Ferris: You don't need a day off

If Ferris Bueller taught us anything, it's that kids will take advantage of any chance they can to skip school to enjoy a beautiful day. Bueller, star of the 1986 movie, "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," was absent nine times his senior year -- much to the surprise of his mother, who had just allowed her son to stay home after some mysterious, albeit fake, illness.

Ed Rooney, the dean of students who delivered the news of this blatant abuse -- nine times, he repeats -- was the villain in this movie, spending his day trying to catch Ferris in the act, while the wayward teen makes the best of it in downtown Chicago.

Today, in Greeley-Evans School District 6, Mr. Rooney might make a strong comeback.

District 6 officials are contemplating an attendance policy that would prompt a meeting with parents of children who have had four excused absences in a month or 10 in a year.

We know. They're excused absences. But as Ferris teaches us, a lot of times, parents have no clue.

Youngsters are an inventive lot. They'll spend hours perfecting that specific loop in mom's signature. They'll go online and find the perfect excuse note.

And if there's an attendance policy that actually allows kids to get away with a set number of excused absences -- take it from this editorial board, one of whom spent much of her senior year passing forged notes to hang out at the Boulder Reservoir -- they'll take every bit they can get away with.

School district officials believe that some parents are enabling their children by allowing them to stay home from school. For the most part, we think parents who actually excuse absences probably have a darned good reason, and we're in no position to question parenting techniques.

We think that involved parents would already be in contact with their schools if their students were accumulating multiple days away from the classroom.

The school board has considered defining excused absences as ones due to temporary illness and injury, requiring advance notice of excused absences and requiring verification of a student's excused absence, such as a doctor's note, "when appropriate." Any parent who knows what's going on with his or her child should not be against such a plan.

But, in the case of that inventive child, we say that District 6 -- and the students -- could only win by sitting down with parents to discuss the situations.

Ferris is an extreme example, but we all know -- however much we hate to admit it -- Mr. Rooney was right: Students need to be in school.

What's next

»The Greeley-Evans District 6 school board will discuss changes to its attendance policy at 7 p.m. Monday in the board room at 1025 9th Ave. in Greeley. The board is considering requiring a parent meeting when children have four excused absences in a month or 10 in a year.

What do you think of the proposed attendance policy changes? We'd like to know your opinion.