Schools must allow five excused absences for farm work
As harvest season approaches, it’s now easier for North Carolina farm families to pull their kids out of school to help with work on the farm.
The North Carolina State Board of Education on Sept. 3 changed its school attendance manual to reflect the realities of farm operations.
Going forward, students will be allowed miss “up to 5 days due to the immediate demands of the farm or the home in certain seasons of the year,” the manual says.
The absence will be granted if a parent or guardian provides documentation that the absence is necessary, and if school officials agree.
Approved reasons for a farm related absence include planting or harvesting, managing livestock emergencies, equipment breakdowns during planting or harvest seasons, and preparing or responding to weather emergencies on the farm, another document says.
The attendance changes were included in the state budget which Gov. Josh Stein signed in July.
Students who also participate in agricultural or equestrian events will have time for that too.
Schools must grant two excused absences per academic year for these events, the attendance manual says.
Overall, these changes are designed to streamline attendance rules across the state.
“We’re a major agricultural state, Sue Gray, executive director of the North Carolina Horse Council, told The News & Observer. “We have a lot of youth involved in those activities, and what we found, or what our membership and everyone was telling us, is that some school principals would allow an excused absence to be able to show or present your livestock at an event, and other school principals would not.”
Other states have rules relating to school absences related to farm work.
In Pennsylvania, for example, students can receive a “Farm and Domestic Permit,” which provides exceptions to mandatory school attendance for “farm work or formal employment in domestic service.”
And in Ohio, students 14 and older can be excused for a maximum of 30 school hours for farm work. Additional time can be granted upon review.