PLEASE READ THOROUGHLY!!

I lay in my bed on a Tuesday morning with a fever of 104, but instead of staying in bed and getting the rest I not only deserve but need, I find myself getting out of bed and into the shower to get ready for school. Now, at school, I feel nothing but insecurity flow through my veins as I cough and sneeze every second. The feeling that all the eyes of my peers are on me, pains me like a thousand needles. But there is nothing I can do. If I had stayed home today, I would've been forced to take another standardized mindless test. This is the future of the students of Coppell High School, according to the new rules being enforced next semester.

Students in on-level classes are told they must maintain around an 80 or above if they have three unexcused and/or excused absences, students in honors have to maintain a 90, and students in AP/IB classes must maintain a 95 or above. Keeping an 80 in an on-level class is no challenge for most, the classes are meant to have a simple workload and easy curriculum, but the same cannot be said for honors and AP/IB classes. Why punish the kids who have already chosen a more challenging pathway even further? Is there a way to opt out? There is if you plan on taking the test for the AP/IB, but also consider that to take an AP exam, you must pay $100 for every test taken, and for IB, it's around $190. Most students at public schools come from struggling households, why should they be punished because they wanted to be in a class that would challenge them and hopefully help them succeed in the future? In my case, I am taking all the exams for my AP/IB classes, so adding all the fees up, including the money I paid for extracurriculars, the total is $1200. That is not pocket change for many, rather, it's months and months of hard work, and our school needs to understand that. Even if I forget the materialistic aspects of this rule, I bring my attention to the mental aspects. My mental comes first above all, with the constant pressure that I face as a junior in high school, I do not want more added to it. I deserve to be sick on my terms; I deserve to be able to leave school for personal reasons every once in a while, without the guilt weighing on my shoulders that I should be at school right now. School is a part of who I am, not my entire being, and the educators of Coppell High School need to understand that. 

Whether you are a student or parent of a student, your life will change because of these new rules, and believe me when I say it is not for the better. Please ACT NOW if you wish to see a change. Please sign this petition and share it on every social media platform. These rules will go into play soon; before that, we must stop them. Thank you so much for your help, and let's hope we get what we deserve. Never settle for less. 

THE GOAL is not to completely give up the entire semester exam policy, but rather, I wish for the educators to take into account that many students in higher level classes have continued to work hard, and forcing unjust rules deepens the pressure that they carry day to day. I understand that this policy is to help fund the school but pushing students into a corner is not the way to go about it, especially for students who have already worked incredibly hard for what they have today,  

If you see any incorrect information, please let me know, and I will edit it. I am still learning about all the new rules. Thank you!