Attend & Achieve

Attendance matters. Consistent attendance is critical for your child’s learning, growth, and long-term success.

There is a new Georgia law that focuses on preventing chronic absenteeism in schools. Under Senate Bill 123, a student is considered chronically absent if they miss 10% or more of the school year.

To help break that down:

• Students would be considered chronically absent if they missed three or more days of school by the 31st day of school.
• There are 180 days in a school year, 10% of that would be 18 days, 2 or more days a month can add up to that quickly.

Please help to make sure your child is present at school each day unless they are sick or have an absence.

Barrow County School System will begin assessing chronic absenteeism after the 45th day of school.

This new law is in addition to the existing Ages 6-16 Compulsory Attendance Law. That law limits unexcused absences to 10 in a school year. After 5 unexcused absences, letters are sent to families to inform them about the possible consequences of missing 10.

The steps involved under the new Chronically Absent law include an attendance meeting with parents, a letter of understanding for the guardian's signature, and a possible referral to the Community-based Risk Reduction program.

Students will be automatically withdrawn from school after missing 10 consecutive days.