Georgia students who skip school could face new punishments, including loss of driver’s license

A yellow bulletin board that says Attendance Matters at Cleveland Avenue in blue letters.
An attendance awareness bulletin board at Cleveland Avenue Elementary School in Atlanta, Georgia. (Meimei Xu/WABE)

Georgia students with too many unexcused absences would be barred from playing sports and could lose their driver’s license under legislation approved by the state Senate Thursday.

“These are privileges,” said Sen. Jason Dickerson, R-Canton. “And this bill reinforces the connection between responsibility and opportunity.”

He carried the bill to address “chronic” absenteeism in public schools, defined as missing a tenth or more of the school year.