ENROLLED ORIGINAL
A RESOLUTION
25-603
IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
July 9, 2024
To declare the existence of an emergency with respect to the need to amend Article II of An Act
To provide for compulsory school attendance, for the taking of a school census in the
District of Columbia, and for other purposes to direct the Mayor to establish a truancy
pilot for the purpose of referring students with unexcused absences to the Department of
Human Services and documenting attendance and academic outcomes of students
receiving interventions from the Department of Human Services.
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
resolution may be cited as the “Truancy Reduction Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2024”.
Sec. 2. (a) Funding of $3.38 million was approved by the Council in the Fiscal Year 2025
Local Budget Act of 2024, passed on 2nd reading on June 12, 2024 (Enrolled version of Bill 25-
785) for the expansion of truancy prevention services at the Department of Human Services.
(b) The proposed legislation will test the Mayor’s proposal to change truancy referrals in
our schools. The goal of the referrals (current and proposed) is to help students. The purpose of
the pilot is to test both the ability and the effectiveness of the Department of Human Services to
handle truancy referrals – the Mayor’s proposal.
(c) Emergency legislation is necessary to ensure that services are provided to students at
the beginning of School Year 2024-2025 rather than at the beginning of the fiscal year.
Sec. 3. The Council determines that the circumstances enumerated in section 2 constitute
emergency circumstances making it necessary that the Pilot Truancy Reduction Emergency
Amendment Act of 2024 be adopted after a single reading.
Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately.