Lawmakers tried to tackle the problem of truancy and chronic absenteeism in Texas during the last legislative session , but many proposed laws failed to pass. However, one bill is now on Governor Greg Abbott’s desk waiting to be signed.

Senate Bill 991 was filed by State Senator Paul Bettencourt (R) Dist. 7, who has worked on truancy and chronic absenteeism legislation the past two sessions. The bill now requires school districts to collect data on both chronically absent and truant students.

The measure also requires schools to now designate these students as being at-risk of dropping out, which should trigger a district to begin providing support services.

“The first sign of trouble when you’re looking at the student performance is chronic absenteeism,” said Bettencourt.

Truancy,

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