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Parents urge board to revisit policy allowing student-generated absence excuses
Summary
Multiple parents and community members told the Quincy School Board they want Policy 3122P rewritten to remove language that lets students ages 13–18 submit absence excuses without parental notification; board members agreed to add the item to a future work session.
Four public speakers urged the Quincy School Board on March 1 to review Policy 3122P, which governs excused and unexcused absences, saying the policy gives students aged 13–18 too much ability to excuse their own absences without informing parents.
Why it matters: Speakers said the change reduces parental knowledge of potentially serious issues, and they asked the board to use its policy authority to restore parent notification. Board leadership responded that the item will be scheduled for further review at a future work session.
At the start of public comment, Ryan Vandelych, a parent, said the district "chose to facilitate a way to prevent parents from being informed" and warned that "state wants to be the parent and eliminate the rights of the parents" when students are at school. He asked the board to "stand up for parents' rights" and to "keep the control in local hands."
Megan Higgins, a library technician who said she currently works at Mountain View, spoke in support of staff and did not raise the policy issue but offered positive testimony about school personnel.
Carol Van Dyke, another parent, spoke specifically about paragraph A on parental notification in Policy 3122P and asked the board to "review and repeal the last half of the paragraph referring to student generated excuses by a 13 through 18 year old." Van Dyke told the board that while RCWs (Washington state laws) grant confidentiality to students and providers in certain health matters, "there is no mention of schools being given that authority" to accept student-generated excuses that keep parents uninformed.
Board response: During the leadership report the board president said the concern had been noted and that the item should be added to future topics for review. The president and other members indicated that tonight was not the proper time to debate or adopt changes, but agreed to bring the topic to a future work session where the board can examine the policy language and state law alignment.
Next steps: Board leadership said staff will add the policy and its procedure to the board’s future-topics calendar so the full board can review the policy language and any statutory constraints before considering revisions.
