The Corona Norco Unified School District has several policies when it comes to the absence of students. Students are legally permitted to show up to school five days a week, under the exception of a few absences due to sickness, an appointment, or a school trip or function (such as sports). If a student is gone because of illness or a doctoral appointment, their parent or guardian is required to notify the attendance office about it.

However, many students in the past have pretended to call in sick in order to skip school or a certain class. The district clarifies that unexcused absences (truancies) are under the following: Vacations, car trouble, oversleeping, birthdays, parent illness, or skipping classes. Students are also unable to just call in sick from home after a certain number of days, and a parent or guardian needs to provide administration with a doctor’s note.

Luckily, there is an option to take credited days off from school called independent study. If a student is traveling far from home, they can get a form signed by their teachers and administrators to legally be away from campus. The student is required to then complete work on their own time while they are absent, and they must return with their work finished, and all criteria must be met for their days to be cleared.

“It’s definitely stressful doing like so much work while on vacation, however, it´s all worth it in the end for sure… I´d much rather do that than call in sick a lot,” shares Ellie Pascual, a CNUSD student who has taken an independent study for vacation.

Unfortunately, the district isn´t lenient about its attendance policies, and there aren´t any exceptions for things such as family matters or funerals. These rules apply to both year-round school and summer school.

“I understand that we need to be in school, but I feel like it’s unrealistic for every student to come to school disregarding personal events at home… There should be more exceptions and more options,” says Cynthia Liew, a sophomore here at ERHS.