Legal Question in Education Law in California

The school district loses revenues when your child is not in school. Therefore they are entitled to require proof of excused absences.

I do not believe that a school loses revenue for a student merely missing a single period. Furthermore, I cannot imagine how a physician's note would remedy this problem of lost revenue. It seems to be the district's idea of a deterrent for absences. (If the district has a problem with absences, then they need to explore the underlying reasons and address them.) I recommend that you contact your school board member and explain to him/her the unnecessary burden of obtain an official "excuse" for a non-frivolous medically-related absence. If, indeed, a charge is assessed for such a "note," you may wish to seek reimbursement. One obvious solution may be to get a blanket note since there are a series of scheduled orthodontics appointment, and the dentist can simply say this in the note, and give dates.