Many students at DHS are suffering from headaches, runny noses and sore throats. Students frantically search for the Kleenex box in every classroom and pass around bags of cough drops almost as fast as they can pass around the flu.
When students are sick, the best thing for them to do is stay home, take a nap and binge-watch Friends until they feel better. Even so, many students still attend school when they’re sick.
This isn’t always the student’s choice. Many parents discourage kids from staying home sick.The mentality many parents hold is that a student’s grades always come first. While this is true in most situations, but students should be allowed to take care of their health first and can make up their assignments when they return to school.
Another reason students come to school sick is the fact that it is very difficult to get sent home by the nurse without having a 100 degree fever, and many parents aren’t willing to sign their students out at their request. It’s possible to feel terrible and be contagious without having a 100 degree fever. While this policy is designed to keep students from faking sick, by high school, if students decide to recreate the plot of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, then they will have to face the consequences themselves. Most students aren’t willing to go through the stress of making up missed assignments unless they truly need a sick day.
There are also very strict attendance restrictions set for eligibility for gold and platinum cards. Many students would rather sniffle through a week of class than have their privileges taken away. If students can keep their GPA above the requirement, then they should be allowed more absences, as long as these absences are excused. Even in extreme cases, like students missing school because they are in the hospital, no exceptions are made. The policy is designed to keep students from skipping school, not from staying home sick.  A solution to the strict absence requirement would be to allow students to request exemptions and to explain the reason for the absence. Students should not be punished for taking care of their health.