State lawmakers study student absenteeism, lingering problem since pandemic

Five years after COVID- caused multiple Georgia kids to start skipping school absenteeism rates remain stubbornly high with students scoring worse in core subjects like math and reading A special committee of the state House of Representatives is studying the issue ahead of next year s legislative session with the goal of producing laws that can reverse the trend The first presentations at the Georgia Capitol Tuesday indicated that several of the likely causes relate to poverty although mental fitness also plays a role More than one in five students missed more than days of school in nearly double the rate in The rate missing six to days climbed to six points higher than in A emergency is building noted Rep Will Wade R-Dawsonville a member of the committee Wade and fellow lawmakers heard that reasons as obvious as uncorrected vision and illness are driving absenteeism Asthma is the leading cause declared Garry McGiboney a former state Department of Learning official the first expert to testify He commented diabetes is also a big driver If you look deeper into that one of the reasons why is because it s challenging for school systems to implement an asthma or diabetes management plan especially if they don t have a school nurse McGiboney led a volunteer panel that studied absenteeism for the group Get Georgia Reading Their resulting account published in June disclosed children with asthma were twice as likely to miss school and cited an American Lung Association account that children with asthma missed million school days nationwide Justin Hill a deputy state school superintendent mentioned illness is a top driver of absenteeism but that weather family emergencies and vacations also contribute High school students who skip school often cite fatigue he disclosed Carol Lewis president and CEO of the group Communities in Schools a non-profit with the mission of keeping kids in school reported a great number of high school students are tired because they are helping to care for siblings or holding down jobs to help pay family bills She explained lack of mental medical services is a barrier noting that numerous chronically absent students lost family members during the pandemic Basic demands are a dilemma too she added such as clean clothes feminine hygiene products food housing and internet arrangement McGiboney recommended that the state enforce a law requiring the chief superior court judge in each county to form a multi-agency pupil attendance committee Those committees can be effective but not all counties have one he explained Wade Gov Brian Kemp s House floor leader declared particular schools don t have a nurse and requested if getting one into every school would help McGiboney responded that it would be one of the majority of crucial things the state could do The committee will meet two more times with the next hearing scheduled for Sept at the Capitol The post State lawmakers survey participant absenteeism lingering challenge since pandemic appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta