Crazy Connecticut Schools

I was reading this article in the news today that said that about 2,000 students, mostly high schoolers, in Connecticut (out of a total student population of 18, 200 so that's alot) are going to be held back and forced to repeat a grade because of unexcused absenses. This is the part that got me:

"Although parents continue to submit end-of-year notes in an attempt to excuse students for months at a time, the notes are ineffective because the new policy only accepts doctors' notes if the doctor identifies a critical or chronic illness, and if the note is handed over immediately when the student returns to school."

So the schools are playing doctor now. They decide whether a student is sick enough to miss school. If I were a parent in Connecticut schools I wouldn't want sick, possibly contagious kids coming to school and infecting my kid. Furthermore, how can they expect sick kids to pay attention and learn anything if they are so sick that even their doctor says they should stay home. Not to mention the parents who will not take their kid to the doctor and just send them to school despite sickness because they don't want to risk the doctor telling them they just have the flu or a minor illness that doesn't "qualify" with the school for an excused absence. By the time you get in to see the doctor they've already missed school, so the parents would be taking a risk.

I remember going to school sick as a dog because my parents couldn't afford doctor's visit fees since we didn't have insurance. I guess Connecticut is just trying to level the playing field so that it isn't just the poor kids going to school sick.