Nebraska Family Forum

Is Nebraska's "school attendance" focus part of a national trend? Absolutely, check out this MSNBC story that sees no fault in programs that are the culmination of the "nanny state". The MSNBC article starts out, "Need help getting out of bed to get to school on time?... Students are being urged to sign up for an automated wake-up call." The state now provides kids with two meals a day at school, wake-up calls in the morning, and after-school homework help and recreation. Who needs a mom or dad?

I've been thinking about Club Volleyball 2012, and the travel schedule our Volleyball Club is proposing and how this will impact my family. We have always been able to manage this in the past, travelling as a team/family to these events. Getting the homework in advance to do on the drive, good luck notes from teachers! All at the same time as maintaining a 4.0 Freshman Year and Superior and Distinguished Honor Roll all three years of middle school, and President’s Award! How can this be possible when she wasn’t in her seat in her classroom?

As a mother and grandmother I hope that my perspective will be respected by state lawmakers. I have read stories in the news and comments from state officials who emphasize that 20 days is a lot of missed school. They seem to be saying that no student should ever miss 20 days of school for any reason, and that if students miss that much school they must be “at-risk” and in need of state interventions.

First, I want to point out the obvious. A student who misses 20 days of school in one year is present in class 90% of the time. This is an ‘A’ in attendance. Good students have a wide range of attendance. For some children they will never be absent 20 days in one year. The Governor has publically stated that he never missed school as a kid, that a lot of absences for him would be no more than a couple. It is understandable that someone with the Governor’s attendance record may find it hard to be compassionate for kids who are absent more often, but it is not hard for even good students to have 10+ absences on a regular basis.

At the beginning of the 2010-2011 school year, our grandson who was in first grade, was suffering from sinus headaches at least once a week to the point where he was forced to miss school because the infections made him ill. Our daughter took him to the doctor several times and was given antibiotics which would work for a short period of time and then the infection was back; in fact, it never really cleared up.

He missed approximately 5-10 days of school within the first two months of school. The doctors finally decided that surgery was required in order to clear up the infection. After the surgery, he had to be out of school for a week. So now we are looking at 10-15 days missing from school.

It is not at all unlikely that my innocent grandson will meet the twenty day threshold under the law and fall under the jurisdiction of the county attorney and fall into the supervision of state authorities. This is unacceptable! Neither the state nor the schools should have any authority to decide what is best for a sick child. That is a parent’s responsibility. The state of Nebraska is overstepping their boundaries with this law.

My grandson story is a perfect illustration of how a perfectly innocent child void of any wrong doing can easily reach the 20 day threshold. Though it was not the intent of the legislature to entangle sick kids with law enforcement, it is none the less what has occurred as county attorneys are required by law to review these cases and provide “oversight”. This makes the average law-abiding Nebraskan very nervous and rightly so.

Jean Buss
Lincoln Public Schools
Lincoln NE

Written by: Stephanie Morgan, Nebraska Family Forum Moderator

Lucy Hall, whose daughter attends Clark Middle School in Lincoln, entered a truancy diversion program under threat of prosecution. She has lived the worst nightmare of every parent. She has been treated as an unfit parent because her honor roll student suffers from severe fall allergies that cause her to miss school often during that season. Under threat from a judge that her child could be removed from her home, she has been required to entertain a social worker from Omni Behavioral Health weekly – in her home – among other demeaning, court-mandated interventions to “rehabilitate” her daughter, who is loved by her teachers and peers and has not had a behavioral issue at school in her life.

She was told the program would end at the conclusion of the school year but instead required she meet throughout the summer with other “truant” teens, some of which are truly troubled youth, in order that she develop bonds with other students who suffer from excessive absenteeism.

The state mandated interventions, the condescending attitudes of the social workers, lawyers, and judges, and the humiliation her daughter has suffered are intolerable. Lucy sought legal counsel because of the threatening tactics of those tasked with “helping” her daughter to recover from her excessive absenteeism. After going public with her story, which took a great deal of courage, she felt even more vulnerable and her family began discussing a move back to Missouri in order to protect themselves and their daughter.

One day in the middle of this nightmare, I inquired after her well being and received these emotional words from this discouraged mother, “I have been in a sort of fog the past few days. My mind has just been swimming with so many things to say that I don’t know how to begin! I am angry.....I am sad.....I am heartbroken and really very beaten down at this point. I am discouraged at how very few people know about what is going on or even care about it…It saddens me how few are interested in standing up for what is right.”

In the end, the Hall family decided to see it through and tolerate the “truancy diversion” program. In order to be released from the program and to ensure that they never again fall into the system, they have been sending their daughter to school with migraines. It is difficult for their daughter to function at school when she is sick but she is fully aware of the alternative and will do just about anything to avoid it. She continues to get good grades and hopes to be able to finish high school without incident.

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2011 Update:

We have put up with the program and I must say thankfully we are no longer enduring the stress that this put on our family. I honestly have to say that once it was all over with I just wanted to put it behind us and go on with life but I know in doing so I would not be doing my family or anyone else for that matter any favors.

My youngest son has an IEP and is struggling with more issues than I have time to list here....being that my daughter was swept up in this Truancy sham last school year I am terrified that Steven will suffer the same fate should I let him stay home when hes not feeling well. I have a meeting with his principle next week to discuss issues I am concerned with. The last thing I want to bring into his already rocky education is a truancy issue. I pray they just leave us alone.

The new truancy law has prompted school districts to consider missing school five days in one year as “excessive” no matter the reason for the absence. The law created a new class of delinquent behavior, “excessive absenteeism”, eliminated the classic definition of truancy (to be absent without permission), and has mandated policies that significantly intrude upon parental authority.

The result has been that students and their parents are made to feel like criminals and treated like delinquents long before a crime has been committed, and even in cases when the criminal statute has been broken it has resulted in a miscarriage of justice for children and families with special circumstance that under the old law would have been handled discreetly at the local school level and now is drug out in court and truancy diversion programs under the supervision of state social workers, lawyers, and judges.

I believe that the law in its entirety should be repealed and that we need to go back to the drawing board. With school districts defining five absences in one year as “excessive”, and the state mandating a series of intrusive “interventions” at that point, we have created the total supervision of school absences by the state squeezing out parental discretion entirely.

I see many dangerous consequences of this law for Nebraska families. What is "excessive" to one administrator may seem natural to another. Or worse, one family may get a pass, because the principal knows that family, but another will be referred to the horror that is CPS and juvenile court? Dangerous waters.

I know that for some kids the flu can knock them out for an entire week. There are many illnesses and conditions that may cause this - Mono for one. And not all of them are immediately diagnosed. Even with this year’s amendment that requires that the county attorney have a plan to deal with absences related to illness, this does not relieve families with sick children from coming under the jurisdiction of the court.

The point is this: Families and children should not be treated as suspects, much less criminals, for living our lives as responsibly as we are each able. Stop trying to make public education some sort of extension of a police state.

I also disagree that this law and the district policies will prevent drop outs. I think it will increase them, and here is why: families will feel pressured into either taking their children out of school in favor of homeschooling or to allow their children to leave high school early for a GED, rather than allow them to become part of the juvenile justice system and CPS. It's backward. It's harmful. It's un-American.

To add weight to view point I want to share with you the wonderful accomplishments of one of our daughters, who has had the opportunity to travel to New York and this year to Haiti as part of her personal development, education, and - very important to our family - volunteerism.

My daughter, Sydney, attends Lincoln High School. She skipped the 8th grade and entered the IB program. In Sydney's freshman year, she missed the first entire week of school so she could participate in a unique opportunity in New York. She had been chosen as one of a few children to attend a week-long intensive performing arts workshop. She developed in unbelievable ways during that week, and she will never forget her experience. She was provided with foreseen homework by her teachers, who actually CARE about keeping their students caught up in their classrooms.

She was nominated and will be recognized as one of this year's YWCA "25 Under 25" "sassy women" who have made a difference. Guess where she was her first week of school this year? In Haiti, as part of a volunteer youth service trip to help build sustainable housing for 40 Haitian families who were displaced by the earthquake. Who knows what is best for Sydney – our legislators and state bureaucrats – or do we, as Sydney's parents?

She is an outstanding student who has been blessed to participate in extraordinary enrichment activities during her education, but had this new law been in place when she was younger, we may have been sufficiently discouraged to parent in her best interest. When Sydney was in 7th grade she suffered from a difficult-to-diagnose condition that made her miss much of the school year. She had daily migraine headaches that were unexplained and unrelenting, even with regular pain medications. She felt so weak and tired that she would fall asleep everywhere. She couldn't even carry her violin or backpack.

