Bill > SB56

This bill modifies Texas education law to address chronic student absenteeism by expanding the definition of "students at risk of dropping out of school" to include chronically absent students, defined as those who are absent for more than 10 percent of school operation time within a school year or six-week grading period. The bill requires school districts and open-enrollment charter schools to report detailed data on chronic absenteeism through the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS), including the total number of chronically absent students at each campus, disaggregated by race, ethnicity, and specific student categories such as special education students, students with dyslexia, educationally disadvantaged students, and emergent bilingual students. Additionally, the Texas Education Agency must annually compile and publicly release this chronic absenteeism data at the campus and district levels, showing the percentage of chronically absent students in each demographic category. This legislation aims to improve tracking and understanding of student attendance patterns and potentially develop targeted interventions to reduce absenteeism. The bill is set to take effect on September 1, 2025.

Education

https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=89R&Bill=SB56