Add Art 65 Part 1 §3200, §3213-a, amd §§3202 & 3213, Ed L
Implements requirements and guidelines to reduce chronic absenteeism including attendance reporting, attendance review teams, tiered strategies, early warning systems, and attendance policies.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
10239
IN ASSEMBLY
February 12, 2026
___________
Introduced by M. of A. HEVESI -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to implementing require-
ments and guidelines to reduce chronic absenteeism
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Part 1 of article 65 of the education law is amended by
2 adding a new section 3200 to read as follows:
3 § 3200. Definitions. For the purposes of this part, the following
4 terms shall have the following meanings:
5 1. "Absent" means when a pupil is not in attendance for at least fifty
6 percent of a school day; provided that, "absent" does not apply to
7 participation in interscholastic extracurricular activities.
8 2. "Excused absence", "unexcused absence" and "disciplinary absence"
9 shall be defined by the department which shall identify the rationale of
10 each category for use by local and regional boards of education for the
11 purposes of carrying out the provisions of this part, reporting chron-
12 ically absent students, and calculating the district chronic absenteeism
13 rate and the school chronic absenteeism rate. For such definitions of
14 "excused absence" and "unexcused absence", the department shall exclude
15 a student's engagement in: a. virtual classes; b. virtual meetings; c.
16 activities on time-logged electronic systems; and d. the completion and
17 submission of assignments, if such engagement accounts for not less than
18 one-half of the school day during remote learning.
19 3. "Remote learning" means instruction by means of one or more inter-
20 net-based software platforms as part of a remote learning model.
21 4. "Chronically absent" or "chronic absenteeism" means when a pupil,
22 who is enrolled in a public school district, board of cooperative educa-
23 tional services, charter school, county vocational education and exten-
24 sion board, and nonpublic elementary, middle and secondary school, whose
25 total number of absences at any time during a school year is equal to or
26 greater than ten percent of the total number of days that such student
27 has been enrolled at such school during such school year.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13142-01-5
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1 5. "District chronic absenteeism rate" means the total number of
2 chronically absent pupils attending a public school district, board of
3 cooperative educational services, charter school, county vocational
4 education and extension board, or nonpublic elementary, middle and/or
5 secondary school system in a school year divided by the total number of
6 pupils under the jurisdiction of such district, board, or system for
7 such school year.
8 6. "School chronic absenteeism rate" means the total number of chron-
9 ically absent pupils attending a school in a school year divided by the
10 total number of pupils enrolled in such school for such school year.
11 § 2. The education law is amended by adding a new section 3213-a to
12 read as follows:
13 § 3213-a. Chronic absenteeism. 1. Attendance reporting. a. The depart-
14 ment shall develop a real-time attendance reporting system and a set of
15 codes concerning the types of absences and reasons for such absences
16 that are to be categorized as an "excused absence" or an "unexcused
17 absence". Every public school district, board of cooperative educa-
18 tional services, charter school, county vocational education and exten-
19 sion board, and nonpublic elementary, middle and secondary school shall
20 adopt and use such system and codes.
21 b. Each public school district, board of cooperative educational
22 services, charter school, county vocational education and extension
23 board, and nonpublic elementary, middle and secondary school shall, at
24 least once per month, post on their public facing website anonymized
25 student attendance reporting data which has been disaggregated by
26 school, grade, race or ethnicity, gender, English learner status,
27 economic status, disability status, and any other category the depart-
28 ment deems necessary.
29 c. (1) Each public school district, board of cooperative educational
30 services, charter school, county vocational education and extension
31 board, and nonpublic elementary, middle and secondary school shall, each
32 month, submit to the department all student attendance data collected by
33 the real-time attendance reporting system during the previous month.
34 (2) The department shall use such data to compile reports on each
35 school and school district which shall include, but not be limited to:
36 (A) for each student in each school in each district, anonymized:
37 (i) their school district, school or board, grade, race or ethnicity,
38 gender, English learner status, economic status, disability status, and
39 any other category the department deems necessary.
40 (ii) the total number of school days enrolled in such school and
41 school district.
42 (iii) the total number of days missed for excused and unexcused
43 absences.
44 (B) the number of students at each school and school district who were
45 referred to the statewide central register for child abuse and maltreat-
46 ment because of excessive absences in the aggregate.
