School and Your Driver's License

School Attendance Required

Any applicant who is younger than 18 years of age must be enrolled in and not under expulsion from a public or private school and has satisfied the attendance requirements listed in #1 and #2 below for a period of one academic year prior to application for an instruction permit or driver's license. This suspension is mandated by O.C.G.A. 40-5-22(a.1)(2).

The DDS will suspend the license of a minor who:

1. Has dropped out of school without graduating and has remained out of school for ten consecutive school days.
2. Has ten or more school days of unexcused absences in the current academic year or ten or more school days of unexcused absences in the previous academic year.
3. Has been found in violation by a hearing officer, panel, or tribunal of one of the following offenses, or has waived his or her right to a hearing and pleaded guilty to one of the following offenses:

• Threatening, striking, or causing bodily harm to a teacher or other school personnel.
• Possession or use of a weapon on school property or at a school sponsored event.
• Any sexual offense prohibited under Chapter 6 of Title 16.
• Causing substantial physical or visible bodily harm to or seriously disfiguring another person, including another student.
• Possession or sale of drugs or alcohol on school property or at a school sponsored event.

Any infraction of the above conduct offenses will be a one-year suspension, or the minor shall be suspended until his or her eighteenth birthday, whichever comes first.

Temporary Driving Permit

A student can obtain a temporary driving permit from the Department of Driver Services to drive to and from work with a suspended license, if he or she has demonstrated the need for the permit. The permit would only be granted if the driver's license has been suspended for a school-related infraction or for dropping out of school.