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Why Attendance Matters
Quick Facts
Absenteeism in the first month of school can predict poor attendance throughout the school year.
Absenteeism and its effects start early. One in 10 kindergarten and first grade students are chronically absent.
Poor attendance can influence whether children read proficiently by the end of third grade or be held back.
By 6th grade, chronic absence becomes a leading indicator that a student will drop out of high school.
Research shows that missing 10 percent of school days, or about 18 days in most school districts, negatively affects a student’s academic performance. That’s just two days a month and that’s known as chronic absence.
When students improve their attendance rates, they improve their academic prospects and chances for graduating.
Attendance improves when schools engage students and parents in positive ways and when schools provide mentors for chronically absent students.
When children are absent from school, they miss out on consistent instruction that is needed to develop basic skills. Children in early grades are particularly susceptible to falling behind in fundamental reading skills, which can have a snowball effect that impacts future learning.
Children who have learning and thinking differences can be especially vulnerable to the impact of absenteeism because missing school reduces opportunities for any interventions that might be necessary. If teachers fail to realize that they need an intervention, they are more likely to attribute a learning difficulty to absenteeism, essentially confusing the symptom for the cause.
Students who fail to read at grade level by the end of third grade are four times more likely than students who achieve proficiency to drop out of high school, according to a study by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Adults without a high school education generally earn lower incomes and experience higher unemployment than their peers who do earn a high school diploma.
Poor attendance can also have a negative effect on social and emotional development. For example, students who are chronically absent in the early years of their education may not learn abilities such as critical thinking, problem solving, creative thinking, and social-emotional development. Excessive absences are also associated with lower scores on standardized tests, which typically assess primary skills and concepts.
While students pay the highest cost if they miss too much school, high absence rates also put a burden on teachers. Making up for lost instruction adds to their workload, and the valuable classroom time it takes up is a detriment to all students.
Social Circle City Schools Attendance Policy 2025-2026
Attendance NOTICE TO PARENTS O.C.G.A. 20-2-690.1 requires the parent, guardian, or another person who has control or charge of a child or children to sign a statement indicating receipt of such a written statement of possible consequences and penalties; children who are age ten years or older by September 1 shall sign a statement indicating receipt of such written statement of potential impacts and penalties. The law requires any person in this state who has control or charge of a child between the ages of six and sixteen to enroll and send that child to school, including public, private, or homeschooling. This law states that any parent, guardian, or other person residing in this state who has control or charge of a child or children and who shall violate this Code section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be subject to a fine not less than $25.00 and not greater than $100.00, imprisonment not to exceed 30 days, community service, or any combination of such penalties, at the discretion of the court having jurisdiction. Each day’s absence from school after the child’s school notifies the parent, guardian, or another person who has control or charge of the child, and the child has accumulated five unexcused days of absence, shall constitute a separate offense. Attendance is crucial for students to fully benefit from the school's educational opportunities. A relationship exists between academic success and consistent attendance. Your knowledge and adherence to attendance policies and procedures will enable you to be successful and productive as a student.
Attendance letters will be mailed for 5 days of excused absences and 10 days of unexcused absences.
The Students shall be considered excused for the following reasons:
1. When personally ill, and when attendance in school would endanger their health or the health of others.
2. When in their immediate family, there is a serious illness or death that would reasonably necessitate absence from school.
3. On special and recognized religious holidays observed by their faith.
4. When mandated by order of governmental agencies (examples: pre-induction physical examination for service in the armed forces or a court order).
5. Children may be excused from school attendance when prevented from such attendance due to conditions rendering school attendance impossible or hazardous to their health or safety. Revised 07.28.25 7
6. Children serving as the pages of the Georgia General Assembly shall be credited as present by the school in which they are enrolled for days missed from school for this purpose.
7. A student may be granted an excused absence of at most one day to register to vote or to vote in a public election.
8. A student whose parent or legal guardian is in military service in the armed forces of the United States or the National Guard, and such 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, shall be granted excused absences, up to a maximum of five school days per school year, for the day or days missed from school to visit with his or her parent or legal guardian before such parent’s or legal guardian’s deployment or during such parent’s or legal guardian’s leave.
9. A foster care student who attends court proceedings relating to the student’s foster care shall be credited as present by the school and shall not be counted as an absence, either excused or unexcused, for any day, a portion of a day, or days missed from school as outlined in O.C.G.A. § 20-2-692.2.
10. Any other absence not explicitly defined in this policy but deemed by the Superintendent or their designee to have merit based on circumstances may be counted as excused as long as make-up work for the absence is completed satisfactorily.
11. A student participating in activities or programs sponsored by 4-H in the same manner as an educational field trip shall be credited as present by the school and shall not be counted as an absence, either excused or unexcused, for any day, a portion of a day, or days missed from school.
All other absences will be considered unexcused.
● Students present for at least one-half of the instructional day shall be counted as present.
● The principal has the authority to require additional proof of the legitimacy of excessive early check-out requests.
● Parents must submit a written excuse within 3 days for the student’s absence to be considered excused. The note or e-mail must state the student’s name, the date(s) of absence (s), and the reason for the absence(s). Parent notes cannot exceed 10 days per year. A doctor’s note will be required for absences over 10 school days. The principal may require students to present appropriate medical or other documentation upon return to school to validate that absences are excused. Getting a note from the doctor for all appointments is always recommended.
● The school system reserves the right not to accept parent notes as valid excuses when they are not received promptly. It has the authority to require additional proof of the legitimacy of the excuse. The school system also reserves the right to verify the accuracy of physicians’ notes/excuses. The student must bring a written excuse from a parent/guardian, or a medical or governmental authority, upon returning to school within three days after an absence. It is the student's and/or the parent/legal guardian's responsibility, not the teacher's, to make arrangements for make-up work.
● Truant - Any student subject to compulsory attendance who, during the school calendar year, has more than ten days of unexcused absences. Students who encounter a long-term illness that will result in absences lasting longer than 10 days should apply for hospital homebound services. Please contact the school social worker for more information.
Students who encounter long-term illness may be eligible for the Hospital Homebound program (HHB).
Please contact the school social worker for more information.
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