In nearly half of the states, including Idaho, Nevada, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Utah, the definition of excused absences is not broad enough to include pregnant students and parents (Kenney) . This fact typically means that schools are allowed to develop confusing policies that are vague and often chastise the student because absences are not excused, even in the case of the birth of a child. It doesn't take a mechanical engineer to calculate the outcome for pregnant students facing these situations. They are essentially fighting an uphill battle in this scenario that, unfortunately, plays out in high school classrooms across the nation. Students in high school work for various reasons, whether it's to buy a car, buy the new album on iTunes, or have money to go out with friends. While most high school students are able to balance school and work effectively and still succeed on both fronts, unfortunately, students are dropping out of school to work so they can earn money to help their families in astonishing numbers . Using data from the 2008-2012 American Community Survey, researchers at the Urban Institute found that nearly a third of the 563,000 teen dropouts left school to work (Douglas-Gabriel p..