EDUCATION Elementary and Secondary Education: Amend the Compulsory School Attendance Law, so as to Clarify Certain Provisions Relating to Mandatory Education; Provide That an Unemancipated Minor Older Than the Age of Mandatory Attendance May Not Withdraw from Enrollment in School Without the Permission of His or Her Parent or Guardian; Require Parent or Guardian Approval; Provide for a Conference with the Principal; Provide for Local Board of Education Policies; Change Certain Provisions Relating to Exemptions fron Compulsory Attendance; Provide for Information Regarding School Sponsored Clubs and Extracurricular Activities to Be Included in Student Codes of Conduct; Provide an Opportunity for Parents and Legal Guardians to Decline Permission for Participation; Provide That Student Codes of Conduct Encourage Parents and Guardians to Inform Their Children of the Consequences of Certain Conduct; Provide for Acknowledgement of Receipt of Student Codes of Conduct; Provide for School Bus Pickup Schedules; Provide for Related Matters; Repeal Conflicting Laws; and for Other Purposes

Authors

Georgia State University Law Review

Document Type

Peach Sheet

Abstract

The purpose of the Act is to improve the high school graduation rate in Georgia and to strengthen parent participation in student education. The Act mandates school attendance for children between their sixth and sixteenth birthdays. The Act requires that an unemancipated minor older than the mandatory attendance age have the written permission of a parent or legal guardian to withdraw from school. The Act establishes that the school principal confer with the child and the parent of a legal guardian within two days of receiving notice of the intent to withdraw, to explain the lifetime consequences of not having earned a high school diploma and to provide information about earning a general education development (GED) diploma. The Act directs local school boards to adopt policies on the voluntary withdrawal of unemancipated minors older than the mandatory attendance age. The Act instructs schools to include specified information about school clubs and organizations in the student code of conduct distributed annually at the beginning of the school year. The Act mandates that schools include with the code of conduct a form on which a parent or guardian can decline permission for a child to participate in a designated club or organization formed during the school year. The Act requires that the code of conduct shall encourage parents and guardians to inform their children of the consequences of underage sexual conduct and crimes for which a minor can be tried as an adult. The Act directs local school boards to solicit parent and guardian acknowledgment of their receipt of the code of conduct. The Act reserves the requirement that schools make accessible a schedule of school bus routes.

Recommended Citation

Georgia State University Law Review, EDUCATION Elementary and Secondary Education: Amend the Compulsory School Attendance Law, so as to Clarify Certain Provisions Relating to Mandatory Education; Provide That an Unemancipated Minor Older Than the Age of Mandatory Attendance May Not Withdraw from Enrollment in School Without the Permission of His or Her Parent or Guardian; Require Parent or Guardian Approval; Provide for a Conference with the Principal; Provide for Local Board of Education Policies; Change Certain Provisions Relating to Exemptions fron Compulsory Attendance; Provide for Information Regarding School Sponsored Clubs and Extracurricular Activities to Be Included in Student Codes of Conduct; Provide an Opportunity for Parents and Legal Guardians to Decline Permission for Participation; Provide That Student Codes of Conduct Encourage Parents and Guardians to Inform Their Children of the Consequences of Certain Conduct; Provide for Acknowledgement of Receipt of Student Codes of Conduct; Provide for School Bus Pickup Schedules; Provide for Related Matters; Repeal Conflicting Laws; and for Other Purposes, 23 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. (2012).
Available at: https://readingroom.law.gsu.edu/gsulr/vol23/iss1/13