The tardy issue came with a mid 19th century request from the National Association of Manufacturers to give kids a foundation for the Industrial Age where time is important. It has now gone to just being silly.

Maplewood, N.j. --- One elementary school has a five minute window where kids can be admitted to the building at the start of day. Same district (where I live) -- some parents have elementary school kids in two different schools. They have gotten warning letters from authorities about their kids being late.

Now mostly state wide -- if a kid reaches 18 absences in a course, the kid automatically fails. Even if the kid could
pass any exam in the course. This has never been challenged as being arbitrary. What educational studies support 18 as being the magic number?

i dont think it was an accident that she almost didnt get into the gifted high schools she applied to when the attendance officer 'misplaced' a decimal point in her records, making it look like she missed 40 days of school. actual number was 3.5. all excused.

thank ja i was an active parent and when we figured it out, the principle got on the phone and called the one she rly wanted, and got her in.

shame, tho. she should have had her pick, but we didnt figure it out till the last minute.
she ended up in a school that was an hour plus commute.
things would have turned out a lot different at either of the ones that was half that.

You get better distance if you hold them by the feet and swing around a couple of times to get the energy going.