James May-June 2025 web - Flipbook - Page 76
10 percent of the school year, a trend
called chronic absenteeism. During the
height of the pandemic, chronic absenteeism nearly doubled, from 14 percent to 25 percent. While the specific
reasons students are missing school are
complex, research is clear that chronic absenteeism threatens students’
success and wellbeing and undermines
community resilience and state economic security. In fact, the Georgia
Partnership identified attendance in the
current edition of the Top Ten Issues to
Watch as a key component of student
success strategies and recommended
district and community leaders develop
strategies that support prevention and
early intervention.
The importance of this issue is
why we were so encouraged that the
General Assembly passed Senate
Bill 123, which charges local school
systems with developing strategies to
support students who are chronically
absent and provide early interventions
for those who are at risk of missing
significant time. The bill requires
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school systems to convene district
attendance review teams if chronic
absenteeism rates exceed 10 percent.
Also, the Georgia Senate passed Senate Resolution 217 which creates the
Senate study Committee on Combating Chronic Absenteeism in Schools.
According to data reported by the
Governor’s Office of Student Achievement, only 10 of Georgia’s 180 school
districts have chronic absenteeism
rates at or below 10 percent, so there’s
much work to be done.
WORKFORCE ALIGNMENT
House Bill 192— The Top State
for Talent Act— was one of Governor
Kemp’s top 2025 education priorities.
The bill requires the State Board of Education to revise the list of Grade 6-12 career-themed programs to include fields
on the state’s High-Demand Career List.
The bill also encourages school districts
to provide industry credentialing for
programs included on the list.
The Georgia Partnership applauds
House Bill 192, as we recommended
in our Top Ten Issues to Watch in 2024
report that state leaders reward school
systems and post-secondary institutions that offer programs aligned with
high-demand careers. We noted that
policymakers could pilot differentiated funding outside of the K-12 and
post-secondary funding formulas to
determine whether the initiative spurs
local innovation and encourages a
demand-driven focus. House Bill 192
creates the basis to implement this
recommendation.
The General Assembly’s focus
on literacy, safety, attendance and
workforce alignment promotes personal well-being, community resilience
and Georgia’s long-term economic
security. These three objectives are
central to Georgia’s efforts to reach
the North Star— ensuring 65 percent of
Georgians aged 25 to 64 have earned
post-secondary credentials with workforce value by 2033.
Matthew Smith is the Director of Policy and Research at the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in
Education.
