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House approves bill defining chronic absenteeism, requires attendance review teams
Summary
Senate Bill 123 passed the House 160'1. The bill defines chronic absenteeism (missing 10% or more of school days), requires district-level attendance review teams at 10% and school-level teams at 15%, and clarifies existing judicial references in attendance law.
The Georgia House on Wednesday passed Senate Bill 123, which updates the state's compulsory attendance law to define chronic absenteeism and require targeted review teams when rates exceed set thresholds. Chairing the Education presentation, Representative Matt Dubnick said the bill defines chronic absenteeism as missing 10% or more of the school year and would require a district attendance review team when the district rate reaches 10% and a school-level team when a school reaches 15%.
Dubnick told the chamber the measure does not criminalize students or schools but aims to direct resources and accountability to campuses with high absenteeism. "We're stating that if a district as a whole has a rate at 10% or higher, they have to have an attendance review team," Dubnick said. He described the bill as a "step in the right direction" and noted unanimous committee approval and unanimous passage in the Senate.
Members questioned the role of judges and whether the bill changed law enforcement or judicial responsibilities. Dubnick said existing authorities and oversight remain consistent with other code sections and that the bill keeps references aligned. Representative McQueen asked specifically about judges' roles; Dubnick responded the authority and oversight are already in other sections of code and the bill makes references consistent.
On final vote the clerk recorded 160 yeas and 1 nay; the bill passed and will proceed for final processing.
