House Bill 1823 aims to amend various sections of the Tennessee Code Annotated related to student attendance and truancy interventions. The bill introduces new language that emphasizes the importance of "attendance" alongside "academic" performance in Section 49-6-3001. It also establishes new reporting requirements for school directors when a student withdraws from a Local Education Agency (LEA) without transferring to another, mandating that the director report the student's absences to the juvenile court judge in the student's county of residence. If a student in grades K-12 is found to have five or more unexcused absences, the judge may impose a fine or community service on the parent or guardian.

Additionally, the bill clarifies that unexcused absences from a transferring school will carry over to the new school for attendance tracking purposes. It modifies existing language by removing the requirement for "five (5) hours of" in Section 49-6-3009(g) and adds a reference to the new subsection (o) in Section 49-6-3009(i). The act is set to take effect on July 1, 2026.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 49-6-3001(c)(1)(B)(i), 49-6-3001, 49-6-3009, 49-6-3009(i), 49-6-3009(g), 49-6-3007