Senate bill seeks to reignite local School Climate Committees and require county attendance reporting to tackle chronic absenteeism

President Pro Tempore presented Senate Bill 123, opening with state absenteeism statistics: he said 22.6% of Georgia public‑school students were chronically absent last year (defined in the bill as missing 10% or more of school days). He told the committee chronic absenteeism remained elevated since COVID and affects roughly 360,000 students statewide.

The bill modernizes language (changing “mandatory attendance” to “compulsory attendance”), clarifies who is covered by "parent/guardian" definitions, protects students from being expelled solely for absences, and revises and reactivates the long‑standing School Climate Committee structure created in 2005. Sponsors said many locally convened School Climate Committees are inactive; SB 123 would require each county committee to meet at least twice a year (beginning November of the current year) and to coordinate with community partners such as juvenile court judges and public‑health entities.

SB 123 also establishes attendance review teams: a local school system with a chronic absenteeism rate of 10% or greater must establish a system‑level attendance review team; a particular school with a chronic absenteeism rate of 15% or greater must establish a school‑level attendance review team. The bill exempts excused absences from counting toward the chronic‑absence metric and clarifies that students should not be penalized academically or expelled solely because of excused absences.

The bill adds a reporting requirement: starting in 2026 the Department of Education must submit a county‑by‑county chronic‑absence report to the chairpersons of the House and Senate education committees on even‑numbered years (the chair noted he aims to form a study committee this summer to gather more information). Committee members praised the bill and moved it out with a due‑pass recommendation.