SB1151: SUMMARY OF INTRODUCED BILL IN COMMITTEE (Date Completed: 12-17-14)

TRUANCY/CHRONIC ABSENCE S.B. 1151-1154:

SUMMARY OF INTRODUCED BILL

IN COMMITTEE

Senate Bills 1151 through 1154 (as introduced 12-2-14)

Sponsor: Senator Tonya Schuitmaker (S.B. 1151 & 1152)

Senator Phil Pavlov (S.B. 1153)

Senator Arlan Meekhof (S.B. 1154)

Committee: Education

Date Completed: 12-17-14

CONTENT

Senate Bill 1151 would amend the Revised School Code to do the following:

-- Prohibit a child from being suspended or expelled solely for truancy or chronic absence from school.

-- Define "truant" as a child who has at least 10 unexcused absences per school year.

-- Define "chronically absent" as a pupil who is absent for at least 10% of the scheduled school days in a school year.

-- Provide that a pupil's first five absences would be excused if documentation of the reason for the absence were submitted and approved.

-- Provide that a sixth or subsequent absence would be considered excused only for specified reasons and if documentation were submitted and approved.

-- Require a public school to take certain measures if a child were truant or chronically absent.

-- Require a child to be "in attendance" following enrollment.

Senate Bill 1152 would amend the Code to do the following:

-- Require, rather than allow, a school district to notify a child's parent or another person in a parental relationship with a child to attend a meeting regarding the child's attendance irregularity, failing work, or behavior problems.

-- Authorize the district or intermediate superintendent to consider the reasons for a child's absence and lesser interventions before requiring a meeting with the parent.

-- In a meeting, require school officials to offer an attendance agreement and discuss the consequences if the attendance issue were not resolved.

-- Authorize school officials to offer other interventions as available.

-- Authorize school officials to pursue appropriate interventions if the attendance issue were not resolved, and require them to pursue court intervention if the other interventions were not effective.

Senate Bill 1153 would amend the Code to require a school board's annual report regarding expulsions to include data about suspensions, truancy, chronic absence, and disciplinary absence.

Senate Bill 1154 would amend the juvenile code to include a juvenile who was found truant among those over whom the family court has exclusive jurisdiction.

Senate Bills 1152, 1153, and 1154 are tie-barred to Senate Bill 1151.

Senate Bill 1151

Truancy or Chronic Absence

The Revised School Code allows a school board or school district superintendent, a school building principal, or another school district official designated by the school board to authorize or order a pupil who is guilty of gross misdemeanor or persistent disobedience to be suspended or expelled from school if, in the judgment of the school board or its designee, doing so serves the interest of the school. Under the bill, a child could not be suspended or expelled solely for being truant or chronically absent.

If a child were truant or chronically absent, the bill would require the public school in which the child was enrolled to take the measures required under Section 1586 (which Senate Bill 1152 would amend, as described below).

"Truant" would mean a child who has at least 10 unexcused absences per school year. The bill specifies that a pupil could be considered truant only once in a particular school year. "Chronically absent" would mean a pupil is absent for at least 10% of the scheduled school days in a school year for which the pupil is enrolled in school, whether due to unexcused, excused, or disciplinary absences.

"Unexcused absence" would mean any absence that is neither an excused absence nor a disciplinary absence. The accumulation of 10 late arrivals would equal one unexcused absence. "Late arrival" or "tardy" would mean arriving for class or school activity after the established commencement time, unless excused.

"Disciplinary absence" would mean an absence that is the result of disciplinary action imposed by school officials and is neither an unexcused nor an excused absence.

For a pupil's first five absences from school for a school year, "excused absence" would mean an absence for which documentation of the reason for the absence has been submitted and approved. For a pupil's sixth or subsequent absence for a school year, an absence would be considered excused only for one of the following reasons and only when documentation had been considered and approved:

-- The pupil's illness or medical condition.

-- Medical appointment of the pupil, including medical, counseling, dental, or optometry.

-- The pupil's observance of a religious holiday.

-- Other emergency beyond the control of the pupil or his or her family.

-- A mandated court appearance for the pupil.

-- An extraordinary educational opportunity that was pre-approved by school officials in accordance with guidelines of the Department of Education.

-- Military service of the pupil's parent or legal guardian.

-- Homelessness.

"Documentation" would mean a written document that could include a signed note from a pupil's parent or legal guardian, a signed note from a school employee or official who spoke in person to a pupil's parent or legal guardian regarding the pupil's absence, or a note confirming a pupil's absence by a school nurse or a licensed medical professional. For an absence due to a pupil's illness or medical condition, documentation from a licensed medical professional would be required only if the absence lasted for at least five consecutive school days in the same school year.

For the purposes of requiring a pupil's parent or legal guardian to provide documentation for an excused absence, a school district, intermediate school district, or public school academy would have to take steps to provide appropriate assistance for illiteracy and would have to allow a non-English-speaking parent or legal guardian to submit documentation in his or her native language.

