Voting, booking hotels and creating doctors’ appointments are all privileges once a person turns 18. At FHS, students also have the opportunity to assume responsibility for themselves; it is known as Age of Majority.

“Students can achieve Age of Majority when they turn 18,” Principal Mark Suchowski said. “If they sign paperwork saying they are going to take responsibility as an adult for themselves.. The good news is, if you are a student who lives in a single parent household and that one parent is busy you can assume responsibility as an adult. The down side to that agreement is ‘you’re the man.’”

Other than calling yourself out of class for sickness or other reasons, there are some wrong restrictions against Age of Majority.

“If you sign that paperwork and you want to be able to call yourself in sick you can do that,” Suchowski said. “If you are sick five days, on day six a parent or legal guardian must excuse the absences. If you are Age of Majority the contract is says you have to call in each day of being called out to make sure it’s excused because now we are dealing with you as the individual, there is no one behind you to supervise. During the middle of the day if you sign yourself out, we have to call someone on your emergency contact to make sure you are okay. Even though you sign the paperwork, you still have to check in with someone so they know you are going home. It allows you to assume responsibility as yourself as the adult, but it also then says that your parents can’t argue for you if you get in trouble.”

Age of Majority forms are available in the main office for students who are 18.