As mandated by OCGA 20-2-690.2, a county-wide Attendance Protocol Committee is established and charged with ensuring the coordination and cooperation among officials, agencies, and programs involved in compulsory education issues, to reduce the number of unexcused absences from school, and to increase the percentage of students present to take tests that are required to be administered under the laws of the state.

The protocol developed shall apply to the Dublin City and Laurens County school systems.  Private school organizations shall make their intentions known to the Superior Court Judge of whether to participate in the protocol or submit a separate protocol that meets the requirements of the State of Georgia.  It is important for credibility within the community that all local schools operate under the same, consistent student attendance expectations and protocols. All mandated reporters shall assure that students suspected of being truant are reported to designated school officials, law enforcement or DFACS.  With these expectations, the following protocol is adopted.

 

I.  Definitions:

A.  Compulsory Education:

Every parent, guardian, or other person residing within this state having control or charge of any child or children between their sixth (6^th) and sixteenth (16^th) birthdays shall enroll and send such child or children to a public school, a private school, or a home study program (OCGA 20-2-690.10).  Children that have attained 20 days enrollment in Kindergarten also fall under compulsory attendance according to O.C.G.A. 20-2-150.

B.   Truant: 

Per the Georgia State Board of Education Attendance Rules, “Truant” is defined as “any child subject to compulsory education (ages 6 through 16, and 5 year olds who have attended twenty (20) days in school) who during the school calendar year has more than five days of unexcused absences”.

C.  Attendance Case Manager:

Each school system shall appoint an Attendance Case Manager who shall be charged with monitoring and assuring compliance with compulsory education and attendance policies in assigned schools.

 

 

II.   Identifying Truant Students:

**For elementary and middle grades, schools will refer truant students to the Attendance Case Manager.  High school students will be referred to the School Social Worker.

 

A.  Excused Absences

Excused absences shall include:

1.   Personal illness

2.      A serious illness or death/funeral in the student’s immediate family (Immediate family is defined as parents/guardians, grandparents, siblings, and other persons living within the child’s residence)

3.      A court order or an order by a governmental agency

4.      Celebration of state recognized religious holidays

5.      Conditions rendering attendance impossible or hazardous to student health or safety

6.      One (1) day to register to vote

7.      PAGE for Georgia General Assembly (counted as present in school)

 

Upon returning to school, the student will have three (3) days to present the necessary written documentation to have the absences count as excused.  Failure to present this documentation will result in an unexcused absence.  Phone calls will not be accepted in place of written notice. 

 

Excuses must include:

1.   The date(s) of the absence,

2.      Student name,

3.      Reason for absence and

4.      Parent or guardian signature

 

B.  Unexcused Absences

Unexcused absences shall include all absences that do not meet the criteria as outlined for excused absences.  Also refer to Section II C Tardies and Early Dismissals.

 

Exception for Suspension

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.

           

C.  Tardies/Early Dismissals - 

As mandated by OCGA 20-2-690.2, the Attendance Protocol Committee must recommend policies regarding tardies and early dismissals.  In order to promote continuity between the school systems, the following policy is recommended:

 

1. Five (5) unexcused tardies/early dismissals will count as one (1) unexcused absence.

2. The conditions for excusing a tardy or early dismissal will be the same as an absence.

3. Tardies and early dismissals must be tracked separately (not totaled in AYP),

and the data will be used to identify truant students.  Information concerning

students who meet these thresholds will be forwarded to the Attendance Case

Manager for the system.

 

D.    Student Withdrawals

1.  Local school systems are authorized to withdraw a student who:

Has missed more than 10 consecutive days of unexcused absences,

            Is not subject to compulsory attendance; and

Is not receiving instructional services from the local school system through homebound instruction or instructional services required by the federal Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

2.  Local school systems shall notify the parent or guardian of the intention to withdraw a student younger than 18 years of age who is not subject to compulsory attendance.

 

III.   Notification of Parents/Guardians

 

A.  Attendance Policy and Consequences

 

1.  Within thirty (30) days of enrollment in school, the parent or guardian will be notified in writing of the attendance policies and consequences. The parent/guardian must sign and return this notification which will be placed in the student’s record.

 

2.  In addition, students aged ten (10) and over by September 1 will sign that they received written notification of the attendance policies and that the policies were reviewed with them within thirty (30) days of enrollment in school. 

 

3.  The school shall attempt to obtain the parent/guardian signatures two (2) times.  If there is no response from the parent/guardian, the written notification will be sent by certified mail with return receipt requested.  Following these efforts, the school will be in compliance with parental notification requirements.

 

IV.   Violations of Attendance Policy

 

1. Learner’s/Driver’s License (O.C.G.A. 40-5-22)

The school will notify parent/guardian by first class mail of students aged fourteen (14) years and older who have acquired seven (7) unexcused and/or consecutive absences per semester.  The attendance case manager will report the names, addresses and social security numbers of these students who acquire ten (10) unexcused or consecutive absences to the State Board of Education which in turn will send this information to the Department of Motor Vehicles. The Department of Motor Vehicles will notify student of their ineligibility to apply for license or suspension of a current license. 

**This requirement will be in effect following implementation of the statewide education information system. 

 

B.  Ten (10) Total Absences

The Attendance Case Manager/School Social Worker will notify parent/guardian in writing of the attendance policy and consequences when the student has acquired (10) total absences (any combination of excused and unexcused).  Physician notes will be required to excuse any further absences. The parent/guardian must sign and return the letter to the school where it will be placed in the student’s record.  After two attempts to obtain the signature, the letter will be sent by certified mail with return receipt requested.  Following these efforts, the school will be in compliance with parental notification requirements.

 

C.  Unexcused Absences

 

1.  Five (5) Unexcused

The Attendance Case Manager or School Social Worker will notify the parent/guardian in writing of the attendance policy and consequences when the student has acquired an equivalent of five (5) unexcused absences.  The parent/guardian must sign and return the letter to the school where it will be placed in the student’s record.  After two attempts to obtain the signature, the letter will be sent by certified mail with return receipt requested.  Following these efforts, the school will be in compliance with parental notification requirements.

 

            2.  Ten (10) Unexcused

The Attendance Case Manager or School Social Worker will notify the parent/guardian of the attendance policy and consequences in writing at an equivalent of ten (10) unexcused absences in conjunction with a Truancy Team Meeting.  The parent/guardian, principal, attendance case manager, school social worker, and the student’s teacher will be requested to attend

the meeting.  The objective of the meeting will be to explore the barriers to attendance, develop a plan to improve attendance, and to notify the parent/guardian of the attendance policy and consequences for further unexcused absences.

 

3.      Further Unexcused Absences

a.   Any further unexcused absences will be referred to the School Social Worker or Attendance Case Manager and will result in a referral to the Department of Juvenile Justice for truancy or the Department of Family and Children Services for educational neglect.

 

b.  In the event of a referral, each additional unexcused absence following notification of the parent/guardian of five unexcused days of absence for a child shall constitute a separate violation of the Compulsory Education Law (OCGA 20-2-690.10).

 

 c.  Any parent, guardian, or other person with control of a child, who violates the Compulsory Education Law shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof, shall be subject to a fine not less than $25.00 and not greater than $100.00, imprisonment not to exceed 30 days, community service, or any combination of such penalties, at the discretion of the court having jurisdiction (OCGA 20-2-690.10).

  

d.  In situations of extreme non-compliance, the School Social Worker or Attendance Case Manager may complete an Educational Neglect complaint through the Juvenile Judge’s office in order to expedite the process.