If there's an outbreak and you exclude kids, are they unexcused abscence?

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Specializes in Community & Mental Health, Sp Ed nursing.

One of my principals decided to include a notice with the PBE waiver that parents sign. It states that If and when we need to exclude a child because of an outbreak, the teacher can chose not to give homework and those days out will be considered unexcused. She claimed it was an Ed Code thing but I can't find it in the California Ed Code. If it is fine but I would like to make the argument that the children are all under 18 and really don't have a choice themselves and we would be punishing them. We all know that parents, for the most part, are making the choice out of convieninces but it looks like discrinimation to me. We are getting down to the wire and I'm getting angry phone calls from a few parents about this.

Any thoughts?

Specializes in school nursing, ortho, trauma.

my rule of thumb is that if I am the one excluding a student for whatever reason, then it is an excused absence.

Specializes in School Nursing.

If I exclude them, it is excused. Unless it is something like lice where they could treat at home and return the next day, but the parent does not bring them back for a week. In that case only one day is excused. If I am excluding them for shot records, it is not excused.

I have parents bring students to me in the morning before school to assess and see if they need to stay home, and if I decide they do need to go home, I give the attendance clerk a note saying it is an excused absence. There are some parents who I trust to give me s/s over the phone and I will excuse it without seeing the child.

If it was a child that I excluded then its an excused absence. I don't see how the principal can say 'you can't be here but the absent counts against you'. Thats ridiculous. :rolleyes:

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