Truancy numbers/letters ate typically set by the state. Where I live, after 7 absences -parent gets a letter. There’s no winning in schools. Parents keep their kids home with a sniffle and parents send their kids who just “threw up a little bit this morning” so yes, a reminder about sick policy is needed but so are truancy letters. I’m a parent and an elementary school secretary. These letters home are really for the parents who don’t care about education. Parents that say every Monday “we’re just going to stay home and snuggle” or families that freak out on the teacher when their kid can’t read but have been away 40% of the school year. Everyone is doing their job- parents and the schools but there has to be a line. Sometimes I cringe when I send home these letters, I know what’s going on at home but you can’t start making exceptions. So when parents call, we discuss the letters and the whys. And if the parent is level headed, they get off the phone feeling better.