Many of us understand the problematic situation of waking up to school early, and suddenly realizing that you are sick in the stomach, head, or another body part pertaining to a simple illness. It’s first the feeling of confusion, wondering how this happened and what to do about your sudden illness. Then it’s a jubilant feeling, realizing that today, for you specifically, is a no-school day, meaning no stress, no work, and of course, no classes. But then all those overwhelming come crashing down, in the frustrating realization that in order to prove you are sick to the school attendance system, you need to travel all the way to your specific doctor’s office and collect a note, a commute that takes up time in a schedule that sometimes many people don’t a moment to do. This is the exasperating school system that forces students to collect doctor’s notes for simple illnesses that don’t require severe medical treatment, and students Pippa Jiranek, Kiera Van Es, Ellie Fortuin, Cassie McCabe, Reese Testa, Anna Theophilos, Jossylyn Grabowski, Meghan O’Neil, Clara Reive, Kate Shulte, and Morgan O’Connor have used this topic as an opportunity to pursue it as their civics project.

In order to gain background knowledge on this topic, the group researched the official Hingham High School Handbook, a pamphlet containing information regarding different rules and passed ideas that restrict the students attending Hingham high school, inducing the attendance policy. The information and rules concerning the attendance policy are compromised of:

• Each student is to 5 unexcused absences per term
• The Hingham High Student Handbook mentions that absences can be excused with a note from a parent, guardian, or other signature of authority for these reasons: medical (with a note from a student’s doctor), religious holidays, funerals, bereavement for the death of an immediate family member Legal (with documentation from a court, lawyer, etc.), 2 days for a school-sponsored field trip per term, college visits – 3 days during a student’s junior year and 3 days during a student’s senior year (advance consultation with the HHS counselor is necessary and documentation from the college on school stationery after the visit is required – emails are not acceptable), other exceptional reasons with the approval of the Principal or designee
• If a student is tardy for more than ten minutes of a class period or is dismissed with more than ten minutes remaining in a class period, the student will be considered absent from that class for the day for attendance purposes.
• Six absences in a course in one term will lead to no credit (N) in that course for the term. For second-semester seniors, four absences in a course in the fourth term will lead to no credit (N) in that course for the term.
• For courses that meet every other day, students will lose credit on the 17 fourth absence. For second-semester seniors, two absences in a course in the fourth term will lead to no credit (N) in that course for the term.
• For courses that meet for double or triple periods for every class meeting,
  a student’s absence will be counted as only one per day.
• For courses that meet eight periods per cycle, a student’s absence on a lab day will be counted. Since there are approximately one-third more classes, eight (8) absences in the course in one term will cause no credit (N) in that course for the term. For second-semester seniors, five absences in the fourth term will lead to no credit (N) in that course for the term.
• Two school-sponsored field trips each term will not be counted in the total number of absences leading to no credit if the student has the prior permission of the teacher(s) whose class(es) they will miss attending the school-sponsored activity.
• Teachers may refuse to sign a permission slip if the student’s academic performance in that class is below average. If a student attends a field trip without the permission of a teacher, that absence will be counted as a class absence. It is the student’s responsibility to make up any work missed due to a field trip.
• These rules stand up for a relatively reasonable cost, but also unnecessarily pressure a student in several different ways that can worsen a sickness or a simple illness. The group working on the topic of removing the rule of doctor’s notes compiled a list of reasons for how the pressure of attending school sick and receiving a doctor’s note affects a student, for example: personal experience with this issue, some parents cannot take off work to take their children to the doctors, visits to the doctor can be too expensive, especially if people don’t have insurance, students with a sickness that cannot afford a trip to the doctor might have to go to school which can spread their sickness, affects participation in specific clubs (Mentor group, Stuco, GCP, etc.), some students experience anxiety over missing lectures and dealing with make-up work, students may miss school for a personal reason excluded from the excused absence exceptions and lose credit for a class, may not be the fault of a student for being tardy or absent, students should be warranted a mental health day with the current generation’s increased levels of anxiety and depression due to school, in addition to the stress our specific school system imposes on its students

To prove their point of how the doctor’s note rule affects student life and their ability to take care of themselves when they are ill, the civics project group interviewed Ms. Griffin, an employee at Hingham High School who is frequently concerned about herself collecting these notes from students, to collect background information on how the process of asking and receiving a doctor’s note from a student works.

