Fannin County Attendance Support Team Protocol

Dear Parents, 

Please review the information about the Fannin County School System's Attendance Support Team in our Fannin County Attendance Support Team Protocol (linked above). The Attendance Support Team (AST) cares about Fannin County students and wants to help them succeed in school. We believe that regular attendance is crucial

to academic success. 

House Bill 1190 was signed into law in the spring of 2004 and requires all counties in Georgia to implement an attendance team. Ours has been in effect for several years, and we have modified our procedures slightly each year to serve our families best. One of the current procedures this law requires is that all parents and students aged ten or over sign a notice for the School System that they have received the guidelines of their county's AST. This year you will acknowledge receipt of our AST Protocol through our online registration in Infinite Campus.

We understand that there are times when your children will have to miss school. When this does happen, we must receive a written excuse within three days after the child's absence, even if you have already called the school. All excuses should include the date, parent/guardian’s signature, and state the specific reason for the absence. Notes can be sent via email. Please visit https://www.fannin.kl2.ga.us/electronicabsencenotes to locate the correct email address for each school. This year, our protocol was amended, and the number of absences allowed by parent notes is limited to ten. After ten absences excused by parent notes each semester, doctor’s notes are required. 

State law and the State Board of Education policy permits students to be excused for the following reasons: 

• personal illness and when attendance in school would endanger their health or the health of others;

• a serious illness or death in their immediate family necessitates absence from school;

• mandated by order of governmental agencies, including pre-induction physical examinations for service in the armed forces, or by a court order;

• celebrating religious holidays;

• conditions render attendance impossible or hazardous to their health or safety;

• registering to vote or voting for a period not to exceed one day; and a maximum of five days per school year to visit with a parent or legal guardian prior to his or her deployment or during his or her leave to or from a combat zone or combat support posting.

• a foster care student who attends court proceedings relating to their foster care shall be counted present.

If you have any questions about the Attendance Support Team or referral procedures, you can contact your school principal or family support worker at the individual school, or you may also contact me at the Fannin County Technology Center, 706-258-2791. 

Sincerely,

Gini Tipton
Director of Communications and Information Services

Statement included in Online Registration