Bill > S347

This bill establishes a framework for interagency collaboration to prevent school dropouts, focusing on districts with high dropout rates and student populations of 1,000 or more. It defines "at-risk youth" as individuals facing academic failure, involvement with the juvenile justice or child welfare systems, past dropouts, or high absenteeism, including out-of-school suspensions. The bill creates a state "Council," composed of representatives from various state agencies like Education, Children and Families, Health and Human Services, Mental Health, Youth Services, and Labor & Workforce Development, along with representatives from teacher associations and school administrator groups, and community and parent representatives. This Council will develop a comprehensive plan, including identifying at-risk students as early as third grade and creating individualized plans for them, with strategies to involve parents. The bill also mandates the creation of "District Interagency Councils" within school districts to implement the state Council's plan, consisting of local representatives from the same state agencies, district teachers, and parents. These district councils will identify at-risk students, develop individualized plans, provide services, and manage cases, reporting their results annually to the state Council, which will then conduct reviews and report to legislative committees with recommendations for program modifications or expansion.