Committee recommends barring chronically absent students from athletics

Georgia students chronically absent from school could miss out on participating in school athletic teams and other extracurricular activities, a Senate committee recommends.

The recommendation is one of 22 from the Study Committee on Combating Chronic Absenteeism in Schools, which held four meetings this year.

Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing more than 10% of a school year. Georgia's rate in 2024 was 21.3%, according to the committee's final report. In 2019, the rate was 12.1%.

Sen. John F. Kennedy, R-Macon, sponsored Senate Bill 123, which required counties with a chronic absenteeism rate of 10% or more to form committees to tackle the problem. The chief Superior Court judge chairs the county committees on chronic absenteeism.