oh, i just can't pass this one up! my intent is not to insult/offend anyone, so i'll offer my sincere apologies beforehand.
being the first one on mom's side of the family to ever graduate high school, let alone college, i am extremely 'pro-education' (never know it by my lack of capitalization-pure laziness!). dd, 13, does not ask to stay home from school unless noticeably ill and ds, 3, will not be permitted to do so either. to my knowledge, our local schools do not have a strict attendance policy, but we have never had reason to check it out.
my problem with this whole issue is one that has been mentioned briefly...these are my children and my tax dollars and i resent the 'big brother' mentality that allows governmental entities to tell me what i can or cannot do with my kids.
as a social worker, i know all too well the damages that many kids suffer at the hands of their parents/other adults in authority. laws can and do exist to protect children from atrocities that occur every day in our own neighborhoods (although they fail often, they set a standard that allows professionals to mandate intervention). i am 100% in agreement with this and am, in fact, a 'mandated reporter', being required by law to report any suspected abuse or neglect.
but a line has been crossed when rational adult decisions, such as whether to take our kids out of school for a family vacation, are taken out of our hands and a blanket edict is pronounced by people who have no knowledge of my family, my kids, my schedule, my finances, etc. i resent the notion that 'the powers that be' have license to issue 'rules', when i have shown no irresponsibility and my kids have not been identified as being 'at risk'.
ii'll be taking my dd out of school in february for 7 days and plan to do so as long as she wants to vacation with us and doesn't feel overwhelmed by making up work. as much as i value education and encourage my kids to think of education as a lifelong process, i value my family also and that comes first!