The last step of the group’s research process included gathering personal information from their peers and classmates in order to determine the extent that the problem reaches the school community. Three main categories of the doctor’s note issue were pursued. Sophomore Pippa Jirank was interviewed after she struggled with the school attendance system after she received surgery on her leg and was required to miss days of school. Then Sophomore Morgan O’Connor was interviewed about how contracting Covid-19 led to days of missed school and lots of newfound anxiety as the pressure to receive credit from attendance grew. And lastly, sophomore Meghan O’Neil was interviewed to determine how the doctor’s note policy has affected athletes and the number of games they are allowed to attend after being pursued by the rules.

Interview with Pippa Jiranek:

[Cassie McCabe]: Could you provide some background information as to why your doctor’s note experience was problematic? How did your inability to attend school and receive an excused absence affect your attendance record and schooling process? On a scale of 1-10, how frustrating was the pressure to receive a doctor’s note? Why?

[Pippa Jiranek]: I had surgery on my leg and was in a cast and crutches. I was out for 3 days and we forgot to get a note from the surgeon before we left the hospital. When I went back to school I noticed this and went to the office to see if I could get it excused. They told me that I needed that note so I had to ask my parents to call the hospital. There they had to chase down my surgeon just to get a note so that I wouldn’t lose credit for my classes. The whole process took about a week and during that week I was swamped with makeup work and exhausted from trying to get around the school on crutches. On top of all of my makeup work, the pressure to get the note added to my stress which was probably an 8.

Interview with Morgan O’Connor:

[Cassie McCabe]: Could you provide some background information as to why your doctor’s note experience was problematic?

[Morgan O’Connor]: One time I went to a doctor appt an hour away and after the appointment, I left without a note. I got very stressed because I would return to school with no note and it took a long time for my mom to get a hold of the doctor. After he emailed it to my mom she had to send it over and it took the whole day

[Cassie McCabe]: How did your inability to attend school and receive an excused absence affect your mental health?

[Morgan O’Connor]: When I have to miss school due to being sick I get very overwhelmed because I do not feel well and I am expected to make up work. Also having an absence from school can be very stressful because I feel like my reason does not look good enough if I do not have it excused. This makes me anxious and really makes my mental health decay

[Cassie McCabe]: On a scale of 1-10, how frustrating was the pressure to receive a doctor’s note? Why?

[Morgan O’Connor]: It is 8 out of 10 stressful to get a doctor note because the entire time I’m at the doctor where I should focus on my physical or mental health my brain is focused on making sure I ask for a note and that the appointment is fast so I do not miss too much school

Interview with Meghan O’Neil:

[Cassie McCabe]: Could you provide some background information as to why your doctor’s note experience was problematic?

[Meghan O’Neil]: Occasionally, my parents will both be working in the office on the same days and since my dad works in Boston and my mom about 30 minutes away, it can be unattainable for me to get to the doctor’s office. Also, it can be repetitive to go to the doctor and spend the extra money just for them to tell me that I’m sick.

[Cassie McCabe]: How did your inability to attend school and receive an excused absence affect your participation as a student-athlete?

[Meghan O’Neil]: Because of my inability to attend school, I have much more makeup work at my tournaments than I would hope. While I’m trying to focus on my game and perform well for the college coaches, my mind is racing about what papers I have due and what homework I have to complete. If I end up missing work when I get back, like tests or quizzes, it can be extremely hard to get those done because I’m already pressed for time each night juggling practice and homework.

[Cassie McCabe]: On a scale of 1-10, how frustrating was the pressure to receive a doctor’s note? Why?

[Meghan O’Neil]: Additionally, I feel like I have to go to school on the days that I’m sick because I know I will be missing school for soccer frequently throughout the year. I feel pressure to essentially “save” my absences until I know I’ll need them.