| 4 | 7 | | |
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| 5 | 8 | | |
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| 6 | 9 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 7 | 10 | | AN ACT |
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| 8 | 11 | | relating to an attendance policy adopted by public schools to |
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| 9 | 12 | | prevent truancy. |
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| 10 | 13 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 11 | 14 | | SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 25, Education Code, is |
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| 12 | 15 | | amended by adding Section 25.0916 to read as follows: |
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| 13 | 16 | | Sec. 25.0916. ATTENDANCE POLICY. (a) In this section, |
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| 14 | 17 | | "parent" includes a person standing in parental relation. |
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| 15 | 18 | | (b) The board of trustees of each school district and the |
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| 16 | 19 | | governing body of each open-enrollment charter school shall adopt |
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| 17 | 20 | | and implement an attendance policy to: |
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| 18 | 21 | | (1) inform students and parents regarding the |
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| 19 | 22 | | importance of regular attendance; and |
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| 20 | 23 | | (2) provide appropriate supports to students who fail |
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| 21 | 24 | | to regularly attend school. |
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| 22 | 25 | | (c) An attendance policy adopted under this section must: |
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| 23 | 26 | | (1) describe the benefits of regular attendance; |
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| 24 | 27 | | (2) describe the consequences of failing to regularly |
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| 25 | 28 | | attend school, including the negative effects on: |
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| 26 | 29 | | (A) a student's academic progress; and |
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| 27 | 30 | | (B) a student and the student's family as a |
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| 28 | 31 | | result of referral to a truancy court for truant conduct under |
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| 29 | 32 | | Section 65.003(a), Family Code; |
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| 30 | 33 | | (3) provide for a parent of a student enrolled in the |
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| 31 | 34 | | district or school to elect to receive notifications of the |
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| 32 | 35 | | student's absence from school for a day or part of a day, regardless |
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| 33 | 36 | | of whether the student's absence is excused or unexcused, through: |
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| 34 | 37 | | (A) e-mail or text message, if the district or |
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| 35 | 38 | | school has the capability to send notifications through those |
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| 36 | 39 | | methods; or |
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| 37 | 40 | | (B) first class mail, if the district or school |
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| 38 | 41 | | does not have the capability to send notifications as provided by |
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| 39 | 42 | | Paragraph (A); |
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| 40 | 43 | | (4) provide for a meeting between a parent of a student |
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| 41 | 44 | | enrolled in the district or school and a school counselor, |
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| 42 | 45 | | principal, or appropriate administrator when the student becomes at |
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| 43 | 46 | | risk for engaging in truant conduct under Section 65.003, Family |
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| 44 | 47 | | Code, as provided by the policy, to discuss the student's behavior |
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| 45 | 48 | | and any conditions at the student's home that may be contributing to |
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| 46 | 49 | | the student's failure to attend school; |
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| 47 | 50 | | (5) if a parent of a student enrolled in the district |
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| 48 | 51 | | or school fails to attend a meeting described by Subdivision (4), |
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| 49 | 52 | | authorize the school attendance officer to make a home visit or |
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| 50 | 53 | | otherwise contact the parent in the manner described by Section |
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| 51 | 54 | | 25.091 to investigate the student's behavior and living conditions |
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| 52 | 55 | | and report the attendance officer's findings to the district or |
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| 53 | 56 | | school; and |
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| 54 | 57 | | (6) establish guidelines to identify a student in need |
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| 55 | 58 | | of additional support and to refer the student to in-school or |
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| 56 | 59 | | out-of-school services aimed at addressing the student's failure to |
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| 57 | 60 | | regularly attend school. |
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| 58 | 61 | | (d) At the beginning of each school year, each school |
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| 59 | 62 | | district or open-enrollment charter school shall provide a copy of |
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| 60 | 63 | | the attendance policy adopted under this section to the parent of |
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| 61 | 64 | | each student enrolled in the district or school. |
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| 62 | 65 | | SECTION 2. This Act applies beginning with the 2025-2026 |
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| 63 | 66 | | school year. |
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| 64 | 67 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 65 | 68 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 66 | 69 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 67 | 70 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 68 | 71 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |
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