As school starts back up, students will again try to exaggerate their small coughs into a disease severe enough to warrant the highly sought-after sick day.

According to research released Tuesday by the Ad Council, about half of parents think it’s okay for their child to miss three or more days of school per month. The official definition of “chronically absent” is a student who misses two or more school days per month, meaning that more than half of parents think it’s okay for their child to be chronically absent.

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