After months of horrendous tests that had to be done to rule out many possible serious problems, the referrals finally made their way to a renowned neurologist at Children's Hospital in Omaha. After several tests and the information collected over months to rule out other possibilities, this specialist diagnosed her with something that has more recently been identified as "Persistent Daily Headache Syndrome."

The doctor said the incidence of this in youth is on the rise, and the symptoms can be extremely debilitating. She was given the best known treatment for this condition, and voila! She began recovering almost immediately! We were so thankful it was something that could finally be treated.

I have often thought about our experience as I have come acquainted with families in similar situations who under this law have had their privacy invaded, have been humiliated, scrutinized by state authorities, and in some cases even prosecuted. We are also thankful that we didn't have to contend with being held up as suspects by school administrators or state officials. It is unjust and despicable to put families through some sort of inquiry or investigation, just because some think its okay to strip parents of trust and authority with regard to our own families.

Parents do not derive their rights from the state; they have natural rights to the education and care of their children from the moment of their birth. We are our children's parents, and we know what's best. My daughter is no more a criminal than many other children who will be unjustly drug through the court system because of similar situations during their MANY school-aged years. And for the record, Sydney kept up with her homework at home, and did so well, she was able to skip the 8th grade and go right into high school. She is an excellent student who takes great pride in her own education and has great plans for her future. Thank heavens she doesn't also have a record of delinquency to follow her for the rest of her life.

Melanie Williams-Smotherman
Lincoln Public Schools
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The author, Gary Smollen, reported that the law requires school districts to intervene in the family life of students when the student misses five absences, of any kind, in one quarter. The truth is the law requires school districts to define "excessive absenteeism" within the parameters set by the legislature, which are that "the number of absences in the policy [for excessive absenteeism] shall not exceed five days per quarter or the hourly equivalent. School districts may use excused and unexcused absences for purposes of the policy.”

A great perspective from Crystal Jones Young on the direction our education should be going in light of a new and changing world. Crystal is the mother of 10 children, she has taken her God given responsibility to educate her children seriously and utilized a wide combination of strategies on a child by child basis. She has children in collage, enrolled in public school, and home-schooled simultaneously.

Mike, I have gained the distinct impression that there is a culture in public school administration in which School Board members have very little inflence in what actually happens in their schools, other than hiring a superintendent. It seems that once that superintendent is hired, the School Board just gets to rubber stamp whatever comes out of his adminstration, with only surface questions asked and no real opposition to any ideas whatsoever. If the staff says its good, it must be; they're the experts.

But we elect you guys to protect our interests! As we see them, not as a bureaucrat or trained expert sees them.

We spent a LOT of time talking to our representatives about this, Mike. We traveled to the Capitol in a snowstorm to express our concerns about the expansion of the law this year. We held sustained dialogue with our own senators about the issue. We brought our kids down to the Capitol to share stories of what the original law did, and spent the better part of an hour working out an arrangement with the sponsor of the bill that would protect us from outrageous invasion of our families. But that rested on one thing - you! You and the other elected members of the School Board! We can do all that work, but you know the reality is that my senator cares more about what you board members have to say than about what I have to say. You know that as long as you're rubber stamping their policies, they feel like they must be doing a fine job, because you represent me and the interests of the education system, in their worldview.

We counted on our local truancy policies being applied, not on having them wiped out and overhauled to put teeth into this threat. We counted on our school boards to have minds of their own, to be able to see the terrifying, unintended consequences of this monstrosity and say, "We'll trust the good parents who have raised the good students who have given us our distinguished reputation and leave our truancy policy as is, thank you very much!", not to listen to the experts tell them its better for everybody. We counted on some good old Nebraska common sense about what free countries ought to look like. Can you see George Washington fighting for this sort of sytem? Can you see Thomas Jefferson defending its intrusions? I can't. But I sure can see Nazi Germany pleased at the extent to which they've overridden the natural rights of parents, and created a greater obligation to the state - all for their own good!

Do the people supporting these changes really want a student to miss a chance to visit, say, the Grand Canyon, Gettysburg, Washington D.C., or even an international destination? Every reasonable person knows that the actual experience of a place will teach far more than reading about it, and I would think that educators would be very happy when their students get to take advantage of these opportunities, especially when they also finish their homework before they even return to school.

