Board Policy JBA:

Parents, guardians, or caretakers residing in Chatham County are required to enroll and send children in their care between the ages of six (6) and sixteen (16) to school or to provide a home study program as provided by law (20-2-690.1).

Any child subject to compulsory attendance, who during the school calendar year has five or more days of unexcused absence, is considered truant. Parents, guardians, or caretakers who fail to send their children to school or to provide a registered home study program, or children who are truant, may be subject to court action and subsequent penalties. SCCPSS employs school social workers who are authorized and required to file a petition in the Juvenile and/or State Court to obtain compliance with this law.

The Savannah-Chatham County Public School System has implemented some new options to assist students in maintaining the required number of days in school.  The district will now offer Asynchronous Remote Attendance for up to five (5) days per school year. The District may require any K-12 student who has excused or unexcused absences to utilize the school/district-provided Attendance Recovery option to make up for the missed time from school.  Parents/guardians will be notified of this requirement two weeks in advance. Students may recover up to 5 days per semester.  Learn more about these options, possible penalties for truancy and other attendance information in the Student Code of Conduct.