GA Code § 20-2-697 (2021)
2021 Georgia Code|Title 20 - Education|Chapter 2 - Elementary and Secondary Education|Article 16 - Students|Part 1 - School Attendance|Subpart 2 - Compulsory Attendance|§ 20-2-697. Cooperation of Principals and Teachers in Public Schools With Visiting Teachers and Attendance Officers; Attendance Reports and Records Kept by Public Schools; Letter Indicating Enrollment

  Visiting teachers and attendance officers shall receive the cooperation and assistance of all teachers and principals of public schools in the local school systems within which they are appointed to serve. It shall be the duty of the principals or local school site administrators and of the teachers of all public schools to report, in writing, to the visiting teacher or attendance officer of the local school system the names, ages, and residences of all students in attendance at their schools and classes within 30 days after the beginning of the school term or terms and to make such other reports of attendance in their schools or classes as may be required by rule or regulation of the State Board of Education. All public schools shall keep daily records of attendance, verified by the teachers certifying such records. Such reports shall be open to inspection by the visiting teacher, attendance officer, or duly authorized representative at any time during the school day. Any such attendance records and reports which identify students by name shall be used only for the purpose of providing necessary attendance information required by the state board or by law, except with the permission of the parent or guardian of a child, pursuant to the subpoena of a court of competent jurisdiction, or for verification of enrollment by the Department of Driver Services for the purposes set forth in subsection (a.1) of Code Section 40-5-22. Such attendance records shall also be maintained in a format which does not identify students by name, and in this format shall be a part of the data collected for the student record component of the state-wide comprehensive educational information system pursuant to subsection (b) of Code Section 20-2-320.   Any person failing to carry out the duties required by subsection (a) of this Code section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine not to exceed $100.00.   The provisions of this Code section shall not apply to private schools or home study programs, and enrollment and attendance information required for private schools or home study programs and penalties for failure to comply with such requirements shall be as provided in Code Section 20-2-690.    (a.1)Any student shall have the right to request and receive, within three business days from the date of such request, a letter from his or her school administrator indicating that the student is enrolled full-time and has an attendance record in good standing for the current academic year.   (Ga. L. 1945, p. 343, § 9; Ga. L. 1969, p. 838, § 4; Ga. L. 1981, p. 829, § 1; Ga. L. 1984, p. 1266, § 5; Ga. L. 1989, p. 808, § 3; Ga. L. 1997, p. 760, § 5; Ga. L. 2000, p. 618, §§ 63, 94; Ga. L. 2004, p. 107, § 11A; Ga. L. 2015, p. 60, § 3-4/SB 100.)    The 2015 amendment,  effective July 1, 2015, in subsection (a), substituted "verification of enrollment by the Department of Driver Services" for "verification of attendance by the Department of Public Safety" near the end of the fifth sentence. See editor's note for applicability.   Editor's notes.   - Ga. L. 1997, p. 760, § 27(a), not codified by the General Assembly, provides: "Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) of this section, this Act shall become effective on July 1, 1997, and shall apply to offenses committed on or after that date and, except for subsection (b.1) of Code Section 40-5-67.1 as enacted by this Act, this Act shall not apply to offenses committed prior to that date."   Ga. L. 2000, p. 618, § 1, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: "This Act shall be known and may be cited as the 'A Plus Education Reform Act of 2000.'"   Ga. L. 2015, p. 60, § 6-1/SB 100, not codified by the General Assembly, provides, in part, that this Act shall apply to offenses which occur on or after July 1, 2015.   Law reviews.   - For article commenting on the 1997 amendment of this Code section, see 14 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 203 (1997).   OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL   Board not authorized to prescribe nonattendance standards for nonpublic schools.   - There is no specific grant of authority to the State Board of Education to prescribe any standards or require a license for nonpublic schools, other than those enumerated in Ga. L. 1945, p. 343. Therefore, it is presumed that the General Assembly did not intend for the board to have such authority. 1957 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 119 (decided under Ga. L. 1945, p. 343, § 9, prior to amendment by Ga. L. 1984, p. 1266, § 5).    Ga. L. 1945, p. 343 did not permit  a teacher to be relieved of record-keeping duties through a complete shift to some entirely different form of reporting based upon the use of data processing equipment and centralized record keeping. 1968 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 68-144.   RESEARCH REFERENCES   Am. Jur. 2d.   - 68 Am. Jur. 2d, Schools, § 271 et seq.   C.J.S.   - 78 C.J.S., Schools and School Districts, § 500 et seq. 78A C.J.S., Schools and School Districts, § 1026.   ALR.    - Schools: extent of legislative power with respect to attendance and curriculum, 39 A.L.R. 477; 53 A.L.R. 832.