ATLANTA — Nearly 20% of Georgia public school students are chronically absent, prompting state lawmakers to address the issue.
Pre-COVID absenteeism was 8%, but the number has now risen to nearly 20%, with DeKalb County experiencing a 25.9% absenteeism rate.
“We continue to do the work of trying to find out the root causes of absenteeism in Georgia so that we can then work on the solutions,” said State Sen. John F. Kennedy, who is chairing a joint committee to tackle the issue.
According to the Georgia Department of Education, 19.5% of students miss 15 days or more of public school, a significant increase from a pre-pandemic low of 8.1%.
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State Rep. Lydia Glaize expressed concern about the impact of absenteeism on student learning.
“Well, if you are in school and you miss 15 days, what does that do for your learning and your success to build the learning blocks,” Glaize said.
Republican State Senator Billy Hickman emphasized the need for solutions to make school more engaging for students.
“Hopefully, we’ll come up with some great suggestions that have to make it more interesting for students to be in school,” Hickman said.
The joint committee will meet several more times before presenting recommendations to the General Assembly in January.
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