Sponsor's attendance bill put in hearing-only status after DDS flags administrative concerns

A state senator presented Senate Bill 513 to the full committee as a measure to reduce chronic absenteeism by requiring every local school district to have at least one attendance review team and by requiring schools with chronic absence rates of 15% or more to form additional teams.

The sponsor told the committee the bill would make chronically absent students temporarily ineligible to participate in certain extracurricular and interscholastic activities and could prevent students ages 15 to 17 who are noncompliant with an attendance-intervention plan from obtaining a new driver's permit or license; the sponsor clarified the bill would not suspend or revoke active licenses.

Committee members pressed the sponsor on whether the measure would punish students for parental-driven absences, whether co-curricular academic courses could be affected, and whether pushing decisions to local districts could create inconsistent application or disparate impact. The sponsor said the draft pushes implementation decisions to local districts and schools, and described the compliance process as a tiered intervention that begins when a student and parent meet with the school and sign an intervention plan.

Shavonda Leslie, Director of Governmental Affairs and Communications for the Georgia Department of Driver Services, told the committee that while DDS understands the bill’s intent, it expects additional delays for customers and operational burdens because DDS typically receives documentation at point of service and relies on customers to bring required paperwork. Leslie also noted the bill’s approach differs from prior reforms that removed non-driving offenses from licensing eligibility.

After members and DDS raised concerns about verification, administrative burden and potential unintended consequences (including impacts on students for whom extracurriculars are a motivation to attend), the chair said the committee would make the session on SB513 a "hearing only" so sponsors and staff could draft clarifications and return the bill for further consideration.

What the bill would do (as discussed in the hearing): it requires at least one attendance-review team per district; schools with chronic rates of 15% or higher must also have a team; a student/parent must meet and sign an intervention plan to be deemed "in compliance;" existing active driver's licenses would not be revoked, but DDS could place a hold on new permits/licenses for noncompliant 15–17-year-olds until compliance is achieved.

Next steps: the committee paused formal action to allow drafting changes and additional consultation with legislative counsel and DDS; the sponsor indicated an effective date adjustment to July 1, 2027 to avoid mid-school-year effects and to allow data collection and possible tweaks.