BILL ANALYSIS H.B. 213 By: Gonzlez, Mary Public Education Committee Report (Unamended) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Chronic absenteeism is not currently defined under state law. According to the U.S. Department of Education, the term is defined as a student missing 10 percent of instructional days during the school year. The department also reports that students are seven times more likely to drop out of school if they are chronically absent one year between 8th and 12th grade. Although students determined to be at risk of dropping out receive additional support services under state law, chronic absenteeism is not included as a category of at-risk students. Despite the significant impact of chronic absenteeism on students' persistence and graduation rates, there is little data collected or reported to explain what factors may cause chronic absenteeism. H.B. 213 seeks to ensure that chronically absent students receive the support they need to graduate high school by defining chronic absenteeism, categorizing a chronically absent student as a student at risk of dropping out of school, and requiring the Texas Education Agency to collect and report specified data on those students. CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS H.B. 213 amends the Education Code to include a chronically absent student among the students for which each public school district must provide accelerated instruction as a student at risk of dropping out of school. The bill defines "chronically absent student" as a student who is absent from school for more than 10 percent of the minutes of school operation time allocated for instruction within a school year or a six-week grade reporting period. H.B. 213 includes among the information that must be reported annually by each district and open-enrollment charter school through PEIMS information regarding the total number of chronically absent students enrolled at each campus in the district or school disaggregated by students' race, ethnicity, and status as: students enrolled in a special education program; students identified as having dyslexia; educationally disadvantaged students; and emergent bilingual students. The bill requires the Texas Education Agency to annually aggregate and make publicly available the collected data on student chronic absenteeism. The data must be shown at the campus and district aggregate levels and include the percentage of chronically absent students in each demographic category. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2025.
BILL ANALYSIS
# BILL ANALYSIS
H.B. 213
By: Gonzlez, Mary
Public Education
Committee Report (Unamended)
H.B. 213
By: Gonzlez, Mary
Public Education
Committee Report (Unamended)
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Chronic absenteeism is not currently defined under state law. According to the U.S. Department of Education, the term is defined as a student missing 10 percent of instructional days during the school year. The department also reports that students are seven times more likely to drop out of school if they are chronically absent one year between 8th and 12th grade. Although students determined to be at risk of dropping out receive additional support services under state law, chronic absenteeism is not included as a category of at-risk students. Despite the significant impact of chronic absenteeism on students' persistence and graduation rates, there is little data collected or reported to explain what factors may cause chronic absenteeism. H.B. 213 seeks to ensure that chronically absent students receive the support they need to graduate high school by defining chronic absenteeism, categorizing a chronically absent student as a student at risk of dropping out of school, and requiring the Texas Education Agency to collect and report specified data on those students.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
ANALYSIS H.B. 213 amends the Education Code to include a chronically absent student among the students for which each public school district must provide accelerated instruction as a student at risk of dropping out of school. The bill defines "chronically absent student" as a student who is absent from school for more than 10 percent of the minutes of school operation time allocated for instruction within a school year or a six-week grade reporting period. H.B. 213 includes among the information that must be reported annually by each district and open-enrollment charter school through PEIMS information regarding the total number of chronically absent students enrolled at each campus in the district or school disaggregated by students' race, ethnicity, and status as: students enrolled in a special education program; students identified as having dyslexia; educationally disadvantaged students; and emergent bilingual students. The bill requires the Texas Education Agency to annually aggregate and make publicly available the collected data on student chronic absenteeism. The data must be shown at the campus and district aggregate levels and include the percentage of chronically absent students in each demographic category.
EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2025.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Chronic absenteeism is not currently defined under state law. According to the U.S. Department of Education, the term is defined as a student missing 10 percent of instructional days during the school year. The department also reports that students are seven times more likely to drop out of school if they are chronically absent one year between 8th and 12th grade. Although students determined to be at risk of dropping out receive additional support services under state law, chronic absenteeism is not included as a category of at-risk students. Despite the significant impact of chronic absenteeism on students' persistence and graduation rates, there is little data collected or reported to explain what factors may cause chronic absenteeism. H.B. 213 seeks to ensure that chronically absent students receive the support they need to graduate high school by defining chronic absenteeism, categorizing a chronically absent student as a student at risk of dropping out of school, and requiring the Texas Education Agency to collect and report specified data on those students.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
ANALYSIS
H.B. 213 amends the Education Code to include a chronically absent student among the students for which each public school district must provide accelerated instruction as a student at risk of dropping out of school. The bill defines "chronically absent student" as a student who is absent from school for more than 10 percent of the minutes of school operation time allocated for instruction within a school year or a six-week grade reporting period.
H.B. 213 includes among the information that must be reported annually by each district and open-enrollment charter school through PEIMS information regarding the total number of chronically absent students enrolled at each campus in the district or school disaggregated by students' race, ethnicity, and status as:
students enrolled in a special education program;
students identified as having dyslexia;
educationally disadvantaged students; and
emergent bilingual students.
The bill requires the Texas Education Agency to annually aggregate and make publicly available the collected data on student chronic absenteeism. The data must be shown at the campus and district aggregate levels and include the percentage of chronically absent students in each demographic category.
EFFECTIVE DATE
September 1, 2025.