Should Seniors be Allowed to Skip School?

Graduation from high school is a rite of passage that signals passing from adolescence into the adult world. Life does not end after high school, but signals the beginning of many years as a contributing member of society. Many times, as part of this celebration, seniors have a tendency to skip classes and school days. School administrators frequently recommend that school boards adopt strict attendance policies for high school seniors. These policies limit their absences in the last month of school in order to be eligible for participation in graduation ceremonies. This policy statement will support greater leniency for requirements to participate in graduation ceremonies.

School board members support the policy of enforcing strict attendance policies in order to participate in graduation ceremonies based the viewpoint that it encourages seniors to attend school regularly and to act appropriately at the graduation exercises. This raises the question of what student has learned. If they have not learned appropriate behavior at formal ceremonies, it is doubtful that they will learn to do so in the last month of school.

At this point in their life, students have already passed their exams and met all of the other requirements for graduation. A strict policy on attendance during the last month of their endeavors is to negate the hard work that they have done up to this point. It is like saying to them, "You have worked hard and the school is proud of you, but you are now going to be treated as if you failed." Not being able to participate in graduation exercises not only has a significant impact on the student socially and emotionally, it could affect their future educational and job prospects, particularly if someone...

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...sition time into the adult world. The traditions and rituals associated with it are an important part of making the transition emotionally, including senior skip days. When one considers the consequences of the policies and the potential harm that they could cause in the future, these policies appear to be damaging, potentially both to the school and to the student. Graduation is a time to focus on the future and to start making a mental shift into the rest of their life. It is a time for making decisions that will affect the rest of their lives and punishing them for making a choice that is best for their adult lives, rather than participating in a one day ceremony is counterintuitive to the purpose of the educational process. The last act that the school can do for the student is to allow them to begin the process of making adult decisions as an adult.