But these policies will also sweep up the child who finds out a day in advance that she must attend her grandmother's funeral out of state, and prevent her from doing that work on the way out, rather than after the emotional event; the chronically ill student going in for surgery from doing the work while pre-op and recovering in the hospital; the student who's aunt is getting married in October at a destination location. What the heck?

The whole thing is extremely disturbing. We were told this new law was to prevent dropping out and deliquency. It does a little to prevent delinquency or dropping out, but it does far more to DIRECTLY target conscientous, responsible families who have no desire to get tangled up with the law. With the revision of the local truancy policies - the last piece in this horrible puzzle - it's obvious that its about everyone - straight A students, accomplished club athletes, musicians who train outside the school system, families who have the opportunity to travel a lot, families who get sick a lot - EVERYONE! And that leaves me convinced that its about money and control, and ultimately, NCLB. You can't make a fabulous district like Millard "better" unless you force the good people to be in their seats more often! To get those federal dollars, you have to improve your attendance rates every stinking year.

It's not right. And it won't stop until someone, somewhere, with a position of "influence" has the guts to stand up to the machine (can you hear me pleading here?) and say no. We've got a system that works, and it works well, and we won't jump through these hoops and into your chains to get that money you're dangling in front of us.

Autumn Cook
Formerly of Omaha, NE
Millard Public Schools

Our family’s history with the new truancy law predates the actual implementation of the newer legislation and requires some history of her health. My daughter Hailey has had health issues for most of her life. When she was young, she would get recurrent bouts of severe tonsillitis and strep throat. Unfortunately, with the changes in standard medical protocols from when I was a child, removing the tonsils was not an option until Hailey had been 6 cases of strep throat within a 12 month period.

Any parent who has had a child with a severe case of strep knows that it can be a protracted illness and the thought of having to see your child go through that 6 times in one year is just unbelievable. One time her tonsils were so swollen they were closing off her air way in her throat and we had to take her to the emergency room.

Her tonsils were finally removed when an excellent ENT physician here in town asked us about her sleeping patterns, when we told him she didn’t sleep well because of sever snoring, he advised us that removing her tonsils would be the proper course of action. This in fact helped with her snoring issue and we were hopeful that this would also result in less bouts of illness.

When Hailey started 5th grade she started to frequently suffer from sinus and upper respiratory infections combined with sever debilitating headaches. We worked with the building principal of the Elkhorn elementary school and she was able to keep up with her school work and maintain excellent grades.

The fight we were starting to wage was with the health care community. They couldn’t find a cause for her illness so they believed she was was either being abused at home or was making the illnesses up. I cannot even begin to explain how it feels to have an ill child, one you can’t seem to do anything to help, and then to be confronted with the implication that you are somehow abusing your child. The “please wait out here Mr. Horton, we would like to talk to Hailey alone” statement still burns to this day.

In 6th grade Hailey was hospitalized after a severe upper respiratory infection turned into a particularly nasty case of pneumonia. It was during this stay, purely by chance, she was evaluated by a pediatric infectious disease doctor from Children’s hospital that just happened to be on the floor for another patient. Within 20 minutes of talking to us they were convinced that our daughter had an immunological issue.

This was subsequently confirmed with simple blood tests. We were relieved that we knew what was causing Hailey’s illnesses, but were heartbroken to hear that it was chronic and that there are no treatment options for her. I have heard the lines “…should be able to live a relatively normal life” in movies and television shows, but I can tell you that they really are not comforting words. No parent has aspirations of a “relatively normal life” for their children. They want their children to live extraordinary lives.

With this diagnosis and with Hailey moving into junior high where the course work would be far more demanding, we were concerned with how her health issues would affect her school work. We worked with the Elkhorn Ridge Middle school staff and Hailey was accepted to the school’s Special Education department under what is called a 504 (other medical reasons) placement. This was done expressly to deal with potential “truancy” issues. 7th grade went by pretty much normally for Hailey with her missing well over 30 days.

