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Parents » Attendance Requirements

Attendance Requirements

Georgia law requires compulsory school attendance for all students between the ages of 6 and 16 residing in Glynn County.  Any parent, guardian or other person residing in this state who has control or charge of a child or children and who violates the law shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be subject to a fine not to exceed $100 or imprisonment not to exceed 30 days, or both, at the discretion of the court having jurisdiction. (O.C.G.A. § 20-2-690.1)  However, a child under six years of age who has attended more than 20 days in public school will be subject to the compulsory attendance law. {(O.C.G.A. § 20-2-150 (C)}.

Any child subject to the compulsory attendance, who during the school calendar year has more than five days of unexcused absences, shall be deemed truant.

Students may be temporarily excused from school who:

  1. Are personally ill and whose attendance in school would endanger their health or the health of others;
  2. Have a serious illness or death in their immediate family which would reasonably necessitate absence from school;
  3. Wish to observe special and recognized religious holidays of their faith;
  4. Are mandated to be absent by order of governmental agencies, e.g. pre-induction physical examination for service in armed forces, or court order;
  5. Serve as pages in the General Assembly;
  6. Need to register to vote or to vote; and/or
  7. Wish to visit college campuses (up to three times each year).

Students in foster care shall be counted present when they attend court proceedings related to their foster care.

Consequences for students who do not practice punctuality are outlined in the Student Behavior Code (Policy JCDA).

School attendance is required on the day of any proposed school activity in which a student wishes to participate.

Elementary and Middle School Students

Each school will develop and implement an early intervention attendance plan to encourage consistent student attendance.

A student who is absent from elementary or middle school for any portion of a school day must bring to the attendance clerk a signed note from a parent or guardian explaining the reason for the absence. School officials will determine if the absence is excusable based on state policy.

The note should be sent to school on the first day and not later than the third day that the student is back in class even if the parent has had contact with the school.  Verbal notification of the reason for an absence will not be accepted to excuse and absence from school.  If the note is not turned in to the attendance clerk, the student absence will be recorded as unexcused.  Non-school sponsored trips are not excused absences; however, if the student contacts the principal in advance of non-school sponsored trips, the work may be made up and the student may receive credit.

If the school nurse determines that the student is too sick to attend school, the absence will be marked as excused.  Parents will not be required to write a note to excuse these absences.  This may include consecutive days if the student goes home early and is still not well enough to return to school the following day.

A parent may write a personal note to excuse up to seven absences due to the child being too sick to attend school.  Medical documentation will be required to excuse all absences beyond the initial seven due to illness.

Unexcused and Excused Absences

An attempt will be made to contact the parent each time a student is absent.  An automated calling system may be used to contact the parent.  When a student has three unexcused absences, a letter will be sent home to the parent.

The school will notify the parent, guardian or other person having charge or control of the student when such student has five unexcused absences. The notice shall outline the penalty and consequences of such absences and that each subsequent absence shall constitute a separate offense. After two reasonable attempts without response to notify the parent, guardian or other person having charge or control of a student of five unexcused days of absence, the school shall send a written notice via first-class mail.  The school system shall notify parents via certified mail, return receipt requested, prior to any action to begin judicial proceedings for violations of the compulsory attendance law. (O.C.G.A. § 20-2-690.1)

When an elementary or middle school student is absent for five unexcused days, the parent or guardian must appear before an Attendance Review Panel.  Failure to attend the Review Panel hearing may result in a citation for a court appearance in the State Court of Glynn County. Failure to appear in the State Court of Glynn County will result in a bench warrant.

When a student has accumulated seven unexcused absences the parent or student must submit medical or other documentation for the purpose of validating the absence as excused and for each absence thereafter.

The school will notify the parent, guardian or other person having charge or control of the student when such student has 10 or more unexcused absences. An attendance panel meeting will be held to determine the appropriate actions to ensure student attendance. These actions may include:

  1. Referral to the attendance intervention team (Support Staff);
  2. Referral to community agency (Support Staff and Social Worker);
  3. Issue a parent citation or juvenile complaint (School Resource officer); or
  4. Involuntary student withdrawal (Social Worker).

Tardies and Early Dismissal

Tardy to School – A student is tardy to school when s/he arrives to school after the designated start time for the school day.  Students who are tardy to school must report to the office to receive an admission slip/pass to class.  An elementary student’s parent/guardian must accompany the student.

Excused Tardy – Tardies may be excused for events that are physically out of human control such as an accident, road closure, power outage, etc.  Tardies may also be excused for inclement weather such as flooding, high winds, tornado watch, etc.

Early Dismissal – A student is dismissed early from school when s/he checks out of school before the designated end time for the school day.

Tardy to Class – A student is tardy to class when he/she arrives to class after the tardy bell or designated start time for that class.

High School Students

Each school will develop and implement a student attendance plan that includes incentives and strategies to maximize student attendance, encourage students’ interest in school and improve academic performance.

Unexcused and Excused Absences

The attendance clerks will make appropriate contact to inquire about a student’s absence from school on a daily basis and to remind parent/guardian and students of the importance of being in the classroom for instructional time.

The school assistant principal or designee will notify the parent, guardian or other person having charge or control of the student when a student has three (3) unexcused absences.

The school will notify the parent, guardian or other person having charge or control of the student when a student has five unexcused absences. The notice shall 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 or other person who has charge of the student of five unexcused absences, the school system will send written notice via first-class mail. The school system will notify parents via certified mail, return receipt requested, prior to any action to begin judicial proceedings for violations of the compulsory attendance law.

When a student is absent for five unexcused days, the parent or guardian must appear before an Attendance Review Panel.  Failure to attend the Review Panel hearing may result in a citation for a court appearance in the State Court of Glynn County.  Failure to appear in the State Court of Glynn County will result in a bench warrant.

The school will notify the parent, guardian, or other person having charge or control of the student when such student has seven unexcused absences. The notice shall outline the definition of truancy and a summary of possible consequences and penalties for truancy, including possible dispositions for children in need of services.

The school will use its best efforts to notify the parent, guardian or other person having charge or control of the student when such student has 10 unexcused absences. A referral will be made to the principal/ designee to convene an attendance panel meeting to consider:

  1. If the student should be involuntarily/voluntarily withdrawn from school. The school will follow the involuntary student withdrawal procedures if such is recommended. The school social worker will coordinate these procedures.  Georgia law requires a student to be enrolled in a public or private school or home study program in order to receive a Certificate of School Enrollment form to obtain a Georgia Learner's Permit or Driver's License.
  2. Issuing a citation to the parent/guardian or filing a juvenile complaint depending on the age of the child. The school resource officer (SRO) will coordinate these procedures.

Throughout the semester, medical or other documentation is required to validate an absence as excused.  Students will have three school days after the day the student returns to school to submit such documentation, which must be submitted to the school’s attendance clerk by the student or parent.

Students must be on time to school and class. Tardies will not be tolerated.

Make-Up Work When Absent

Allowing a student to make up work due to an absence from school provides an ideal opportunity to help prepare the student to successfully transition to higher education or the workplace following graduation from high school.  A student should not be unduly penalized for absences beyond the student's control.  However, the school system and school must help prepare the student to make responsible decisions and to understand the importance of being accountable for his/her behavior and decisions.  Therefore, a student who is absent from school will be given the number of days missed from school plus one to make up school work.


Reprinted from Administrative Regulation JBD-R (2) Absences and Excuses
Last Revised: 02/19/2016