Yeah it is more about safety... just back in the 90's and early 2000's, it was GET YOUR ARSE IN SCHOOL OR YOU FAIL! lol We had more teachers call off then kids not show.
In all honesty, I completely agree with how they do it nowadays Safety is MUCH more important and the schools when I was in school were pretty dumb for risking the safety of their students.
And that's not me just wishing that I had a free day off school. I am sure you all figured out by now that I live for school.