is not sexually active, and she hasn't had her period longer than 3 years. She has been seeing a general pract.
@prestocaro (1251)
• United States
4 May 07
I wholeheartedly support your homeschool decision. I wouldn't want to send a child to a school that handles a sick child like some kind of criminal either. I also understand your apprehension about the pill -- I hadn't realized your daughter is so young! Nonetheless, it sounds like you've really done your research. Good luck!
1 person likes this
@sunshine4 (8703)
• United States
3 May 07
Unfortunately, I missed the first post you made on this subject. Are you saying that since you kept your daughter home from school sick, you can't just write your own excuse that she missed school due to the flu? I keep my kids home all the time when they don't feel well and have never had to have a doctors excuse.
If I were you, I would take my daughter out of that school and home school her the remainder of the year. Then next year have her start fresh, or enroll her in another school system in your area.
@Erilyn (3020)
• United States
3 May 07
The first post was because of a letter I had gotten saying that becasue my daughter missed more than 5 days of school unexcused I could face jail time for her missing school.
It is a state law here in GA apperantly. She gets sick and throws up on the first day of her period I go through the same thing. For the longest time she was still going to school sick unless it was extremely bad.
Then she got into trouble form one of her teachers for disrupting class to leave it to go throw up. She got 3 days of ISS for it. After that I started keeping her home when she was sick. I was sending notes and everything and contacting the school to let them know she would be out. Then I got the letter and all H@!! broke loose as you can imagine how upset I was.
In trying to find out what happened in the situation you can see from above the response I got. She will be home schooled from now on. I just have to get through the last month of school. I had to let them know 30 in advance of my intention to homeschool.
@sunshine4 (8703)
• United States
3 May 07
I would have freaked if I got a letter stating I had to go to jail for my daughter being absent! Something is wrong with this picture.
I feel for you. It is so hard to have anyone tell you that you or your child have done something wrong, when you know that you have done everything right! I would put a complaint into the school superintendent regarding your daughter getting ISS due to having to throw up! That is rediculous. I would also complain that ISS is considered an absent. I don't see any reasoning behind what they are doing.
My thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult situation.
1 person likes this
@floramwaters (1595)
• United States
3 May 07
I can not believe that they would think that ISS is unexcused. SHe was in school. It is also unfar that she got sent to ISS for being sick. That teacher really needs to be looked at. I am sorry that yo are haveing to go though this. I think you have the right idea about home schooling her as soon as possable.
1 person likes this
@Erilyn (3020)
• United States
3 May 07
Things have just gotten out of hand here. I think he would rather say it is becasue of that rather than to admit that they made a mistake. I can't see how ISS could be considered unexcused absense. I get notices when she misses school automatically sent to me. I called the first day of her ISS casue I knew she had left to go to school and I had gotten an e-mail saying she missed school. I was told by the school at that time it was common for it to be an unexcused absense, and that it would be fixed later. I guess it wasn't.
@sunshinedap (615)
• United States
5 May 07
Man, am I in trouble then. My son missed a whole week to go to Las Vegas on vacation. (This is not including other days when he was sick) He's in the ninth grade. His homeroom teacher told us the last time he was out that if he missed any more days he would have to face the tribunal council. So I went and talked to her to make sure that he would get all his credits. I was worried about him getting credit. I had no idea that they could make you face jail! We live in GA, too. They said that anything over 5 days excused was considered unexcused. I hope everything turns out ok for you. What grade is your daughter in?
@Erilyn (3020)
• United States
7 May 07
I'm sorry I didn't get back to you sooner, I am not on at night or the weekend.
She is in 8th grade now. So I don't have to worry about her losing credits yet. This is why I decided to home school her. You will probably get the same letter I got then as well. Florida has the same type of law, however I never had a problem with them.
I also found out that it is possible that because of absesnes that a child could possibly have to wait longer to get their learners permit to drive. I think it is a crap law when it has nothing to do with them skipping school, and the parents are trying to keep the school informed on whats going on and making sure their kids do the make up work etc.
What about the parents that do everything they can short of sitting in class with the child and the child skips school anyway? I don't understand how the parents can be held liabile for something if they do everything they can to make sure the kids are doing what they are supposed to do.
The whole thing has just irritated me to no end if you can't tell. I can understand holding a parent responsible for what their child does to a point. But this is getting out of hand.
