WHEREAS    the current attendance policy of the Public Schools Branch states "that regular and punctual attendance at school is imperative for educational success. Students are expected to be in school each day unless ill or unable to attend due to an unavoidable circumstance," and

WHEREAS    procedures to address absences include calls to parents and letters of notification that get sent out after five, ten, fifteen and twenty days of missed class, with reporting to child protection triggered by higher rates of school absence, and 

WHEREAS    this policy limits parental discretion to keep their children home for reasons they consider valid, including students' mental health, which may not be an illness or an unavoidable circumstance, and

WHEREAS    mental health issues are prevalent in Prince Edward Island, and

WHEREAS    numerous mental health initiatives have been implemented in schools and communities to assist youth and their families, and 

WHEREAS    taking an occasional "mental health day" for self-care is becoming increasingly acceptable among workplace absenteeism policies, and 

WHEREAS    many school attendance policies omit or do not expressly refer to absenteeism due to student mental health issues, and

WHEREAS    openly talking about mental health helps to reduce mental health stigma;

BE IT RESOLVED that the PEI Home and School Federation encourages the Public Schools Branch to revise student absentee policies to better support parents' discretion about their children's best interests and to expressly include mental health days.