Students suspended

Students were suspended in Ennis for three days for participating in walk-out protests last week against US immigration policy.
About 23 seniors were blocked from going to their senior prom on Saturday. That's understandable in my mind. If you're suspended, you're suspended. The school told the students they would be suspended if they participated in protests. They warned the students and then the students wanted to get upset. I don't think they have a right to be upset when they were warned.
But I'm wondering about the district's policy. Should a student be suspended because they skip school?
According to state law, a student may have 10 unexcused absences within a school year.
Let's say a white student decided to skip school on Thursday to stay home and play X-Box, would they be suspended for three days?
Or what if an Hispanic student decided to skip school and visit a friend at college?
My editor said the district's policy is that anytime a student skips school they are suspended for three days.
So here's a thought/question... if a student skips one day - the school automatically says, you're suspended for three days. Where's the logic in that? "We don't want them skipping school, so we're going to suspend them from coming to school."
Do you really think a student who skipped school in the first place is going to feel punished because they missed three additional days?
I may be miss-understanding the rule here, but if a student is suspended for three days, does that count as an unexcused or excused absence. In other words, could a student skip 10 days and get 30 days of excused absences?
Am I missing something here? Let me know if I am.