Newspaper News Story

Claire Rosemond , The Odyssey
Clarke Central HS (Athens, Ga.)

How to lose a license in 10 days

Next time you miss school to go on vacation or even to the hospital, but forget to bring in an excuse for your absence, consider life without a driver’s license. Last year, 348 Clarke Central High School students were eligible to have their license suspended.

“I had just gotten my car in February or March so (I was) just starting to drive, starting to do everything by myself,” sand senior Gonzalo Del Rio.

In May 2007, Del Rio received a Certificate of Non-Compliance in the mail, informing him that his license had been suspended. Now, Del Rio can drive only to school and work, using a temporary license.

Under the Teenage and Adult Diver Responsibility Act which went into effect with the start of school year 2006-07, students can have their driver’s license suspended for one year or until they turn 18 as punishment for certain offenses. The law affects Georgia youth from ages 14 to 18, because Georgia law prohibits the issuance of a license to students who drop out of school, have 10 or more unexcused absences in the current academic year or in the previous academic year, or violate the Code of Student Conduct.

CCHS maintains the records, which are given to TAADRA coordinator Ernest Hardaway, Deputy Superintendent in the Clarke County Board of Education. The TAADRA coordinator then submits the data to the state.

“I understand the intent of the law is to help students understand the importance of being in school I think it’s also (good) that the state has been very reasonable in saying that they are looking at unexcused absences, not excused absences,” said associate principal Tammy Pope. “The problem lies in that the student needs to take responsibility to get their excused notes into us on time, and that is not always the case.”

Behavior of students is also tied to TAADRA because students cannot break specific parts of the Code of Student Conduct without license suspension. The Code of Students Conduct includes harming a teacher, other school personnel or any student, sale or possession of drugs, alcohol, or weapons on school property or at a school sponsored event, or any sexual offense.

“I think (TAADRA) would discourage kids from doing the kinds of things that might get their license suspended,” said Malcolm McArthur, attorney with the law firm of Hall, Booth, Smith and Slower and a legal council for the Clarke County School District.

Students can try to appeal the license suspension, but appeals are not always approved. “It’s a pretty limited appeals process,” said McArthur, “I don’t think it is easy to get that appeal granted under those circumstances (dropping out of school or having 10 or more unexcused absences).”

Junior Jessica Catoe also had her license suspended in May due to more than 10 unexcused absences in school, but she did not find out until early August. Catoe was driving with her mom and aunt in southern Georgia when she was pulled over. The policeman checked her license and told Catoe that her license had been suspended since May. “I kind of freaked out, because if I would have known that, I would have stopped driving because I didn’t want to get into any trouble,” said Catoe.

McArthur feels that it takes efforts from numerous places to inform students of the actions leading up to their license suspension. “I think it’s a combination of agencies (that have) the responsibility of informing students and parents of what the consequences of the law are,” said McArthur. However, Catoe was left uninformed about her suspended license for months after it was suspended. Rhonda Catoe, Jessica Catoe’s mother, was also left unaware of the law. “We had no knowledge about it,” said Rhonda Catoe. “I wish the school would take more incentive to inform the students and the parents.”

TAADRA allows students nine unexcused absences in the academic year before consequences arise. At CCHS, a student can miss a total of 16 days of school a year, excused or unexcused before they no longer have credit for the class, six more than TAADRA allows. “I got a letter back in the mail saying my absences were appealed (for the school), so as far as I knew, everything was fine,” said Catoe.

Because of TAADRA, missing school interferes with more than schoolwork. The privilege of driving can now be taken away from students as a consequence for unexcused absences. Catoe said, “(If) I’m doing my work, actually turning it in and passing my class, then I shouldn’t be penalized for my absences.”

Students drive to school and work, so losing the privilege to drive because of TAADRA can heavily impact their lives. Pope said, “I think its another effort on the part of the state to find anything that might be a motivating factor for a student to stay in school. It’s a significant problem for the state of Georgia, and they are trying to help address the problem with the individual schools from a more global standpoint.”