Cobb County committee unveils draft protocol to address chronic student absenteeism

At its first meeting, the School Attendance and School Climate Committee convened in Cobb County Juvenile Court to present a draft protocol aimed at reducing chronic student absenteeism and improving school climate, participants said (date not specified).

“School absenteeism and particularly chronic school absenteeism is a harbinger of bad outcomes for our children,” the judge leading the meeting said, describing links between long‑term absence, dropping out and reduced opportunities in the job market.

The draft protocol is the product of multiagency work involving court staff, juvenile court judges, school district representatives and social‑service partners, participants said. Dr. Gary McGiboney, introduced as a guest and a Department of Education staffer who has worked with courts statewide, told the committee he had reviewed many protocols and called the committee’s draft “the best I’ve seen,” endorsing it as a possible model for other jurisdictions.

Jill Roth, judicial staff attorney with Cobb County Juvenile Court, said she was assigned to develop the committee and the protocol after joining the court in September 2023. “I built off of everything that everyone had already done,” Roth said, naming local contributors and saying the current draft reflects input from Cobb County Schools, Marietta schools and local social‑service agencies.

Speakers stressed that the committee’s work will be cross‑system and grassroots in nature. The judge noted that laws requiring attendance have existed for years but said the protocol is intended to gather stakeholders — schools, courts, parents, social workers and law enforcement — to address underlying problems that drive absenteeism, including health and school climate issues. Several speakers described personal experience with students who were removed from school at a young age and later struggled academically, using those stories to emphasize urgency.

Participants credited a range of contributors for getting the protocol to a finished draft, including court staff, local school district staff and community partners. Committee members did not take formal votes at the session; rather, speakers said they intend to move the draft forward for implementation planning and broader stakeholder engagement.

The meeting record includes multiple calls for the committee to proceed with practical steps — cross‑agency coordination, regular meetings, and outreach to families — though no timeline or formal adoption was recorded in the transcript. Several attendees said they expect the protocol to be shared as an example for other jurisdictions that have not finalized attendance protocols.