At last week’s New Paltz School Board meeting, trustees discussed another request to excuse the absences of students attending an upcoming climate strike. This was granted once and denied the second time, and board members now seem to have decided that they will not be excusing absences again. In addition to questions about liability and the authority to excuse an absence for activism, board members generally agreed that it’s not a protest if there are no consequences.
Sophia Skiles and Glenn LaPolt both want to support these strikes in some way, but excusing absences is not in the cards. Bianca Tanis said she was glad children are advocating on this important issue, “but they don’t need our permission to do that.” She raised the question of whether such an excuse would be legal and wondered about the downside. “An absence is not a heavy cross to bear,” she said.
Skiles noted that up until now there has been no consistency, especially if the protest-like March for our Lives event in 2018, which took place entirely on school property behind a cordon of police officers not even authorized to allow reporters free access, was taken into account.
“Once we give our consent, it’s not a strike,” said Michael O’Donnell.
Skiles agreed, saying, “Otherwise, it’s a field trip.”
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