ENROLLED ORIGINAL
AN ACT
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IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
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To amend, on an emergency basis, 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.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
act may be cited as the “Pilot Truancy Reduction Emergency Amendment Act of 2024”.
Sec. 2. Section 7 of 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, effective
September 19, 2013 (D.C. Law 20-17; D.C. Official Code § 38-208), is amended by adding a
new subsection (c-1) to read as follows:
“(c-1)(1)(A) By August 12, 2024, the Mayor shall identify 5 secondary educational
institutions in the District that had a truancy rate greater than 50% in the 2023-2024 school year
to participate in a truancy pilot with the Department of Human Services (“DHS”) during School
Year 2024-2025.
“(B) The Mayor shall notify the identified educational institutions of their
participation in the truancy pilot at least 10 business days before the first day of instruction in
School Year 2024-2025. The notice shall include appropriate agency contacts, timelines, and
procedures for complying with paragraph (2) of this subsection.
“(2) The 5 secondary educational institutions identified pursuant to paragraph (1)
of this subsection shall refer each student who is 14 years of age through 17 years of age to DHS
no later than 2 school days after the accrual of 15 unexcused full school day absences within a
school year.
“(3) By March 31, 2025, DHS shall publish a preliminary report, and by August 15,
2025, DHS shall publish a final report that:
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“(A) Describes the interventions and services provided through the
truancy pilot;
“(B) Provides the 5 most common reasons for unexcused absences for the
students referred to DHS, such as housing instability, transportation issues, or medical
emergencies;
“(C) Presents aggregate data on the 5 most common truancy intervention
services or programs that students referred to DHS utilized; and
“(D) Provides an analysis that compares:
“(i) The attendance outcomes, academic performance, and
delinquency status of students referred to DHS to the students’ attendance outcomes, academic
performance, and delinquency status during the same time period in the prior school year;
“(ii) The attendance outcomes, academic performance, and
delinquency status of students referred to DHS before and after the DHS referral during the
applicable time period for School Year 2024-2025; and
“(iii) The attendance outcomes and academic performance of
educational institutions participating in the truancy pilot with the attendance and academic
performance during School Year 2024-2025 of non-participating secondary educational
institutions that are sociodemographically similar to participating educational institutions.
“(4) For purposes of paragraph (3) of this subsection, the term “delinquency
status” means whether a minor student was arrested by a law enforcement official during the time
period analyzed in the report.
“(5) Educational institutions participating in the truancy pilot shall be exempt
from the requirements of subsection (c) of this section for minor students who are 14 years of age
through 17 years of age.”.
Sec. 3. Fiscal impact statement.
The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement of the Budget Director as the fiscal impact
statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, approved
October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a).
Sec. 4. Effective date.
This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the
Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto), and shall remain in effect for no longer than
90 days, as provided for emergency acts of the Council of the District of Columbia in section
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412(a) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 24, 1973 (87 Stat. 788;
D.C. Official Code § 1-204.12(a)).
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Chairman
Council of the District of Columbia
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Mayor
District of Columbia
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