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Committee highlights local solutions — Cobb County protocol, Apex mental‑health services, school nurses, OST and mentoring pilots
Summary
Witnesses told the committee that local, multi‑stakeholder attendance review committees, expanded Georgia Apex services, more licensed school nurses, sustained Boost funding for out‑of‑school programs, and scale mentoring (Big Brothers Big Sisters 'Level Up') reduce chronic absenteeism and support re‑engagement.
Local leaders and nonprofit providers told the Senate Study Committee the state can reduce chronic absenteeism by funding and coordinating proven local responses.
Chief Superior Court Judge Anne Harris described Cobb County’s stakeholder protocol, which establishes named responsibilities, a five‑day truancy notice and progressive, pre‑court interventions to keep students connected to school. “These committees and the protocols...identify the specific problems that underpin chronic absenteeism and come up with strategies to address the problems,” she said, urging local authority and a grassroots approach.
Program leaders urged state investments. Dimple Desai (Voices for Georgia’s Children) and Christy Doyle (DBHDD) urged expanding Georgia Apex — school‑based mental‑health services operating in hundreds of schools — and increasing the school social‑work workforce. Melanie Bales (Georgia Association of School Nurses) told the committee that only 37% of Georgia schools have a full‑time licensed nurse (about 1,433 full‑time licensed nurses across roughly 2,243 schools in the association’s 2024 data) and recommended a licensed nurse in every school and improved attendance‑data systems so nurses can intervene earlier.
Out‑of‑school‑time providers and Big Brothers Big Sisters reported measurable impacts from mentoring, year‑round programming and transportation supports. The YMCA and Boys & Girls Clubs tied transportation and daily engagement to higher attendance and parent satisfaction; Big Brothers Big Sisters’ Level Up model embeds paid professional mentors and site supervisors in grade cohorts and presented local reductions in chronic absenteeism and discipline events in pilot schools.
Several presenters called for steady state funding — including continued or expanded Boost funding and supports for Apex, nursing positions, and OST programs — and urged clearer statutory guidance where law (discussants cited HB 268) affects enrollment, records and remote‑learning definitions.
The committee requested follow‑up materials and samples of local protocols and program evaluations to inform policy work at the next convening.