It is at this point I will explain that Hailey’s immune deficiency prevents her from recognizing that she is getting sick and once she is, it is usually severe. Prolonged regimens of antibiotics are used to help fight the infections and these can last well over a month and a half when the normal regimen is 3 days to two weeks. Even after completing these, she is often not noticeably better. It is the migraine like headaches that are the most debilitating. Light, sound, and movement can bring about such pain that it causes her to be ill, or nearly pass out. Hailey completed 7th grade with A’s and B’s as she always does and we looked forward to 8th grade.

It was 2008, or Hailey’s 8th grade year when we were first introduced to truancy and Douglas County’s enforcement thereof. Due to a mistake at home, Hailey wasn’t being reported every day that she was out sick. It was my ex-wife’s assumption that since Hailey was “protected” by the special education 504 placement, the fact that at the start of the illness the school was contacted, and no notice to the contrary, we didn’t need to let them know that Hailey was out ill. This resulted in the quick accumulation of excessive unexcused absences for which we were turned over to the Douglas County Attorney’s office.

We were scheduled an “evaluation” meeting with the Douglas County Diversion Department. We were told to bring any documentation to explain the absences. We obtained all of Hailey’s medical records, copies of her Special Education paperwork, and a copy of her current grades (once again A’s and B’s). At or first interview we explained everything while the gentleman listened politely and took notes, then he asked us if we would allow him to interview Hailey in our absence. We agreed and 25 minutes later, we were informed that Hailey would be placed in a diversion program.

The program require that Hailey stay out of any trouble, maintain her grades, and that we document all further absences for the school and the diversion officer. The length of diversion was set at 6th months and would be concurrent over the summer. This resulted in approximately 3 months of diversion during school. We were dumbfounded. What about the medical records? What about the 504 placement? What about her good grades? None of that mattered and we were told that of course we could obtain legal counsel and fight the ruling, but we were given a very lenient program so we should be happy with that!

We now move on to Hailey’s freshman year in high school. Since she was moving to a new school and this transition occurred within the 2 year placement review that exists for all special education students. We met with the staff of Elkhorn High School and were very satisfied with the arrangements that had been put in place for her. They were very aware of her situation, they would work with us in any way they could, and we were to communicate every absence and keep them apprised of her overall health issues. This was done and there were no issues at all. The school modified her schedule to alternating days to assist her in staying caught up, worked with us when she was hospitalized late in December for a few days. The school year ended with Hailey getting her usual good grades and with nervous thoughts of moving to the new high school in Elkhorn.

Who would have guessed that 2010 would become such a dramatic year in our lives.

Things proceeded as they had the year before. We started the school year by meeting the staff of Elkhorn South High School that would have the responsibilities of managing Hailey’s case. Everything seemed in order and was going along fine until Hailey’s first bout of illness. Even though I called every day that Hailey was out ill and or that I was picking her up early because she wasn’t able to finish the day, I received a letter from the school informing me of the truancy law and warning me of Hailey's accrued absences. The letter also indicated the number of doctor’s notes that the school had received from me.

Since we had modified her schedule, at the schools insistence, with all of her core classes in the first five periods of the day in case she were unable to make it a whole day, I felt the issue was resolved. It was this assumption that everything was OK that made my reaction to the letter that we were being turned over to the County Attorney so demonstrative.

I was incensed that the school would do this. We we had done everything we were supposed to do and now they were turning us over to the authorities?! I fired off a very heated email to the building principal and it was his calm response that set me on the correct path in fighting this legislation. He informed me, and provided the actual verbiage from the bill, that the school’s hands were tied.

The language of the legislation made no provision for excused absences. He explained that no health issue was exempted from this legislation. Not even a student battling terminal cancer would be exempted. My level of frustration, anger, disillusionment, and sorrow for families facing far worse than us, was indescribable. 

It was then I realized that my fight wasn’t with the school, but with the County attorney’s office. I contacted all the news media I could. I told them about this upcoming mass truancy meeting that was being held at the county court house, my daughter’s story, and my belief that this law was absolute government over-reach into the area of parent’s rights. I initially was only contacted by Jon Athens, a news reporter for KPTM television (local fox affiliate). It was his story on Hailey’s situation that brought the new truancy law to the public’s attention.

On the day of the hearing, I and Hailey were at the court house with our stack of medical documentation prepared to present our arguments to the county attorney’s office. We were interviewed again by Mr. Athens and two other local television stations. We were nervously optimistic, if not frustrated by having to be there.

