Editorial: School truancy has a new twist

Saturday, Aug. 1, 1998 | 4:35 a.m.

A student with three or more unexcused absences is considered a habitual truant, which could result in a fine for the parents or the loss of a driver's license for high school students. So how are some middle school students on year-round schedules managing to get around the tougher policy?

As the Sun's Sandy Thompson reported last Sunday, parents officially withdraw their children from school, just as they would if they were transferring to a new school. Under current rules, students who withdraw in the last three weeks of the school year will be given the grade they've received up to that point without needing to take a final exam. So unless schools closely monitor withdrawing students to make sure they actually transfer, some students who withdraw get to go on a family vacation and escape final exams.

It's different, though, at Lied Middle School, where Principal Patrice Johnson requires students who withdraw to come back for their final exam or they won't get a grade and a report card.

Parents are justified in asserting it's difficult to schedule vacations around the year-round schedule. While education is important, the time spent with family is just as important. A reasonable accommodation would be for students to be permitted to go on vacation with their parents as long as they come back and take final exams.

What is unacceptable and should not be tolerated are students who take advantage of the last track of year-round school and effectively ditch their remaining classes without any consequences. The school district should send a wake-up to those parents that children who don't take the final exams won't get their grades and won't advance to high school.