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The Hidden Crisis in Georgia’s Schools 

Writer's picture: Arch Policy InstituteArch Policy Institute

Updated: Jan 27

Hi everyone my name is Courtney Deans, and I am a 4th-year in the Education Policy Group. My piece addresses the issues of absenteeism within Georgia public schools.


While the Covid-19 pandemic ended over two years ago, students across the world are still struggling with its impacts.  The Georgia Department of Education has witnessed severe pandemic related learning loss which is reflected in milestone scores of Georgian students. One of the strongest drivers of these academic struggles is chronic absenteeism, which refers to students missing 10% of school days in an academic calendar year. Absenteeism can have widespread impacts on a students’ academic and future outcomes.  

 

Following the pandemic, the rate of chronic absenteeism increased rapidly, with recent studies showing that more than 450,000 Georgian students miss at least 18 days of school a year.  Chronic absenteeism has significant implications on student academic performances and future outcomes, with “irregular attendance can be a predictor of high school drop-out, which has been linked to poor labor market prospects, diminished health and increased involvement in the criminal justice system”. In the state of Georgia, where the Georgia Department of Education reports the high school graduation rate is 84% (an all-time high), and three percent below the national average, combatting absenteeism is imperative to maintaining and improving strides in education. 

 

The issue of absenteeism also is widespread across the state. While the highest levels of absenteeism among individual Georgia schools were seen in Atlanta, averages of absenteeism were also exceedingly highly within rural Georgia. Absenteeism is not targeting a single demographic of students. The crisis affects both urban and rural students, pointing to a larger cause than geographical differences. 

 

Georgia legislators have attempted to combat the mental health induced issues through previous legislation. In 2011, Georgia legislatures implemented bill JB 160-5-1-.10 on school attendance. Section C of the bill attempts to combat the crisis through establishing local attendance committees which sought to ensure interagency cooperation to reduce absences. However, many districts have failed to implement this legislation. The legislation does not provide any provisions for committee creation or provide resources for supporting students. Instead, the law adds another administrative responsibility to school districts. 

 

While existing legislation has failed to address the issue, one potential solution would involve addressing student mental issues contributing to absenteeism. One study found that, “in Georgia, the amount of young people ages three to 17 who reported experiencing anxiety and depression rose from eight and a half percent from 2016 to 10.4 percent by 2020”.  

 

A statewide strategy to combat chronic absenteeism and mental health crises is giving students mental health day(s), which they do not have to take but are allotted by law. According to Georgia Family Connection Partnership, Georgia ranks 38th in the USA for child and family well-being and as sourced by the AJC, 48th for access to mental health care. Although a mental health day cannot solve the root cause of a student’s issue, they can give the student a moment to recover, decompress, and seek resources to manage their health. Schools can also track which students may need more help through mental health days and refer students who request multiple to counselors and psychologists for further assessment and intervention.  

 

Mental health days will combat absenteeism by giving students time to address mental health crises. Ugwuadu says today, 12 states allow mental health days for students; they each employ different regulations in legislation. I believe the state of Georgia must follow the examples of these trailblazers. By ameliorating programming and legislation we can improve the academic environment and the future of our youth. 

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A non-partisan, student-run think tank housed in the Morehead Honors College

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