For purposes of data collection, a disciplinary absence of one to five consecutive days would have to be labeled and tracked as short-term. A disciplinary absence of at least six consecutive days would have to be labeled and tracked as long-term.

Compulsory Attendance

Except as otherwise provided, for a child who turned age 11 before December 1, 2009, or who entered grade 6 before 2009, the Code requires the child's parent, guardian, or other person having control and charge of the child to send him or her to a public school during the entire school year from the age of six to the child's 16^th birthday. For a child who turned or turns 11 on or after December 1, 2009, or who was 11 before that date and entered grade 6 in 2009 or later, a parent, guardian, or other person must send the child to a public school during the entire school year from the age of six to the child's 18^th birthday.

The Code also requires the child's attendance to be continuous and consecutive for the school year fixed by the district in which the child is enrolled. In a school district that maintains school during the entire calendar year and in which the school year is divided into quarters, a child is not required to attend the school more than three quarters in one calendar year, but may not be absent for two or more consecutive quarters. The bill would delete these provisions.

In addition, the Code requires a child becoming six years old before December 1 to be enrolled on the first school day of the school year in which the child's sixth birthday occurs, and a child becoming six years old on or after December 1 to be enrolled on the first school day of the school year following the school year in which his or her six birthday occurs. Under the bill, in either case, the child would have to be in attendance after enrollment. "In attendance" would mean, for a school day, that a pupil is present at his or her assigned school or school activity for at least 90% of the school day.

Senate Bill 1152

Section 1586 of the Revised School Code requires a school attendance officer to investigate each case of nonattendance at school when notified by a teacher, school district or intermediate superintendent, or other person of a violation of Part 24 (Compulsory School Attendance). If the child is not exempt from public school attendance under the Code, the attendance officer immediately must proceed according to Part 24. The bill would refer to the attendance officer or a designated school official in these requirements and in the following provision.

Currently, if a child is repeatedly absent from school without valid excuse or is failing in schoolwork or gives evidence of behavior problems, and attempts to confer with the child's parent or another person in a parental relationship with the child fail, the school district superintendent or the intermediate superintendent, as applicable, may request the attendance officer to notify the parent or other person by registered mail to come to the school to discuss the child's attendance irregularity, failing work, or behavior problems with the proper school authorities. Under the bill, the notice to the parent or other person would be required rather than optional.

The bill provides, however, that the district superintendent, or the intermediate superintendent in a district that did not employ a superintendent, could consider the reasons for a child's absence, if available, and whether a lesser intervention would be likely to properly address the situation before requiring a meeting.

At the meeting, if one were held, school officials would have to offer an attendance agreement that required the child to resume regular and consecutive attendance and discuss consequences that would occur if the attendance issue were not resolved. In addition, school officials could offer interventions as available, including mental health screening, problem solving, tutoring, and mentoring. School officials would have to ensure that each of the child's teachers was given a copy of the letter and attendance agreement so that they could monitor and report attendance.

If school officials determined that the attendance issue was not resolved, or if the child missed school two times in the next 30 days or three more times in the next three months, the attendance officer or designated school official could provide or pursue appropriate interventions. If these further interventions did not resolve the attendance issue, the attendance officer or school official would have to pursue the appropriate court intervention.

Senate Bill 1153

The Code requires each school board to prepare and submit to the Superintendent of Public Instruction an annual report stating the number of pupils expelled from the school district during the prior school year, with a brief description of the incident that caused each expulsion. Under the bill, the report also would have to state the number of pupils suspended and the number who were truant, chronically absent, or disciplinary absent.

The report would have to include a brief written description of the incident that caused each expulsion or suspension, the participants, and the disciplinary outcomes. For each incident of a pupil who was truant, chronically absent, or disciplinary absent, the report would have to contain a brief written statement of the data establishing that the pupil was truant, chronically absent, or disciplinary absent.

Senate Bill 1154

The juvenile code gives the Family Division of Circuit Court (family court) exclusive original jurisdiction in proceedings concerning a juvenile under 17 years of age who is found within the county, if certain conditions apply.

The bill would extend the family court's exclusive jurisdiction to a juvenile who was found to be truant. "Truant" would mean the term as defined in Senate Bill 1151.

MCL 380.1311 & 380.1561 (S.B. 1151) Legislative Analyst: Julie Cassidy

380.1586 (S.B. 1152)

380.1310a (S.B. 1153)

712A.2 (S.B. 1154)

FISCAL IMPACT

Senate Bills 1151, 1152, & 1153

The bills likely would have little to no fiscal impact on the State.

Senate Bills 1151 and 1152 could result in some additional local costs although, since the bills are mostly clarifying in nature and would not change the basic structure in place at the current time regarding truancy or compulsory attendance, the additional costs should be fairly low.