Source: http://www.habershamschools.com/Default.asp?L=2&LMID=&PN=Pages&DivisionID=3385&DepartmentID=3093&SubDepartmentID=&SubP=Level2&PageID=5338&SubPageID=3283
Timestamp: 2018-07-22 17:58:00
Document Index: 239601512

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 20', '§ 20', '§ 15', '§ 15', '§ 15', '§ 15', '§ 15', '§ 15', '§ 15']

Student Services | Welcome to the Habersham County Schools Website
Regular attendance is an important factor in determining a student’s success in school. Frequent absences can cause students to miss important classroom instruction, fall behind in class work and earn lower grades. This can lead to stress, frustration and a negative attitude toward school. Parents should make sure their child attends school regularly. Parents are also encouraged to make sure the student is at school on time and allow him or her to complete the entire day.
If parents or guardians experience problems in getting their children to attend school regularly, they should be in contact with school staff members, including the guidance counselor or school social worker. All are willing to work with the family to help the child attend school regularly. Please click on the information on the right to see attendance procedures, attendance requirements for a driver’s permit and license, and the Educational trip form. Questions about attendance should be addressed to Kathleen Clement or Michelle Blackburn, School Social Workers, at 706-894-3055.
1. Personal illness or attendance in school endangering a student's health or the health of others. (Medical, counseling, dental, and other agency appointments that cannot be scheduled before/after school hours)
2. A serious illness or death in a student's immediate family necessitating absence from school.
3. A court order or an order by a governmental agency, including pre-induction physical examination for service in the armed forces, mandating absence from school.
6. A period not to exceed one day is allowed for registering to vote or voting in a public election.
7. A student whose parent or legal guardian is in military service in the U.S. armed forces or National Guard, and such parent has been called to duty for or is on leave from overseas deployment to a combat zone or support posting will be granted up to 5 days of excused absences per school year to visit with his or her parent prior to the parent's deployment or during the parent's leave.
8. Any other absence not explicitly defined in this policy but deemed to have merit based on circumstances as determined by the Superintendent or his/her designee.
Students shall be counted present when they are serving as pages of the Georgia General Assembly, and they shall be counted present when participating in local/state activities for 4-H or bona fide CTAE-related activities as approved by the CTAE director. Students in foster care shall be counted present when they attend court proceedings relating to their foster care.
(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 - S.B.O.E. 260-5-1-.10.)
Written documentation of absences should be turned in to the school within 3 days of an absence. Examples of written documentation include a parent note explaining a child's absence, doctor's excuse, a hospital intake form of an immediate family member, an obituary of an immediate family member, a copy of a court order or subpoena, government documentation the student served as a page or had a pre-induction physical examination for the armed forces. If a student has several parent notes explaining that a child has been ill, the school may ask for verification from a doctor or medical advisor.
An excused absence is required before middle and high school students can make up work. All work should be completed satisfactorily by the due dates specified by the classroom teacher. Asking for make up work is the responsibility of the students/parents.
Consequences & Penalties of Excessive Absences
Mandatory attendance is required for children between their sixth and sixteenth birthdays. All children enrolled for twenty school days or more in a public school prior to their sixth birthday shall become subject to the compulsory attendance law even though they have not attained six years of age (O.C.G.A § 20-2-150). Every parent, guardian, or other person residing within the state of Georgia having control or charge of any child subject to mandatory attendance shall be responsible for enrolling in a public school, private school, or home school program. (O.C.G.A. § 20-2-690.1) Legal complaints may be filed with Juvenile Court against the parent(s) or guardian(s) and/or student for violating the Georgia Compulsory Attendance Law after all reasonable efforts to resolve and address absenteeism and/or tardiness have been exhausted by the Board of Education.
STUDENT CONSEQUENCES include but are not limited to:
· permitting the child to remain with their caregivers with or without conditions prescribed by the court (O.C.G.A. § 15-11-212);
· placing the child on probation;
· requiring community service;
· requiring the child to attend structured after school or evening program;
· requiring the child be supervised during the day (O.C.G.A. § 15-11-442);
· transferring temporary custody of the child;
· ordering the child and his or her parent, guardian, or legal custodian to participate in counseling;
· ordering the Department of Family and Children Services to create a case plan and ordering parent participation (O.C.G.A. § 15-11-212);
· requiring as a condition of probation that the child obtain a high school diploma or equivalent (O.C.G.A. § 15-11-601);
· continuing court involvement supervision for the time necessary for compliance, not to exceed two years (O.C.G.A. 15-11-443); and/or
· utilizing progressive discipline or sanctions as needed to protect and safeguard the best interest of the student’s educational future.
· Student may also earn poor grades and test scores resulting in being retained.
· High School students may have their parking permit revoked for the remainder of the school year.
PARENT(S) CONSEQUENCES include but are not limited to:
· using contempt powers to incarcerate the parent or guardian for up to 20 days (O.C.G.A. § 15-11-31);
· imposing a fine up to $1000.00;
· requiring the child’s parent, guardian, or legal custodian to participate in parenting classes (O.C.G.A. § 15-11-31); and/or
· requiring the child’s parent, guardian, or legal custodian to enter into a contract or plan as part of the disposition of any charges against the child to provide supervision and control for the child (O.C.G.A. § 15-11-31)
Any violations or non-compliance by the parent(s) or guardian occurring beyond a contempt charge shall immediately be referred to the District Attorney’s office by the Juvenile Court for prosecution of the parent(s) or guardian under O.C.G.A. 20-2-690.1. Any person found in violation of said Code shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction 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.
Each day’s absence from school in violation of this part after the child’s school system notified the parent, guardian, or other person who has control or charge of a child of five unexcused days of absences for a child shall constitute a separate offense.