47 2. Attendance review teams. a. Each public school district, board of
48 cooperative educational services, charter school, county vocational
49 education and extension board, and nonpublic elementary, middle and
50 secondary school which: (1) has a school district or board chronic
51 absenteeism rate of ten percent or higher shall establish an attendance
52 review team for the school district or board; (2) has a school under the
53 jurisdiction of the school district or board with a school chronic
54 absenteeism rate of fifteen percent or higher shall establish an attend-
55 ance review team at such school; (3) has more than one school under the
56 jurisdiction of the school district or board with a school chronic
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1 absenteeism rate of fifteen percent or higher shall establish an attend-
2 ance review team for the school district or board and at each such
3 school; or (4) has a school district or board chronic absenteeism rate
4 of ten percent or higher and one or more schools under the jurisdiction
5 of the board with a school chronic absenteeism rate of fifteen percent
6 or higher shall establish an attendance review team for the school
7 district or board and at each such school. Such attendance review teams
8 shall be established to address chronic absenteeism in the school
9 district, board, or at the school or schools.
10 b. Any attendance review team established under this subdivision may
11 consist of school administrators, supervisors of attendance as outlined
12 in section thirty-two hundred thirteen of this part, guidance counse-
13 lors, school social workers, teachers, and representatives from communi-
14 ty-based programs who address issues related to student attendance by
15 providing programs and services to school delinquents, as defined in
16 section thirty-two hundred fourteen of this part, and chronically absent
17 students and their parents or person in parental relation.
18 c. Each attendance review team shall be responsible for reviewing the
19 cases of truants and chronically absent students, discussing school
20 interventions and community referrals for such truants and chronically
21 absent students, and making any additional recommendations for such
22 truants and chronically absent students and their parents or person in
23 parental relation. Each attendance review team shall utilize the tiered
24 strategies developed by the department under subdivision three of this
25 section and shall implement home visits as a part of such strategies.
26 3. Tiered strategies. a. The department, in consultation with communi-
27 ty-based programs and organizations who address issues related to
28 student attendance by providing programs and services to school delin-
29 quents, as defined in section thirty-two hundred fourteen of this part,
30 shall develop guidelines and requirements for three tiers of strategies
31 relating to chronically absent students which shall be adopted by each
32 public school district, board of cooperative educational services, char-
33 ter school, county vocational education and extension board, and nonpub-
34 lic elementary, middle and secondary school.
35 b. (1) Tier one strategies shall be universal, whole school prevention
36 attendance strategies for all students, including students who are
37 absent less than ten percent of school days during a school year for any
38 reason, including excused and unexcused absences. Tier one strategies
39 may include, but need not be limited to:
40 (A) information that describes:
41 (i) chronic absenteeism, including, but not limited to, the definition
42 of such term under section thirty-two hundred of this part, and the
43 causes of chronic absenteeism, such as poverty, violence, poor health
44 and lack of access to transportation, housing, and other resources.
45 (ii) the effect of chronic absenteeism on a student's academic
46 performance.
47 (iii) how family and school partnerships with community resources,
48 including, but not limited to, family resource centers and youth service
49 bureaus, can reduce chronic absenteeism and improve student attendance.
50 (B) developing indicators to identify students who are at risk of
51 being chronically absent children.
52 (C) monitoring students' attendance over time.
53 (D) adjusting interventions as they are being implemented.
54 (2) Tier two intervention strategies shall be targeted intervention
55 strategies developed for a student who is absent at least ten percent
56 but less than nineteen percent of school days during a school year for
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1 any reason, including excused and unexcused absences. Schools shall
2 utilize home visits as a part of their tier two intervention strategies
3 where visitors are there to learn from families, not to enforce attend-
4 ance policies or sanctions. Families shall receive multiple home visits
5 that support building relationships over time. Tier two intervention
6 strategies may include, but need not be limited to:
7 (A) a research-based and data-driven mentorship model that addresses
8 and attempts to reduce chronic absenteeism using mentors, such as
9 students, teachers, administrators, intramural and interscholastic
10 athletic coaches, school resource officers and community partners;
11 (B) incentives and rewards that recognize schools that improve attend-
12 ance and reduce the school chronic absenteeism rate and students who
13 improve their attendance;
14 (C) the holding of a meeting with the parents or person in parental
15 relation of each child who is a truant or chronically absent and appro-
16 priate school personnel to review and evaluate the reasons for the child
17 being a truant or chronically absent, provided such meeting shall be
18 held not later than ten school days after the child's fourth unexcused
19 absence in a month or tenth unexcused absence in a school year;
20 (D) coordinating services with and referrals of children to community
21 agencies providing child and family services;
22 (E) annually at the beginning of the school year and upon any enroll-
23 ment during the school year, notifying the parent or other person having
