The bill amends the Education Code to include chronically absent students as a category of students at risk of dropping out of school. Specifically, it adds a new definition for "chronically absent student," which refers to any student who is absent for more than 10% of the school operation time allocated for instruction within a school year or a six-week grading period. Additionally, the bill modifies Section 29.081(d) to incorporate this new category into the existing criteria for identifying students at risk of dropping out, thereby expanding the scope of support and intervention for these students.

Furthermore, the bill mandates that school districts and open-enrollment charter schools report data on chronically absent students through the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS). This includes disaggregated data by race, ethnicity, and various student statuses, such as special education and emergent bilingual students. The Texas Education Agency is also required to aggregate and publicly share this data annually, ensuring transparency and accountability in addressing chronic absenteeism in schools. The provisions of this bill are set to take effect on September 1, 2025.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: Education Code 29.081, Education Code 48.009 (Education Code 29, Education Code 48)
House Committee Report: Education Code 29.081, Education Code 48.009 (Education Code 29, Education Code 48)
Engrossed: Education Code 29.081, Education Code 48.009 (Education Code 29, Education Code 48)