GA lawmakers consider punishing student drivers, athletes over bad attendance
The Georgia Senate Study Committee on Combating Chronic Absenteeism in Schools unanimously adopted its final report on addressing the state’s chronic student absenteeism problem — and it may include scrutiny for student drivers and athletes.
After four months of hearing from state organizations and school leaders about the causes and effects of prolonged classroom absences, Georgia lawmakers recommended barring chronically absent students from participating in sports programs and temporarily revoking their driver’s licenses until attendance improves.
The recommendations also call for stressing attendance starting in kindergarten, creating a statewide real-time attendance dashboard and funding services linked to attendance, such as counseling, social work, reliable transportation and mentorship programs.
“Our work over the last few months has the power to transform our schools, strengthen our communities and improve outcomes for children across Georgia,” committee chairman Sen. John F. Kennedy (R–Macon) said in a statement.
Georgia’s struggle with chronic absenteeism mirrors nationwide trends, increasing from 12% of public school students before the COVID-19 pandemic to 23% in 2022, according to previous reporting by The Telegraph. The current rate has dropped to a five-year low of 19.5% but remains high, state officials said in August.
With the study report now released, lawmakers said its recommendations, shaped by policymakers and community organizers, could become legislation aimed at improving school climate and streamlining communication between faculty and families.
“The next step is moving its recommendations into action,” Kennedy said in comments provided by the Senate press office. “The report was unanimously approved at the committee’s final meeting on November 20th, and it is expected to translate key findings into proposed legislation for the 2026 session.”
School attendance in Macon
The committee was created by a Senate resolution during the 2025 legislative session and held its first meeting at Mercer University in Macon, where 28.5% of public school students are chronically absent, according to recent state data.
Bibb County School officials have previously shared their plans to “show more teeth” in enforcing attendance policies and supporting families to get students back in the classroom through incentives and a new truancy specialist.
Kennedy shared his thoughts on the impact he expects the proposals to have on Macon students.
“We are looking for this report to serve as a roadmap for reducing the nearly 30% chronic absentee rate in Macon-Bibb schools by shifting them toward earlier intervention, real-time attendance tracking and more consistent consequences and support for families,” Kennedy said in comments provided by the Senate press office.
The recommendations most likely to benefit Bibb County and Middle Georgia directly are those focused on the tiered early-intervention systems and expanding mental-health resources, he added, but did not clarify exactly why prior to publication.
What other recommendations were made?
State lawmakers said the committee’s final recommendations focus on modernizing Georgia’s approach to student attendance by implementing clearer policies, more decisive early intervention and enhanced support for families:
- Prohibit cell phones in high schools
- Expand teacher preparedness
- Mandate school or district-level attendance teams in schools exceeding a certain threshold with monthly reviews and home‐community outreach
- Provide vision and hearing screening at multiple grade levels
- Review and revise Georgia’s therapist licensure requirements to reduce unnecessary administrative steps
- Update truancy notifications
- Create consistent statewide definitions and a tiered attendance framework that prioritizes prevention
- Launch a statewide “Everyday Counts Act” campaign (similar to the Georgia Early Literacy Act)
This story was originally published December 2, 2025 at 6:00 AM.