And how do these missed days fit into the "excused absence" framework. Where I live, excused absences are only those that involve a doctor visit and written evidence to prove it.
There is NO time to attend extracurricular activities that do not coincide with the school year, and the truancy guidelines.
Around here if a parent or guardian pulls the child out of school a couple weeks before the official end date, nothing is done. Students miss school for all sorts of reasons, including family vacations, court dates, and school-sponsored trips for "enrichment" or to athletic or acadmic competitions.
Not all Fairfax schools have the same calendar. For example, the last day for Dogwood Elementary, one of the schools that does not show good results on standardized exams, was June 21 and they started again August 1. Here is the rest of this year's calendar for that school; notice the three long breaks.
[November 8th is Election Day and the schools here close for November elections.] http://www.fcps.edu/DogwoodES/
August 31 Student Holiday
September 5 Labor Day Holiday
October 6 - 10 Student Holidays and October 11 - 21 Optional Intersession
November 8 Student Holiday
November 24 - 25 Thanksgiving Holidays
December 23 - 2 January Student Holidays and January 3 - 13, 2006 Optional Intersession
January 16 King's Birthday Holiday
January 30 Student Holiday
February 20 Washington's Birthday Holiday
March 27 - April 7 Optional Intersession and April 10 - 14 Spring Vacation
May 29 Memorial Day Holiday
June 23 Last Day of School