3 arrested on truancy charges, Bulloch Schools cracking down on absences
STATESBORO, Ga. (WSAV) — Three parents in Bulloch County are facing charges for not sending their children to school as the district works to address chronic absenteeism.
Attendance at Bulloch County Schools has not returned to pre-pandemic levels, but school leaders said they are actively trying to change that.
'Good attendance is one way we are training a future workforce,' said Hayley Greene, public relations director for Bulloch County Schools.
Currently, about one in five students in the district is considered chronically absent, meaning they have missed 10% of the school year.
'That's just two days a month, so you can see if your student is absent just two days a month, that adds up very quickly,' said Greene. 'That can quickly become 10% of the school year.'
While the percentage of chronically absent students is starting to decline from a peak in 2022—when more than a quarter of students were considered chronically absent—it is still double what it was before the COVID-19 pandemic.
'A teacher has to interrupt their pace of instruction for a course because they have one, maybe more, that are chronically absent,' said Greene. 'It can interrupt an entire classroom and the pace of their learning.'
Greene said the district has implemented attendance support teams at each school to monitor and encourage regular attendance.
Still, this month, three Bulloch County residents were arrested on truancy charges.
'If it gets to the point of truancy, a lot has gone on, intervention and prevention-wise, before that would happen.'
Greene said the number of absences before a truancy arrest varies, but being non-compliant and unreachable can speed up the process. She emphasized that any absence should be accompanied by a note, either submitted online or sent with the student.
Truancy is a misdemeanor in Georgia, meaning parents or legal guardians could face up to a year in jail or a $1,000 fine.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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