What we experienced in the jury assembly room that afternoon, was the best case for limited government I have ever witnessed. My daughter was so disgusted that she wanted to storm out on several occasions.

While the 100 or so families were waiting for the proceedings to begin, we were provided a very juvenile and condescending civics lesson by Judge Elizabeth Crnkovich. A civics lesson where she asked the assembly if we knew what the separation of powers was and if we could name the three branches of government. She proceeded to explain as if we were 6 years old what compulsory education was and how important education is for every individual and society as a whole.

She proceeded to introduce the assembled team. There was the county attorney supervising the proceeding, a representative from OPS, a person from Child Protective Services, a translator for Spanish speakers, and a volunteer from Douglas County Legal Aid Society. The last being there just in case anyone felt that they needed legal representation. I was most puzzled by this person’s presence, but it soon became clear. Judge Crnkovich’s condescension and my growing sense of unease aside, what was most chilling was when the county attorney in charge of the proceedings explained how the process would work.

The children were broken up into groups based on the reasoning for the absences provided by the schools. Each group would receive a public explanation of the actions the county attorney’s office would take in our case. The parents would then be asked to sign paperwork accepting the county attorney’s recommendations. She stated that we didn’t have to agree with the recommendations, but if we didn't the county attorney’s office would be free to take further actions.

While I was mentally coming to grips with the true meaning of this, Judge Crnkovich proceeded to explain what these further actions would be. We were told that the county attorney’s office would be free to pursue additional legal action that could extend as far as the removal of our children from our home. Isn’t this an example of the coercive methods of totalitarian states? This explained why the public defender was there!

My next shock occurred when 12 names were called and the group was assembled at the front of the room. This group was asked to sign a release allowing for an immediate onsite drug test. If they refused, they would be detained by local members of law enforcement while their disposition could be arranged. I sat there with my daughter dumbstruck. I thought to myself, …sure come to court to explain why your son or daughter is absent, oh and by the way sir or maam, we believe your child is on drugs and we demand that you give up your personal liberties or face immediate criminal proceedings! I really started to wonder about this proceeding. I even mentioned to Mr. Athens who was observing for his story that I am starting to wonder if I should have brought an attorney.

The next group was around 25-30 OPS students who were being recommended for diversion placement. The details of the diversion plan were not expressed to the whole group. But I sat in growing dismay as that group was escorted out of the room with the OPS representative.

While this was going on, Mr. Athens took the opportunity to ask Judge Crnkovish some questions he had about Hailey’s case. It was obvious by the Judge's response that she was very aggravated. When asked if she thought this particular piece of legislation had gone too far by entangling families like ours, her reply was that it wasn’t her place to comment on the legislation. Though she defended the intent by saying that truancy is a real problem and there are parents out there that will allow their children to miss school for no good reason. It took a great degree of self control not to earn myself a contempt citation and to keep my daughter from saying something we both would regret! Before the discussion could continue, Hailey’s name was called.

We went to the front of the room and I placed my sizable pile of medical records on the ledge between the panel and us. We were told that the county attorney’s office was aware of Hailey’s health issues as the cause of her absences and that we should not be called back for further action. Just as I started to sigh in relief, the following was stated, “We will continue to monitor her, however”. I was yet again dumbfounded! What is there to monitor I thought. She has a chronic illness! With as much control as I could muster, I asked in a clipped voice, “And what happens WHEN she is sick again?” The attorney replied, “We will make that assessment when it happens”.

I stood there for a few moments considering my options when the words of Judge Crnkovich came back to me, “…up to and including the removal of the child from the home.” I reluctantly signed the paper picked up the pile of medical records that I wasn’t allowed to present and escorted my daughter out of the room. We expressed dissatisfaction to the news media and left the building. As we were walking back to the car, my daughter broke down and screamed, “Just take me out of school and home school me! I am so done with this!” She then perceptively asked me, “We will have to deal with this next year won’t we?” Unfortunately, the answer appears to be yes.

The next turn in this story occurred when we heard about LB 463 which would expand the truancy law making it tougher and providing significant resources to the county attorney's office to enforce the law. The new additions to the law mandated that the school districts of the learning community write a plan in partnership with the county attorney's office for how to deal with students like Hailey. I was asked by the media if I was hopeful that this would take care of the issue for Hailey and I prophetically said, that I unfortunately did not have much hope that this plan would provide any protection for my family.

