Attendance

ABSENCES AND ATTENDANCE 

Absences:  Legal absences have been defined by the State Board of Education as the following:

  1. Personal illness

  2. Serious illness or death in the family

  3. Recognized religious holidays of the student’s particular faith

  4. As a result of an order from a government agency

  5. Conditions rendering school attendance impossible or hazardous to the safety of the student

  6. A student, whose parent or legal guardian is in the military service in the armed forces of the United States or National Guard, and the parent or legal guardian has been called to duty for or is on leave from overseas deployment to a combat zone or combat support posting, may request a maximum of five excused school days per school year in order to visit with the parent prior to the parent’s deployment or during a parent’s leave.  Parents must discuss the request with the building level administrator at least 72 hours in advance of absences.

Excuses:  A student must give his/her  teacher a written excuse stating the date and reason for the absence signed by his/her parent or guardian.  All excuses must be submitted within three (3) days after the student returns to school following an absence to be considered for validation as an excused day.  Any excuses submitted after the three (3) day period will be received by the school, but will not be changed to excused.  The school principal has the authority to determine if an absence is excused or unexcused.  School principals may require specific and/or additional documentation to justify an absence as excused.  Schools will establish procedures for maintaining accurate attendance records and excuses/documentation for the school year.

DRIVER’S LICENSE

Teenage and Adult Driver Responsibility Act (TAADRA)

TAADRA is a graduated driver's license program for young drivers ages 15 to 18. It was established in Georgia by a collaborative effort of highway safety advocates, legislators, law enforcement officials, educators, businesses and media in the wake of a high number of fatal vehicle crashes involving young, inexperienced drivers.

TAADRA requires certain standards be met before a student may obtain a driver’s license. Students must have a notarized Certificate of Attendance from the school that they attend in order to obtain a learner’s permit or driver’s license. Students must sign up with the attendance office during the week.  There may be a charge for lost forms. For summer birthdays (June, July and August-before school starts), a student should request the form before the last day of May and the form will be valid until school begins in August.

Please read the following information for eligibility: In order to receive a certificate of attendance for a drivers license a student must be enrolled in and not under expulsion from a public or private school and

  1. Has not dropped out of school without graduating and remained out of school for ten consecutive school days.

  2. Has not had ten or more school days of unexcused absences in the current academic year and ten or more school days of unexcused absences in the previous academic year.

  3. Has not been found in violation by a hearing officer, panel, or tribunal of one of the following offenses, or has waived his or her right to a hearing and pleaded guilty to one of the following offenses:

    • Threatening, striking, or causing bodily harm to a teacher or other school personnel.

    • Possession or use of a weapon on school property or at a school sponsored event.

    • Any sexual offense prohibited under Chapter 6 of Title 16.

    • Causing substantial physical or visible bodily harm to or seriously disfiguring another person, including another student.

    • Possession or sale of drugs or alcohol on school property or at a school sponsored event.

Any infraction of the above conduct offenses will be a one-year suspension, or the minor shall be suspended until his or her eighteenth birthday, whichever comes first. 

Joshua's Law  

In order for a student born after July 1, 1991 to obtain a driver’s permit, the student must complete a driver’s education course. If the course is not completed by age 16, the student must wait until age 17 to obtain a permit.

Temporary Driving Permit

A student can obtain a temporary driving permit from the Department of Driver Services to drive to and from work with a suspended license, if he or she has demonstrated the need for the permit. The permit would only be granted if the driver's license has been suspended for a school-related infraction or for dropping out of school. No temporary permit would be granted for a DUI offense.