24 control of each child enrolled in a grade from kindergarten to eight,
25 inclusive, in the public schools in writing of the obligations of the
26 parent or such other person pursuant to section thirty-two hundred
27 twelve of this part;
28 (F) annually at the beginning of the school year and upon any enroll-
29 ment during the school year, obtaining from the parents or person in
30 parental relation in a grade from kindergarten through eighth grade,
31 inclusive, a telephone number or other means of contacting such parent
32 or such other person during the school day;
33 (G) (i) the implementation of a truancy intervention model identified
34 by the department for any school under its jurisdiction that has a
35 disproportionately high chronic absenteeism rate, as determined by the
36 department; and (ii) the adoption and implementation of a chronic absen-
37 teeism intervention model developed by the department that accounts for
38 mental and behavioral health, or a similar chronic absenteeism inter-
39 vention plan that meets all of the requirements for such model;
40 (H) a system of monitoring individual unexcused absences of children
41 in grades kindergarten through eighth grade, inclusive, which shall
42 provide that whenever a child enrolled in school in any such grade fails
43 to report to school on a regularly scheduled school day and no indi-
44 cation has been received by school personnel that the child's parents or
45 person in parental relation is aware of the student's absence, a reason-
46 able effort to notify the parents or person in parental relation by
47 telephone and by mail shall be made by school personnel or volunteers
48 under the direction of school personnel;
49 (I) providing notice to the parent or guardian of a child who is a
50 truant of the information concerning the existence and availability of
51 the 2-1-1 Infoline program, and other pediatric mental and behavioral
52 health screening services and tools; and
53 (J) a requirement that an appropriate school mental health specialist
54 conduct an evaluation of each child who is chronically absent to deter-
55 mine if additional behavioral health interventions are necessary for the
56 well-being of the child; provided that any person who, in good faith,
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1 gives or fails to give notice of this clause shall be immune from any
2 liability, civil or criminal, which might otherwise be incurred or
3 imposed and shall have the same immunity with respect to any judicial
4 proceeding which results from such notice or failure to give such
5 notice.
6 (3) Tier three intervention strategies shall be targeted intensive
7 intervention strategies developed for a student who is absent twenty
8 percent of school days during a school year for any reason, including
9 excused and unexcused absences. Schools shall utilize home visits as a
10 part of their tier two intervention strategies where visitors are there
11 to learn from families, not to enforce attendance policies or sanctions.
12 Families shall receive multiple home visits that support building
13 relationships over time. Tier three intervention strategies shall
14 include all tier two intervention strategies as well as any other strat-
15 egies the department requires.
16 4. Early warning systems. a. The department shall develop and each
17 public school district, board of cooperative educational services, char-
18 ter school, county vocational education and extension board, and nonpub-
19 lic elementary, middle and secondary school shall implement an early
20 warning system to identify students who need support to improve academic
21 performance, attendance, or engagement in school. Such systems shall
22 utilize the three tiers of strategies relating to chronically absent
23 students developed under subdivision three of this section. The early
24 warning systems shall alert the school, board, and district whenever a
25 student:
26 (1) has been absent at least ten percent of school days during a
27 school year for any reason, including excused and unexcused absences.
28 (2) has received an in school or out of school suspension.
29 (3) has failed or is currently failing any class during any grading
30 period.
31 (4) displays any other indicator determined relevant by the depart-
32 ment.
33 b. The early warning system shall be capable of providing:
34 (1) the number of students identified by the system as exhibiting two
35 or more early warning indicators.
36 (2) the number of students, organized by grade level, who exhibit each
37 early warning indicator.
38 (3) a description of each tiered strategy used by the school, board,
39 or district to improve the academic performance, attendance, or engage-
40 ment for students who exhibit at least one early warning indicator.
41 c. Each school, board, and district's attendance review team shall:
42 (1) implement and monitor the early warning system described in this
43 subdivision.
44 (2) identifying students who exhibit at least two early warning indi-
45 cators and developing appropriate intervention strategies for the
46 student, unless the student is already being served by a tiered strate-
47 gy.
48 (3) identifying students who have the potential to become chronically
49 absent.
50 5. Attendance policies. Each public school district, board of cooper-
51 ative educational services, charter school, county vocational education
52 and extension board, and nonpublic elementary, middle and secondary
53 school shall provide a copy of their attendance policies to all parents
54 or persons in parental relation of students in that school, board, or
55 district and publish the policy on their website. Such attendance policy
56 shall include, but not be limited to: (1) the rights and obligations of
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1 parents, persons in parental relation, and students pursuant to this
2 part; (2) the prevention strategies that will be implemented to ensure
3 that students attend classes; and (3) details about consequences of
4 failing to adhere to the attendance policy. No attendance policy shall
5 include the use of suspensions or expulsions.
