Managing extended school absence in LISD (Lewisville: get credit, home, transfer)

[123champ]

My wife and I have to go on a 2-3 week international trip in early December, which cannot be avoided. We have no choice but to take our daughter along ... there is no option to leave her behind with someone.

Our daugther is in the Lewisville Independent School District, and LISD/TX laws state that she can't miss school for more than 3 continuous days. The Principal is willing to make an exception for upto a week, but that won't be enough.

What are our options?

We thought of withdrawing from school and enrolling back again in January ... but in doing so, we have to show proof that she was schooled during that one month; else she loses a school year.
Even if showing such proof were possible, two other complicating factors are that (i) our home address was recently rezoned and (ii) our daughter attends the LEAP program ... and when we re-enroll, we don't want to end up in a different school or out of the LEAP program.

Thoughts?

[mSooner]

Rough situation--if it is December, though, perhaps she will be on break for at least a week? Is there any way you can restructure your trip so it falls over the break?

[MurphyPl1]

Or do the trip and accept that you will likely return to truancy charges. At which point you can request a hearing before a judge and plead your case.

[loves2read]

I think either you or I are misunderstanding the law regarding absences--

your daughter CAN be absent for more than 3 days--
but there are rules regarding whether that absence is excused or unexcused and how you ensure that her work is up to date and whether or not she has to do makeup attendance time for the absence
if there was death in family out of town and you had to be gone for more than 3 days that would be an allowed absense--they would not turn you over to the truancy police or anything--but you would be required to show proof of why she was out of school and depending on the school/state policy she might have to do makeup time for attendance before or after school--
a child can be home sick for three days with excused absence and if s/he is out sick longer than that there will have to be a doctor's note attesting to the illness--IF the child cannot/does not bring in doctor's note then the time out is considered UNEXCUSED--and that means the time has to be made up in before/after school attendance halls
if the student does not make up that time--it accrues and with enough unexcused absences a student does not get credit for completing that grade--
has to repeat based on lack of attendance
that is what you were referring to when you said if you withdrew her from school you would have to show proof of attendance

but in TX it is very easy to do home-schooling--you have enough time you could easily prepare for that and actually coordinate with her teachers next year some special projects/work that would tie in to what her class was doing while she was gone...
don't know what that would do to the LEAP program except make her requalify for admission which might be very, very difficult


regarding your rezoning--that should take effect when she returns to school in August I imagine--
Don't how the LEAP program operates within the district--
Do the rules of the LEAP program allow her to continue going to a school that she is not zoned for to attend that program or will she have to be reassigned to LEAP at her new school?
In HEB--when a student is certified at G/T and transfers to another school or is rezoned (which does not happen that often) s/he is still G/T certified--they just do those classes at new school...

[123champ]

Thank you all for the suggestions.

Loves2read - since this is recognized as a planned absence, I am not sure it would be treated as 'excused', like a death in family or sickness. At best, this may be treated as a vacation, i.e. an unexcused absence.
I will look into the home schooling option and its repercussions.

mSooner - We already tried pushing out the trip to Christmas ... looks unlikely :-(

[loves2read]

r u sure there is no one you can leave your daughter with while you are gone?
no relative from out of town that could come in and stay with her