BILL ANALYSIS �
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SCR 67
Author: Liu (D), et al.
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 21
SUBJECT : Attendance Awareness Month
SOURCE : Children Now
DIGEST : This resolution designates September 2013 as
Attendance Awareness Month, and encourages public officials,
educators, and communities in California to observe the month
with appropriate activities and programs.
ANALYSIS : This resolution makes the following legislative
findings:
1.Good attendance is essential to pupil achievement and
graduation, and systemic approaches are needed to reduce
chronic absenteeism rates in California, with a focus starting
as early as kindergarten.
2.The impact of chronic absence hits low-income pupils and
children of color particularly hard if they do not have the
resources to make up for lost time in the classroom.
Low-income pupils and children of color are more likely to
face systemic barriers to getting to school, such as
unreliable transportation, lack of access to health care,
unstable or unaffordable housing, and even unfair disciplinary
policies.
CONTINUED
SCR 67
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3.Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson, Attorney
General Kamala D. Harris, and Secretary of California Health
and Human Services Diana Dooley jointly hosted an interagency
forum on chronic absence to encourage state and local
collaboration to improve the overall health, safety, and
well-being of our children by promoting public awareness and
reforms that improve school attendance.
4.The Legislature enacted SB 1357 (Steinberg, Chapter 704,
Statutes of 2010) to establish a definition and reporting
mechanisms for chronic absence and AB 97 (Assembly Budget
Committee, Chapter 47, Statutes of 2013) to establish chronic
absence as a state priority for our schools to be included in
the recently enacted local control accountability plans.
Attendance can be improved, and chronic absence significantly
reduced, when schools, parents, and communities work together
to monitor and promote good attendance and address hurdles
that keep children from getting to school.
This resolution designates September 2013 as Attendance
Awareness Month, and encourages public officials, educators, and
communities in California to observe the month with appropriate
activities and programs.
FISCAL EFFECT : Fiscal Com.: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/26/13)
Children Now (source)
California School Health Centers Association
Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce
PQ:nl 8/26/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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