To the Editor:
I have two children in the Fairfax County School System. The principal is mandating a doctor’s note after a set number of absences. Excused or unexcused. This news was delivered in a form letter generated by attendance numbers. Nothing else.
In FCPS policy 2232.3, it states, “The principal or his designee determine whether or not absences will be excused and may require a physician’s note in cases of chronic or long-term illness.”
The principal may request a doctor’s note every time a child misses class, it’s his choice, but it is not reasonable.
The administration should approach the situation with the assumption that parents have their children’s best interest at heart and know their children best. The administration can’t possibly know what is best for each of their 2400 students, especially if there has been no dialogue with the family.
The Supreme Court has even addressed the importance of parental discretion even when some parents do not act responsibly: That some parents “may at times be acting against the interests of their children” creates a basis for caution, but it is hardly a reason to discard wholesale those pages of human experience that teach that parents generally do act in the child’s best interest. The statist notion that governmental power should supersede parental authority in all cases because some parents abuse and neglect children is repugnant to American tradition. (Parham v. J.R.)
We need to foster a mutual respect between the students, teachers, and the administration. Don’t waste your teacher’s time, don’t make extra work for your teacher, and don’t be late to class--it’s rude. In return, the administration should respect the students and their parents.
Rules are important and they usually make common sense, but when they don’t, they should be questioned.
Lisa Helmer
Annandale