Senate Bill No. 507, introduced by Senator Barthelemy, mandates the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) to create a uniform and standardized process for public school systems to determine when a student is considered nonenrolled due to incarceration or unknown whereabouts. This process will require school systems to make documented, reasonable, and good-faith efforts to locate the student and verify their enrollment status before making a nonenrollment determination. The bill outlines that the process must include minimum documentation requirements, timelines, and verification procedures to ensure consistency and accuracy across all local public school systems.

Furthermore, if a student is determined to be nonenrolled under this new process, they will not be counted as enrolled for the purposes of the school and district accountability system as of the date of that determination. The bill emphasizes that these determinations must align with applicable federal laws, including the Every Student Succeeds Act. The overarching goal of the legislation is to ensure accurate student enrollment reporting and accountability by establishing consistent and verifiable procedures for identifying students who are no longer considered enrolled after documented efforts to locate them. The provisions of this bill will take effect on August 1, 2026.