Attendance policy

[Anonymous]

I just got a notice from my kid's elementary school that "prolonged absences of 5 days or more require, by state law, a physician's excuse."

I'm lucky if I can get an appointment with my kid's physician within 3 months and I'm not about to take my kid to urgent care where they will get the staff sick for no medical end when they get covid or the flu. So I guess it is a maximum four day quarantine now, whether they still have symptoms or not. Or alternatively I can just live with the school vaguely threatening report me to CPS for truancy.

Anyone else pissed about this?

[Anonymous]

You can't get a sick visit for three months? Ours doesn't even let you schedule sick visits the day before you see the doctor.

[Anonymous]

Huh, if your kid is sick for 4 days you're not taking them to urgent care?

[Anonymous]

What, you don't want to pay $100 to sit in a waiting room with a bunch of even sicker people for 4 hours? Where is your sense of adventure?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just got a notice from my kid's elementary school that "prolonged absences of 5 days or more require, by state law, a physician's excuse."

I'm lucky if I can get an appointment with my kid's physician within 3 months and I'm not about to take my kid to urgent care where they will get the staff sick for no medical end when they get covid or the flu. So I guess it is a maximum four day quarantine now, whether they still have symptoms or not. Or alternatively I can just live with the school vaguely threatening report me to CPS for truancy.

Anyone else pissed about this?

Nope because my kid won't be out for more than 5 days unless they're really sick and by then we'd have been to the Dr. Have you never been to a sick appointment? They don't take months to schedule I don't understand why your panties are in a wad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can't get a sick visit for three months? Ours doesn't even let you schedule sick visits the day before you see the doctor.

OP here, our physician is terrible, I know. Partially because our insurance is terrible, but I digress.Surely I am not the only one in that situation. Seems like they are just asking for more germs to spread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Huh, if your kid is sick for 4 days you're not taking them to urgent care?

What would you expect the doctor to do if your kid has covid, tested positive at home, seems like they are doing okay but still has mild symptoms? There is nothing to do help them except rest. Doctors won't give paxlovid to low risk people that age. So, uh, yea, I see no point. Same with the flu.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can't get a sick visit for three months? Ours doesn't even let you schedule sick visits the day before you see the doctor.

OP here, our physician is terrible, I know. Partially because our insurance is terrible, but I digress.Surely I am not the only one in that situation. Seems like they are just asking for more germs to spread.

OP, our kids’ pediatrician has gotten increasingly difficult to schedule since they switched to being a Johns Hopkins office but I’ve never heard of not being able to get a sick visit for days. When we haven’t been able to get a convenient time we go to urgent care - PM Pediatrics on Rockville Pike is great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Huh, if your kid is sick for 4 days you're not taking them to urgent care?

What would you expect the doctor to do if your kid has covid, tested positive at home, seems like they are doing okay but still has mild symptoms? There is nothing to do help them except rest. Doctors won't give paxlovid to low risk people that age. So, uh, yea, I see no point. Same with the flu.

Most kids with covid recover in a day or two if not hours. If your kid is still sick after 5 days I'd absolutely take them in to the Dr. Something else is going on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can't get a sick visit for three months? Ours doesn't even let you schedule sick visits the day before you see the doctor.

OP here, our physician is terrible, I know. Partially because our insurance is terrible, but I digress.Surely I am not the only one in that situation. Seems like they are just asking for more germs to spread.

You are. I call bs on not being able to get a sick appointment for months. I don't care how crappy your insurance is.

[Anonymous]

Check with your insurance company. It's possible you have access to a telehealth provider who could cover these "my kid is sick enough they need to rest for a few days in a row, but not so sick that seeing a doctor will do anything but confirm that they just need to wait it out and yet I need a note for school anyway" scenarios.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can't get a sick visit for three months? Ours doesn't even let you schedule sick visits the day before you see the doctor.

OP here, our physician is terrible, I know. Partially because our insurance is terrible, but I digress.Surely I am not the only one in that situation. Seems like they are just asking for more germs to spread.

OP, our kids’ pediatrician has gotten increasingly difficult to schedule since they switched to being a Johns Hopkins office but I’ve never heard of not being able to get a sick visit for days. When we haven’t been able to get a convenient time we go to urgent care - PM Pediatrics on Rockville Pike is great.

I know I could do urgent care but I'm not going to if I know there is nothing the doctor can do--e.g. it's a covid or flu and they are mostly fine but still likely contagious. There is just no medical reason to go. Obviously I would do just that if I suspected strep or something treatable, but I'm not going to bother just for a school note. And lol at the previous poster claiming that all kids recover from covid in a couple days or "hours". Really surprised you all don't see the incentives problem here and/or don't mind other people needlessly sending their sick kids to school.

[Anonymous]

I agree, op. That is absurd and will basically push some parents to send their sick kids to school.

[Anonymous]

OP, you surely can see why the school would need medical documentation to support an absence of 5 days or more, can't you? This surely can't be that hard for you to comprehend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, you surely can see why the school would need medical documentation to support an absence of 5 days or more, can't you? This surely can't be that hard for you to comprehend.

No I really don't. I don't appreciate being treated like a liar and I don't think schools must function on the assumption that that is what parents are. I also don't appreciate the assumption that parents are too stupid or ill-motivated to make extremely basic medical decisions for their kid without a doctor intervening. The state of Maryland allows homeschooling next to no oversight. Yet suddenly when you enroll your kid in public schools, you are no longer trustworthy to make your own parenting decisions. I also don't buy into the naive magic-doctor theory that many on this thread seem to ascribe to. I'm all for vaccines/antibiotics/antivirals when necessary but there is just nothing a doctor can do about a lingering case of the flu/COVID/other assorted viruses. Plenty of states/schools operate fine without this requirement.

Its just comical next to their alleged concern about spreading COVID, but w/e. Clearly I am in the minority here. I at least hope the schools drop the pretense of caring about COVID spread--at least that would be consistent.