Flu outbreaks bring up school attendance questions

The recent outbreak of a flu-like virus kept thousands of Southeast Missouri students out of school during the past month, sending absentee rates skyrocketing and causing some parents to question the fairness of local school districts' attendance policies. The attendance policies upheld in the Cape Girardeau, Jackson and Scott City school districts vary in the number of days students are allowed to miss, but each district has stiff penalties for students who exceed the limit. For more on this story, read Thursday's Southeast Missourian.