Bill > B25-0754

This bill amends several existing laws to address chronic absenteeism and truancy in the District of Columbia. The key provisions include: 1. Requiring educational institutions to meet and intervene with students who have 5 or more unexcused absences in a marking period before referring them to the Child and Family Services Agency or the Office of the Attorney General. 2. Establishing reporting requirements for the Office of the Attorney General, the Department of Human Services, and educational institutions to share information on referrals, court cases, and student progress in diversion programs. 3. Creating a new funding category for "chronically absent" students (defined as those missing more than 10% of school days) under the Uniform Per Student Funding Formula, and allowing principals to allocate these funds at their discretion to improve attendance and achievement among at-risk and chronically absent students. 4. Expanding the Neighborhood Engagement Achieves Results program to include a "Leadership Academy" that provides services to the 5 high schools with the highest chronic absenteeism rates and their feeder middle schools.