6 § 3. Subdivision 1-a of section 3202 of the education law, as added by
7 chapter 400 of the laws of 1981, is amended to read as follows:
8 1-a. a. No pupil over the compulsory attendance age in [his or her]
9 their school district shall be dropped from enrollment unless [he or she
10 has] they have been absent twenty consecutive school days and the
11 following procedure is complied with: The principal or superintendent
12 shall schedule and notify, in writing and at the last known address,
13 both the student and the person in parental relation to the student of
14 an informal conference. The conference shall be offered to take place
15 at the pupil's residence. At the conference the principal [or], super-
16 intendent, and member or members of the attendance review team, if
17 applicable, shall determine both the reasons for the pupil's absence and
18 whether reasonable changes in the pupil's educational program would
19 encourage and facilitate [his or her] their re-entry or continuance of
20 study. The pupil and the person in parental relation shall be informed
21 orally and in writing of the pupil's right to re-enroll at any time in
22 the public school maintained in the district where [he or she resides]
23 they reside, if otherwise qualified under this section. [If the pupil
24 and the person in parental relationship fail, after reasonable notice,
25 to attend the informal conference, the pupil may be dropped from enroll-
26 ment provided that he or she and the person in parental relation are
27 notified in writing of the right to re-enter at any time, if otherwise
28 qualified under this section.] Such parental relation shall sign an
29 education withdrawal and enrollment form. Such education withdrawal and
30 enrollment form shall include an attestation: (1) from a school counse-
31 lor or school administrator of the school that such school district has
32 provided such parent or person with information on the educational
33 options available in the school system and in the community; and (2)
34 from such parental relation that such child will be enrolled in an adult
35 education program upon such child's withdrawal from school.
36 b. For any child regardless of age, the parent may indicate other
37 reasons for removing the child from school such as transferring to
38 another public school in the state, enrolling in private school, trans-
39 ferring to a charter school, or receiving homeschooling instruction. If,
40 however, the parent does not take affirmative steps to withdraw the
41 child from school, then the child must remain enrolled in the school.
42 The district shall continue its efforts to try and reengage the child to
43 return to school.
44 c. If the district has been unable to locate the child, then the
45 district shall ensure that it has exhausted its due process procedures
46 and practices. These steps include, but are not limited to, sending mail
47 to the student's last known address, home visitation by a school offi-
48 cial, health/safety visit by law enforcement, and filing a referral of
49 educational neglect with the statewide central register of child abuse
50 and maltreatment. If after all these and any additional efforts, the
51 district has still been unable to locate the child, and has a reasonable
52 belief that the student has moved out of the district, transferred to
53 another school in the state, or is receiving homeschooling instruction,
54 then in very limited circumstances the district may drop the pupil from
55 enrollment. No school shall remove a pupil from the enrollment without
56 conducting a home visitation by a school official. The exit date shall
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1 be the date when the district completes its due process and the exit
2 date shall not be backdated. Conversely, if the due process procedures
3 allow the district to verify that the student actually transferred to
4 another school, then the information obtained shall be used to report a
5 transfer date. In such cases where the child's whereabouts are unknown,
6 there is no specific time period that dictates when to unregister a
7 student because it will depend on the specifics of the situation and the
8 time it takes for the district to complete its adopted due process
9 procedures, to pursue any and all efforts to locate the student, and to
10 investigate the reasonable belief that the child has moved out of
11 district. Prior to seeking to unregister a student, the district shall
12 consider: (1) if it has made a good faith effort to ascertain the status
13 of the student; (2) if it has evidence which supports the efforts to
14 locate the student; and (3) if it has documentation of the process lead-
15 ing up to the student's removal through unregistration.
16 § 4. Paragraph a of subdivision 2 of section 3213 of the education
17 law, as amended by chapter 662 of the laws of 1955, is amended to read
18 as follows:
19 a. Arrest of truants prohibited. [A] No supervisor of attendance,
20 attendance teacher or attendance officer, as the case may be, may arrest
21 [without warrant] any [minor] pupil who is unlawfully absent from
22 attendance upon instruction. [He shall forthwith place the minor so
23 arrested in attendance upon required instruction and shall notify the
24 parent or guardian of the minor, and he may then begin proceedings for
25 his commitment as a school delinquent or arraign him before a court
26 having jurisdiction. Where a minor resides in one school district and
27 attends school in another school district, the supervisor of attendance,
28 attendance teacher or attendance officer of the district where the minor
29 resides and the supervisor of attendance, attendance teacher or attend-
30 ance officer of the district where said minor attends school shall have
31 concurrent jurisdiction with reference to said minor and to the person
32 or persons in parental relation to him.]
33 § 5. This act shall take effect on the first of July next succeeding
34 the date on which it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the
35 addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary
36 for the implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized
37 to be made and completed on or before such effective date.
