The North Carolina General Assembly’s General Statute 115C-378, entitled the Compulsory Attendance Law, makes parents and legal guardians responsible and accountable to insure that their children’s absences from school are valid. One type of excused absence is for a valid educational opportunity that is approved by the school prior to the absence. This request should be made as far in advance as possible. The principal or designee can deny the request if the cumulative effect of such absence would substantially interfere with the education of the student or based on the student’s current attendance records.
In order for an excused absence for an educational opportunity to be approved, the intent of the experience should have been educational from the outset and comparable to that which the student would have experienced in school. Family trips and vacations that were not designed, initially, to be educational will not be excused. Signing this form documents that this absence is for valid educational purposes.