There was a time when schools used to call the parents to make sure the kids were at home sick if they were marked absent. I guess some schools don’t do this anymore. A 7 y/o boy is missing in Oregon after having arrived at school, but was marked ‘absent’ with no one noticing. All those hours that poor boy was missing... with no one knowing. Yet another bill needs to be passed to ensure that schools check on “missing”/”absent” kids to be sure they are home sick. What a no-brainer. Absolutely unacceptable!
I don’t know what the policies are anymore. When I taught (but it was high school) getting a working and correct phone number to call parents was very difficult. I would often spend hours making phone calls and still not get anyone.
Our kids’ school calls us around 6pm to let us know that our child was absent from school that day. My husband and I just roll our eyes at the absurdity.