Relating to the inclusion of chronically absent and truant students as students at risk of dropping out of school and the collection and reporting of data regarding those students.

BILL ANALYSIS

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

Chronic absenteeism is an early warning sign for educators. A student who is chronically absent in any year between eighth and twelfth grade is seven times more likely to drop out of school. For high school students, lack of attendance is a better indicator of dropping out than test scores.

Even before the pandemic, Texas had a problem with chronic absenteeism. Texas experienced an increase in chronic absenteeism rates, from 11 percent in 2018�19 to 15 percent in 2020�21, more than 760,000 students, to 20 percent in 2022�23. In the 2022�23 school year 936,201 students were chronically absent. Texas needs better data about chronic absenteeism to address its causes and adequately support at-risk students. Yet, Texas does not currently define chronic absenteeism.

S.B. 991 defines chronically absent as a student who is absent from school for more than 10 percent of the school's required operation and instructional time within a school year or an enrollment period that exceeds 30 instructional days.

Accordingly, the bill adds chronically absent and truant students to those who are at risk of dropping out in order for them to receive advanced instruction. Lastly, this bill requires the reporting of truant and chronically absent students at the campus level as well as the number of students who receive services under the at risk of dropping out statute.

As proposed, S.B. 991 amends current law relating to the inclusion of chronically absent and truant students as students at risk of dropping out of school and the collection and reporting of data regarding those students.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

Rulemaking authority previously granted to commissioner of education is modified in SECTION 2 (Section 48.009, Education Code) of this bill.

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Section 29.081(d), Education Code, to redefine "student at risk of dropping out."

SECTION 2. Amends Section 48.009, Education Code, by amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsection (c-1), as follows:

(a) Defines "chronically absent student."

(b) Requires the commissioner of education by rule to require each school district and open-enrollment charter school to report through the Public Education Information Management System information regarding:

(1)-(5) makes no changes to these subdivisions;

(6) disaggregated by campus and grade, the number of:

(A) children who are required to attend school under Section 25.085 (Compulsory School Attendance), are not exempted under Section 25.086 (Exemptions), and fail to attend school without excuse for 10 or more days or parts of days within a six-month period in the same school year, in total and disaggregated by whether the child is receiving instructional services under Section 29.081 (Compensatory, Intensive, and Accelerated Instruction);

(B) makes no changes to this paragraph; and

(C) makes a nonsubstantive change to this paragraph;

(7) makes a nonsubstantive change to this subdivision; and

(8) the number of chronically absent students enrolled at each campus in the district or school, in total and disaggregated by whether the student is receiving instructional services under Section 29.081.

(c-1) Requires the Texas Education Agency to annually aggregate at the campus and district levels and make publicly available the data on truancy collected under Subsection (b)(6)(A) and student chronic absenteeism collected under Subsection (b)(8).

SECTION 3. Effective date: September 1, 2025.