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GCSSD's Attendance Policy Should be Changed.

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Guest#1 Mar 21, 2015, 04:32
I don't think the school district should decide if my child is sick enough to go to the dr or not..
Guest#2 Mar 21, 2015, 05:00
I'm have 2 children in GCSSD and I feel the same way as the writer. Our new insurance provides an 800 number where we call in to a Dr and a script is issued. My husband had pink eye which my son got 3 days later. No doctor note missed two days of school. We are out of days.. With this policy I guess they want him sent to school anyway but I wasn't about to infect the whole 5th grade..
Guest#3 Mar 21, 2015, 05:32
I am in the same situation!!! Also I felt 5 per semester would be more understandable!! The school we moved from had similar policies although if the were in a particular class for 45 mins it was not an absent!!! They are changing all these to rules to help encourage too many missed days... I say just tighten up the other end on the ones who are missing too many days!!! We shouldn't have to suffer for it!!! Thank you SO much for this petition!!!
Guest#4 Mar 21, 2015, 06:00
Wish this was the policy when I was in school. I got tardiness counted as absences 3 times. I was 5 minutes late and may as well have stayed home.
Guest#5 Mar 21, 2015, 13:13
Great idea!
Guest#6 Mar 21, 2015, 13:43
I completely understand this policy for those who are truant chronically. Our family has to pay a copay to go to a doctor and just because my children have a bad cold, we don't run to the doctor. I am a nurse at a clinic so I am able to call my boss or conservatively treat my children at home and I'm thankful for that. Sometimes our children just need rest, sleep and OTC meds, not a doctor visit.
Guest#7 Mar 21, 2015, 13:56
I don't live in Gibson County but my grandsons attend school there.
mike#8 Mar 21, 2015, 13:58

We sent our child with pinkeye last month because we were out of note days. I will do what is best for myself. That's what the district does.

Guest#9 Mar 21, 2015, 14:06
I have sent my children to school sick many times this year with a contagious cold, because I did not need to get a doctors note...I knew it was a cold. A cold can not be treated with prescription medication, therefore it must just run its course. I feel like I have to choose between compassion for my child and the schools possible discipline. A parents' note should be enough to excuse a child from being late, sick, or funeral attendance, as most parents have their child's best interest at heart.
mike#10 Mar 21, 2015, 14:14

But this policy is designed to reach the very few parents that do not have their children's interests at heart, with no regard for the other 99%. I will not bow to it.

This is just another way the population is being turned into "sheeple"...

Guest#11 Mar 21, 2015, 14:34

Has anyone went to the school board?

Guest#12 Mar 21, 2015, 15:10
It's ridiculous for a child to be counted absent for leaving 10 minutes early.
Guest#13 Mar 21, 2015, 15:25

One of my children at SGC has migraines and is under the care of a Lebonheur neurologist. The migraines are not controlled well yet, despite the fact she is on daily meds. She gets nauseated, cannot focus while having are migraine, and must lie down in a dark room after taking "back up" meds. The nurse is very understanding, but the 5 parent note rule is a huge issue. We cannot simply run to the Neurologist because she is having a migraine headache. That is not the standard of care. In addition, I do not seek out her PCP for proof that she has vomited with a virus in order to appease the school. I am a responsible, single parent of two, and cannot afford copays and medical bills that are unnecessary. 

Desiree#14 Mar 21, 2015, 15:30

my kids

I do not even follow the stupid policy.... If my children are sick they will not be at school... End of story! I don't care how many days they miss... I will not send my sick child to school!! I've always been this way and I won't be changing... I have a senior and a first grader and they have never gotten in trouble for missing yet

Guest#15 Mar 21, 2015, 16:06
I have a child in GCSSD. I also don't think that missing a partial day should count as a full day. Being late doesn't mean you've missed a full day. It means you've missed a piece of a day. There is no incentive to make it to the remainder of the classes if you already know you'll be counted absent for the entire day.
Guest#16 Mar 21, 2015, 18:41
My child does not miss school unless she has to. There have been days when she should have not gone but she went anyways just because she doesnt want to miss school. However I believe we as parents make the call not the school.
Guest#17 Mar 21, 2015, 18:56
I feel the same way five days is not enough
Sick & tired#18 Mar 22, 2015, 01:19

I've been saying this for years! Who are they to tell me what I can and can't do with my kids? It cost me $200 minimum out of pocket to take my kids to the doctor. So I can get a stupid note for an excused absence!?! I think I know I if my kid with a fever needs to stay home from school. It also doesn't take a doctor to tell me that she needs to rest and drink fluids for a couple days. It's high time someone changed this policy. 

Guest#19 Mar 22, 2015, 01:52
I signed this petition as my daughter (kindergarten at time) missed one day over allowed limit and she was cited in court. They called my six year old in front of a judge. She missed due to me having both my arms operated on that year. The school district then asked me what was going on in my home to make my child so timid. Ummm lets see. She is six and was called into a court room in front of the judge. Mind you my 13 yr old was not in truancy and live in the same home. This yr I was informed my mr Bailey should she miss one day over limit due to my neck operation dcs would be called on me. There needs to be a change. Im currently making plans to remove my children from this school district for these reasons alone. Im a single parent with alot of medical problems. My kids get good grades and other than one or two days over the allowed limit atttend regularly. No fault of their own. Im the parent. So this school district also states any child who is tardy three times it counts as a full absence. Last year the bus drive past my kids six times causing me to drive the. When I could. (Couldn't use my hands well) so there is one absence. This policy need a revisited and threatening to call children services when it's my fault, sorry im disabled. Sorry I dont have help. Sorry im unable to function aome days. So here lets throw me in jail or fine me money I have no way of coming up with.Only thing this encouraged me to do was find a different district for my children.
Guest#20 Mar 22, 2015, 04:21
Because sometimes we have no choice to leave early for appointments; also, I shouldn't have to take my kids to the doctor every time they have a stomach bug. The policy is ridiculous.
Guest#21 Mar 22, 2015, 06:31
The reason i signed was because I have sent my daughter to school sick, knowing she could possibly be infecting other students. I have no insurance and cannot afford to take my daughter to the doctor every time she gets the sniffles. My daughter is also special needs and that comes with a whole slew of additional problems. She can have a meltdown in the morning getting ready because we can't find the right color hair tie but I have to drop her off at school crying and a couple of times still throwing a complete tantrum because if I took the time to calm her down, she would have been late for school and then considered absent.
Guest#22 Mar 22, 2015, 19:39
I agree that we need to return the responsibility of when and why our children are absent to the parents. The undue pressure the current policy creates is not improving anything but the exposure of illness and stress.
James#23 Mar 23, 2015, 14:01

This is the stupidest,  most ignorant,  self pitty petition I've seen.  You people are a joke! You get 5 parent notes and 5 days, really? Total joke that like your children are destined for failure and disappointment in life.

James#24 Mar 24, 2015, 00:50

Re:

#19: -  

 Were your kids up and at the bus stop on time? Sounds like they weren't.  

James#25 Mar 24, 2015, 14:29

Re:

#12: -  

 10 minutes early for a Christmas party is ridiculous,  this petition is ridiculous.  You parents need to put kids on the bus to get to school on time instead of sleeping in and whining about tardy being counted as absent!