A student wakes up on a dreaded Monday morning and decides they’re too tired to go to school. They tell their parents and promptly go back to sleep. That same student wakes up to police cars outside talking to their parents. Unbeknownst to them, this is the fifteenth day in a row they skipped school this month and now their parents can be found guilty of a Class C misdemeanor and fined up to $500, get sentenced to thirty days of imprisonment, or both.
Being absent from school becomes a bigger problem every year. Missing at least one day every two weeks can add up to 18 days a year. Once students hit that limit they are considered a chronically absent student and it can start to affect their education because of so much missed time in the classroom.
It is enforced by Illinois law that along with five mental health days, after three or more unexcused absences in a 90 day period it is then the schools job to reach out and notify the parent or guardian of a student that if absences continue to occur you can face hearing and eventually criminal charges.
Unauthorized absences are truant absences. Truancy for 9 days of school can result in referral to the Regional Superintendent’s Office. If multiple truant absences have resulted in a situation where passing a class is not possible, it may be recommended to the administration that the student be withdrawn from class.
The attendance policy is fair to students, permitting 4 excused absences by parents per semester, 5 mental health days per year and unlimited excused absences with documentation by a medical practitioner. Yet, students still have to check in with their teachers regarding makeup work and discuss due dates.
When MCHS students miss class, whatever happens after is not considered a punishment, instead students are missing “academic minutes” of being in class where they can be learning. It’s important to know the policy and follow it because coming to school will benefit your own future.
“In many instances parents have had children come through MCHS and are familiar with the policy,” Attendance Interventionist Zurina Luciano says, “but we do encourage all parents to review the handbook.”
The policy can even go as far to motivate some students to come to school. Showing up to school can give you perks such as rewards, respect and depending on your involvement with the school potentially scholarships. With showing up, comes good grades and a better knowledge intake.
One big motivator that works along with the policy is the opportunity for off campus lunch. If you’re a junior or senior you can be eligible to leave campus during your lunch hour as long as you have a C or above in all classes. In the attendance policy, you are not permitted to open lunch if you have any more than two tardies returning from lunch, two cuts to all classes or three tardies in general along with many other rules.
“I believe the attendance policy is very fair,” junior Luis Perez says, “it gives a lot of kids motivation to come to school ready to learn and give it their best.”
While some students may think you don’t need to come to school to be academically successful, being in class and learning can provide students with regular in person interactions where they can have natural discussions and conversations. This can build connections with classmates and social skills while being in an educational learning environment.
So while missing school is easy to do, it is certainly not easy to face the consequences, and knowing the education and freedom a student stands to lose may make the decision to come to school easier.