BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION Alan Lowenthal, Chair 2011-12 Regular Session BILL NO: SB 477 AUTHOR: Wright AMENDED: April 26, 2011 FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: May 4, 2011 URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Lynn Lorber & Beth Graybill SUBJECT : Parental Notice of Truancy SUMMARY This bill requires school districts to establish a policy specifying the time period for notifying a parent when a pupil is initially classified as a truant. BACKGROUND Current law: 1) Defines a truant as a pupil subject to compulsory full-time education who is absent without valid excuses three full days in one school year, or tardy or absent for more than any 30-minute period on three occasions, or any combination. (Education Code § 48260) 2) Requires a truant to be reported to the attendance supervisor or to the superintendent of the school district. (EC § 48260) 3) Requires the school district to notify the pupil's parent, using the most cost-effective method possible, upon a pupil's initial classification as a truant about basic information, including that the parent is obligated to compel the pupil to attend school, may be guilty of an infraction and subject to prosecution, and that the pupil may be subject to penalties. (EC § 48260.5) 4) Requires that any pupil who has once been reported as a truant and who is again absent or tardy from school without a valid excuse for one day to again be reported SB 477 Page 2 as a truant to the attendance supervisor or district superintendent. (EC § 48261) 5) Defines a "habitual truant" as any pupil who has been reported as a truant three or more times per school year (absent or tardy at least 5 days). A pupil may not be deemed habitually truant unless an appropriate district officer or employee had made a conscientious effort to hold at least one conference with a parent and the pupil, after the filing of either a truancy report to the attendance supervisor or district superintendent. (EC § 48262) 6) Defines a "chronic truant" as any pupil who is absent from school without a valid excuse for 10% or more of the schooldays in one school year. A pupil may not be deemed chronically truant unless specific steps are first taken to address the pupil's absences. (EC § 48263.6) ANALYSIS This bill requires school districts to establish a policy specifying the time period for notifying a parent when a pupil is initially classified as a truant. STAFF COMMENTS 1) Need for the bill : According to the author, because current law does not specify when the notice must be provided, parents and guardians are not always notified in a timely manner, which decreases their ability to intervene and prevent further absences. Research shows that pupils who are habitually truant are at greater risk of dropping out of school than students who attend school regularly. The author hopes that requiring school districts to have a policy about when the notification is sent to parents will allow for earlier intervention and give at-risk students a greater chance for success. 2) Truancy notification mandate . The Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) has recommended eliminating mandates that do not serve a fundamental purpose and notes that truancy mandates exemplify requirements that should be eliminated. The LAO has suggested elimination of the SB 477 Page 3 Notification of Truancy mandate not only because it does not substantively increase parent involvement or reduce dropouts, but also because the federal No Child Left Behind Act requires districts to develop extensive policies for increasing parental involvement. This federal requirement directly targets students at risk of dropping out of school. Since local educational agencies lose revenue when students have unexcused absences, it could also be argued that districts have an incentive to work with families and students to curb truancy and improve attendance. Pursuant to AB 1610 (Assembly Budget Committee, Chapter 724, 2010) the LAO has convened work group to consider the future of the state's K-14 mandates and to develop recommendations regarding the treatment of those mandates. Recommendations from this work group are expected to be presented to the Budget Committees in the near future. 3) Previous legislation . AB 1610 (Committee on Budget, Ch. 724, 2010) limited the state mandate costs for the existing truancy notification mandate, by requiring school districts to provide the truancy notification using the most cost-effective method possible rather than requiring the notice be sent by mail. AB 1446 (DeSaulnier, 2008) would have required school districts, upon a pupil's initial classification as a truant, to provide the required parental notification within 10 school days. AB 1446 was held on the Senate Appropriations Committee's suspense file. SUPPORT None received. OPPOSITION None received. SB 477 Page 4