: This will vary from school to school, and from state to state, both in
: how much leeway the teacher or principal has and in how willing they are
: (if they DO have the leeway) to excuse absences. Some will accept
: absolutely NO excuse but illness or family funeral, others will
: negotiate for excused absences for family vacations or other reasons.

This really surprised me actually when my SS came to live with us 2 years
ago. He's been at 4 different schools now (all same district), and they
will "excuse" absences for *any* reason--you don't even have to give a
reason--as long as the parent calls in to let them know the child is absent,
it's considered "excused." There have been many occasions when I've
forgotten to call in, or he's missed the bus and his dad couldn't take him
to school, and they actually call *us* to find out why he's not at school.
"Missing the bus" seems to be a perfectly acceptable excuse. But he only
misses maybe once a month, so maybe that's why they're not too concerned
about it.
--
ColoradoSkiBum