Board of Education Policy Manual
Number:	JB
Title:	Attendance
Status:	Active
Created:	06/20/1995
Updated:	10/09/2007
Legal:	O.C.G.A. §20-2-697
Last Reviewed:

Policy Detail

The parents/guardians/other persons having charge of any child between the child’s sixth and sixteenth birthdays are subject to “compulsory attendance”. That is, they are required by law to enroll and send such child to a public or private school or utilize a home study program. Students assigned to alternative schools are subject to this requirement as well.
All K-12 children enrolled for 20 school days or more in a public school of this state prior to their sixth birthday become subject to compulsory attendance.
Georgia law, in O.C.G.A. § 20-2-690.1, states that a person who fails to send a child to school may be charged with a misdemeanor. For each offense of the statute, a court may subject this person to a fine not less than $25.00 and not greater than $100.00, imprisonment not to exceed thirty (30) days, community service, or any combination of such penalties. Each day's absence after the school notifies the person of five unexcused days of absence shall be considered a separate offense of the statute.
For the purposes of this Policy, a child between his/her sixth and sixteenth birthdays shall be considered truant if the child has more than five days of unexcused absences in a school year. A truant student may be subject to a disposition for an unruly child in accordance with O.C.G.A. § 15-11-67, as well as the possible denial or suspension of a driver’s license.
Parents/guardians/enrolling persons should review Policy JCDA (Behavior Code) for more information regarding truancy/attendance procedures, legal consequences and school discipline for attendance violations.
The following procedures should be observed in regard to attendance of students:

A. Absences and Excuses
a. Students may be temporarily excused from school for any of the reasons allowed by state law and State Board of Education Rules. Such reasons include, at a minimum:
i. Personal illness where the student’s health or the health of others is endangered;
ii. A serious illness or death in a student’s immediate family;
iii. A court order or an order by a governmental agency, including pre-induction physical examinations for service in the armed forces;
iv. Observing religious holidays, necessitating absence from school;
v. Conditions rendering attendance impossible or hazardous to student health or safety;
vi. An absence not to exceed one day in order to register to vote or to vote in a public election; and
vii. A maximum of five school days per school year for visitation if a student has a parent or legal guardian that is in military service in the armed forces of the United States or the National Guard, and such parent or legal guardian has been called to duty for or is on leave from overseas deployment to a combat zone or combat support posting.
b. Children who are serving as pages of the Georgia General Assembly shall be marked as present by the school for days missed for this purpose in the same manner as students on a field trip.
c. Students are required to provide documentation supporting their absence as excused. At a minimum, the parent/guardian/enrolling person must submit a written excuse explaining the reason(s) for the absence. Schools may request, among other documentation, a letter written by a licensed physician explaining the reasons for the absences. Failure to submit a written excuse within two schools days of the student’s return to school after an absence may result in the absence being marked as unexcused.
d. School days missed as a result of an out-of-school suspension shall not count as unexcused days for the purpose of determining student truancy.
e. Individual students who have emergencies or appointments necessitating their absence from school for a portion of the school day must have been present for one-half of the instructional day in order to be counted present. Students must be counted as present in order to be eligible to engage in extra-curricular activities on that day.
B. Make-up Work
a. Students should be allowed to make-up missed assignments and final course grades of students shall not be penalized because of absences if the following conditions are met:
i. Absences are justified and validated for excusable reasons; and
ii. Make-up work for excused absences was completed satisfactorily; and
iii. Students must have requested make-up work within 2 days of returning to school after an excused absence.
b. Schools are not required to provide make-up work for unexcused absences.
C. Notification
a. Schools will provide to the parent/guardian/enrolling person a written summary of possible consequences and penalties for failing to comply with compulsory attendance.
i. By September 1 of each school year or within 30 school days of a student’s enrollment in the school system, the parent/guardian/other person having control or charge of such student shall sign a statement indicating receipt of such written statement of possible consequences and penalties.
ii. Students age ten or older by September 1 shall sign a statement indicating receipt of written statement of possible consequences for non-compliance to the School System’s policy.
b. The school will notify the parent/guardian/other person who has control or charge of the student when the student has five (5) unexcused absences. The notice will outline the penalty and consequences of such absences and that each subsequent absence shall constitute a separate offense. After two reasonable attempts to notify the parent/guardian/other person who has charge of the student, the school system shall send written notice via certified mail with return receipt requested;
c. The Superintendent or the Superintendent’s designee will use his or her best efforts including first class mail to notify a student age fourteen and older when the student has only three (3) absences remaining before violating the state’s attendance requirements regarding the denial of driver’s permits and licenses.
D. Excessive Absences
a. All schools should keep daily attendance records verified by the teacher making such records. The reports are open to inspection by the school social worker or duly authorized representative at any time during the school day.
b. All schools, and the Administrative Assistant, Operations, should provide the school social worker or duly authorized representative the names, ages, and residence of all students enrolled at their schools, or enrolled in a home study program, who have violated the attendance policy or who exhibit a pattern of attendance that will lead to excessive absences.
c. School administrators and/or the Administrative Assistant, Operations may make a referral to a school social worker or duly authorized representative at any time it is deemed appropriate. Truancy may also result in referral to appropriate law enforcement or court authorities at any time.
d. The school social worker or duly authorized representative may initiate additional contacts with parents/guardians/enrolling persons if deemed necessary to address attendance issues.




Created on 10/12/2007 at 06:05 AM by Kendra Young. Last update on 11/05/2007 by Diane May.