Senate Committee Meets in Macon to Study Student Absenteeism
- Robert Aycock
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
The Senate Study Committee on Combating Chronic Absenteeism in Schools met Aug. 7 at Mercer University.
The study committee was created via SR 217 sponsored by Sen. John Kennedy (R-Macon), who serves as chair. In addition to Kennedy, the following Senate members sit on the committee:
Sen. Shawn Still (R-Johns Creek)
Sen. Freddie Powell Sims (D-Dawson)
Sen. RaShaun Kemp (D-Atlanta)
Sen. Clint Dixon (R-Gwinnett)
Sen. Billy Hickman (R-Statesboro)
Penny Elkins, executive vice president at Mercer University, opened the meeting by welcoming and thanking Sen Kennedy, committee members, and others for their focus on chronic absenteeism. Committee members then introduced themselves before Kennedy introduced and turned the meeting over to the scheduled speakers.
You may view the full meeting recording below. A link to the full slide deck for each presentation has been included in the relevant section.
PAGE Member Input Opportunities on Student Absenteeism |
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The House Study Committee on Student Attendance in PreK-12 Education and the Senate Study Committee on Combating Chronic Absenteeism in Schools will each examine the impact of student absenteeism in Georgia's PreK-12 schools.
Legislators and general assembly staffers have requested educator feedback on local best practices that have successfully curbed chronic student absenteeism and on ways state leaders can assist local educators in addressing absenteeism.
PAGE seeks member input for both absenteeism study committees in addition to a third committee reviewing state-level administrative burdens on school administrators. Click the white button below to participate in a short, open-ended survey that takes less than one minute to complete. Responses will be shared with legislators on each committee, but participants can indicate within the survey if they prefer their names and identifiable information be kept confidential.
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Attendance Works and CSG South Provide National and Regional Data
Hedy Chang, executive director of Attendance Works, provided national statistics on chronic absenteeism, showing significant increases since the COVID-19 pandemic. Chang described the causes of chronic absenteeism, which vary widely and include socioeconomic barriers, mental health issues, student disengagement, and simple misconceptions about the importance of attendance. She stated that combating chronic absenteeism will require a multi-tiered approach along with collaboration between schools and the wider community.
Chang also spoke about Attendance Works' 50% Challenge, which encourages states and school districts to attempt to reduce chronic absenteeism by 50% over five years. Georgia is among the states that have joined the challenge.
Responding to questions, Chang stated that chronic absenteeism in a prior year was strongly predictive that a student would be chronically absent again in the current year, especially if that student had already missed several days in the first few months of the current school year.
Tyler Reinagel, director of policy and research at the Council of State Governments Southern Office (CSG South), provided chronic absenteeism data for 15 southern states, showing Georgia's rates remain close to the regional average. Reinagel noted that the data was somewhat dated (2022-23), which highlights the difficulty in obtaining timely data.
Reinagel stated it was important to distinguish between chronic absenteeism and truancy, noting that each issue requires specific solutions. He concluded by providing an overview of successful actions undertaken by other states to combat chronic absenteeism.
State Superintendent Commits to Combating Absenteeism and GaDOE Staff Demonstrate Data Dashboard
State School Superintendent Richard Woods thanked Sen. Kennedy for the committee’s formation and reported the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) has been focused on combating chronic absenteeism. Woods emphasized the importance of building relationships and instilling the value of school attendance as early in a child’s life as possible. Woods affirmed his commitment to the 50% challenge, suggesting that even greater reductions should be targeted.
Hill highlighted examples of successful actions undertaken by districts to improve student attendance. Regarding general solutions, Hill suggested that improving school climate could be especially effective relative to its investment cost.
Hill concluded by describing actions GaDOE is undertaking to fight chronic absenteeism. These include technical assistance, school climate surveys, and various communications products. GaDOE will hold an attendance summit Dec. 8.
McGiboney Presents Startling Post-COVID Attendance Data
Garry McGiboney, executive director of Health Systems Dynamics shared research findings compiled by the Student Attendance Subcommittee of the Get Georgia Reading Cabinet. These data demonstrate that the percentage of students absent for more than 15 days has almost doubled since the COVID pandemic. The percentage of students absent for 6-15 days has also increased. McGiboney stated that both statistics were concerning, as significant learning loss can occur after five absences. This means that learning loss could be affecting 60% of Georgia students.
McGiboney then recommended strategies to combat chronic absenteeism. These include daily data tracking, early identification and intervention of at-risk students, support for students transitioning grade levels, promoting collaboration between schools and parents, providing mental and physical health support, improving school climate, and convening local school attendance and climate committees.
McGiboney also strongly recommended improving Georgia's school social worker funding ratio, emphasizing that the shortage of school social workers limits schools' ability to address barriers to student attendance. Funding more school social workers is an important PAGE legislative priority.
Following McGiboney's presentation, Sen. Sims spoke at length about her view that schools in her district are overburdened with too many administrators and are not properly allocating state funds to address issues like chronic absenteeism.
Bibb County Superintendent Shares District Experiences
Dan Sims, superintendent of Bibb County Schools, spoke to his district's challenges with chronic absenteeism. He shared his views on what strategies had been successful in combating the issue and what strategies had not. Successful strategies include a truancy task force, school-level attendance teams, and a postcard sent home with students showing their attendance status. Less impactful strategies include individual meetings with parents and any strategy that does not address root barriers like health or lack of transportation. Sims also spoke to the negative impact of chronic absenteeism on staff, including burnout and compassion fatigue.
Committee Next Steps
Kennedy stated that the committee would hold meetings on the following dates, with each meeting devoted to a specific theme.
Sept. 22 (Barriers to Entry)
Oct. 16 (The Juvenile Justice System)
Nov. 12 (School Climate Committees)
Nov. 20 (Final Report Development)
 | Next Meeting The Senate Study Committee on Combating Chronic Absenteeism in Schools is set to meet again Sept. 22. |