Last month I watched with doubt when the Governor, Senator Ashford, Dr. Breed, and the impacted superintendents had their press conference. I still hear the words, “common sense will prevail”. The following day, I contacted my daughter’s building principle to get specifics on the school district's plan for kids like Hailey. I was told that the procedures wouldn’t be any different this year than last. Reports to the authorities would go out at 10 and 20 days respectively, per the law. The school would include their recommendations, just like last year.

I was told that the difference would be that the school would intervene earlier to work on ways to get the students in the classroom. They would be asking my for permission to contact my daughter’s health care providers directly in order to determine what they could do to assist the child in getting back to the classroom. I sadly, but politely informed the principal that it looks like my fight isn’t over yet.

So far this year, Hailey has already missed one day of school. In fact, she became ill before the school year started and was seen prior to the first day of school by one of her doctors so I could start building my documentation. Since then, she has been seen a total of 3 different times, by three doctors, had numerous blood work and tests done, all while continuing to go to school sick because of this law that was designed to address the issue of truancy.

In addition to this, not only is my daughter going to school ill, but other parents are doing the same. This poses a very difficult situation for my daughter who is unable to fight off whatever illness that her school mates are spreading around. Although they may get better in a few days, it takes Hailey weeks or months.

Webster’s online dictionary defines Truant:

tru·ant  /ˈtruənt/ Show Spelled[troo-uhnt] Show IPA
noun
1. a student who stays away from school without permission.
adjective
3. absent from school without permission

Neither of these definitions apply to my daughter nor to many other children caught up in this legislation and yet they are being called "truant". I implore the state legislature, the various county attorney’s offices, the department of child protective services, the juvenile courts, Governor Heineman, and every parent of school age students, please join me in recognizing that there is an important distinction between excused and unexcused absences that protects families like mine from unwarranted state supervision and scrutiny.

I would ask that they reconsider the new law and consider amendments that will provide relief from the investigative aspect of this law. If lawmakers restore the important distinction between excused and unexcused absences student's like my daughter Hailey will be protected by her school administrators who are fully aware of her case and have the documentation of her health condition. There is no need for our family to receive further investigation by law enforcement.

I would also ask that lawmakers provide an exemption for any student who meets and is accepted into a school district’s special education program. As a federal program the guidelines are quite stringent and placement in such a program by definition requires adequate documentation as well as the involvement of both the school and parents. When a student in enrolled in special education their parents are given special protections under federal law and the same rights spelled out in detail should be retained when excessive absenteeism is the result of conditions related to their placement in the program.

If I can assist any other parent please feel free to contact me through the NFPF Facebook page.

God bless you all!
Mike Horton
Elkhorn Public Schools

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Hi, my name is Sue Magee and I have 4 kids, 3 of whom have graduated from Millard South High School, and one who is currently a student there. I, too, have tremendous concerns about the impact of LB800 and LB463 on families in Nebraska. My 3 oldest kids would have all been classified as "at risk" under these laws, so here are their stories:

With 6 people in our family, we weren't lucky enough to escape passing illnesses around to one another, so all of my kids missed the usual number of days staying home with colds, coughs, sore throats, stomach viruses, etc. Let's assume they each missed around 5 days each year due to illnesses or doctor/dentist/orthodontist appointments.

My daughter was an excellent student. She graduated in the top 10 of her class of 500, was on superior honor role all 4 years, took numerous AP classes, was named the top vocal music student her senior year, and received various other honors and awards. She went on to college and to graduate school, and is currently working as a school psychologist.

While she was in middle school, she was given the opportunity to travel to Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji with her grandparents. The trip was planned for her to go over Christmas vacation, but, because it was a 3-week tour, she ended up missing a week of school. We, as her parents, knew that she was a good enough student that she would be conscientious about making up the classwork she missed, so we made the decision to allow her to go on the trip. It was an incredible learning experience, and it instilled in her a love of travel and exploring other cultures. She has since travelled to South Africa, Japan, the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, numerous countries in Western Europe and even got a summer job in London while she was in college. The trip to Australia put her over 10 days of absences. If LB463 would have been in effect then, she would have been labeled "at risk" and we would have been dealing with the authorities. What a unnecessary stress that would have been on our family, and what a waste of everyone's time turning her over to juvenile justice.