This school year has been difficult on our family when it comes to illnesses. Every summer I am convinced that my children have above average immune systems and then I send them off to school in September only to battle every virus circulating in the non-sterile hallways of Educationville.

Yesterday I received the letter.

The state of Minnesota has compulsory education statutes which declare “any child who misses more than seven days in a calendar school year” at risk for educational neglect. On average, Minnesota children do not miss more than seven days of school which, unfortunately, makes my children above average according to the state.

The letter sent to me by the principal lays out the consequences of absenteeism. If my child misses more days without an excused absence from the doctor, we may be required to have a meeting with the school board, or be subject to investigation by Child Protection Services.

You could kick my dog, let the air out of my tires and mock me for my stubborn chin hair and I wouldn’t be nearly as outraged. You see, I actually care about my children’s education. I homeschooled for over ten years. I check homework and volunteer at school so how dare you even hint at educational neglect. When my child doesn’t feel good, I believe it serves him or her best to be at home with chicken soup and Popsicles, not sitting at a desk in a stuffy room with florescent lighting.

So I wrote a letter to the principal:

Today I received the standard letter sent by the school when a child is absent seven or more days. It stated that my child, Nathanael, has been absent seven days and sent home early twice.

I realize that it is state policy to send this out regardless of circumstances, however I find it to be incredibly insulting to a parent who holds her children’s education as a top priority and consistently works to that end.

Nathanael was sent home early on the days when I chose to ignore my mothering instincts and send him to school despite his complaints in order to avoid receiving this kind of warning from the school district.

On the days when he was absent for the entire day, I was following the school’s guidelines for keeping a child home from school found on page 24 of the Parent and Student handbook. I have also promptly notified the school by telephone or note to inform you of the absence.

We have a large family which means that we tend to contract every virus floating around school. Our exposure is compounded by the number in attendance.

Given these facts, how do you suggest I handle this situation? I’m feeling incredibly and wrongly judged in this case. I would appreciate if you would keep a copy of this email in Nathanael’s file.

Sincerely,

Jennine

What I really wanted to say is “Stay the hell out of my business! Aren’t there some crack mommas you should be investigating?”

The principal responded:

Dear Jennine,

Thank you so for your note regarding Nathanael’s absentee letter. I am sorry that you took it as insulting.

Thank you for also realizing that we are mandated by state laws and county procedures on school attendance. Not every parent shares the same dedication to education that you and your family does. In fact, every year, I end up dealing with a family or two who do not get their child to school in accordance to what the state mandates. As with many things in life, when this happens, everyone must then follow by the rules that are set up to regulate the few abusers.

By all means, I will keep this correspondence in Nathanael’s file. And in addition, if Nathanael becomes sick enough in the future to visit a doctor, ask the doctor to write a school note at that time and that too can then go in his file.

We all understand that there are years when students seem to catch every bug that comes along. Also, some students have some serious medical conditions that limit school attendance. Good communication greatly helps when situations like this happen.

If you have any further questions/concerns don’t hesitate to contact me further. Email works well, but also feel free to give me a call or stop by the office. (I am attending state meetings, however, for the rest of this week.)

Again, thank you for your obvious dedication to education.

Sincerely,
Ms. Letter of The Law

After reading her email, instead of being outraged, I’m just a few degrees below a boil. I want to know where to address my scathing letter written to the parents who have abused the law and left the good parents to defend themselves in this way.

I hate that we have to the lowest common denominator in our society. And yes, I realize we need to protect those children whose parents don’t have their best interests at heart.

I’m just sayin’.

Boy am I!