Bill > S294

Introduced Session

This bill requires certain school districts to establish attendance review teams and requires the Department of Education to develop a chronic absenteeism prevention and intervention plan. Under the bill, a school district is required to establish an attendance review team to address chronic absenteeism in the district or at one or more of the schools in the district, as applicable, if the district chronic absenteeism rate is greater than or equal to 10 percent, or one or more schools in the district has a school chronic absenteeism rate greater than or equal to 15 percent. The attendance review team is to be responsible for reviewing the cases of any chronically absent children enrolled in the district or at the school, as applicable, discussing school interventions and community referrals for the chronically absent children, and making any additional recommendations for the chronically absent children and their parents or guardians. An attendance review team may consist of school administrators, guidance counselors, school social workers, teachers, and representatives from community-based programs that address issues related to student attendance. The bill also requires the Department of Education to develop and make available on its Internet website a chronic absenteeism prevention and intervention plan for use by school districts to reduce chronic absenteeism. The chronic absenteeism prevention and intervention plan is to include information on: the definition of chronically absent and common causes of chronic absenteeism; the effect of chronic absenteeism on a student's academic performance; and ways in which family and school partnerships with community resources can reduce chronic absenteeism and improve student attendance. Additionally, the plan is to include a means of collecting and analyzing data related to student attendance and chronic absenteeism for the purpose of disaggregating the data by school district, school, grade and student subgroups, and assisting school districts in tracking chronic absenteeism over multiple years and throughout the school year, developing indicators to identify students who are at risk of being chronically absent children, monitoring students' attendance over time, and making adjustments to interventions for chronic absenteeism as they are being implemented. The plan may include a research-based and data-driven mentorship model that attempts to reduce chronic absenteeism through the use of mentors. Additionally, the department may develop incentives and rewards that recognize schools that reduce the school chronic absenteeism rate and students who improve attendance.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Shirley Turner (D)*, 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Education Committee (on 01/13/2026)

Official Document