With our coldest months upon us and holiday family gatherings, diseases are just waiting to spread, so why should school put so much pressure on us when we’re already ill?

   I have a lot of friends who say their parents won’t allow them to stay home, even when it seems like they’re on the verge of death. They come to school, which infects others around them and spreads the sickness around. 

   Shouldn’t they just stay home? That’s the most responsible thing to do. Well, they would if they could. That’s because of the attendance system.

   It’s not just a problem with our school either, it’s a national issue. Kids are incredibly sick and physically cannot come in, but cannot afford to stay home because of the strict attendance policies in most American schools.

   The 2023-2024 student handbook covers the updated attendance policy.

   It states on page 24, “All absences, including those approved by parents and school officials, except those for school-sponsored activities, will count against a student’s days absent.” 

   A student can’t help when they get sick. Besides, when you need to maintain an average attendance rate of 90 percent to participate in fun events and be carefree, it can get stressful.

   I believe students should have sick days, similar to an office setting in the real world. The average full-time American worker gets eight paid sick days per year. Because we are not working adults, the situation is a bit different for us students. We should get five to six sick days that do not damage our attendance. 

   I know the administration’s worry when it comes to the possibility of students potentially abusing this to skip out of class. That’s why I believe there should also be a process they need to go through. 

   Students and parents would have the ability to pull out these sick days as long as students had a doctor’s note to confirm the sickness. Even simply a parent or guardian calling to claim one of those days in advance could work.

   Especially since our brains are still forming and school is stressful enough as it is, we deserve to have a little relaxation in regard to our attendance when we are sick.