BILL NUMBER: AB 1866 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Bocanegra
FEBRUARY 19, 2014
An act to amend Section 60901 of the Education Code, relating to
pupil attendance.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1866, as introduced, Bocanegra. Pupil attendance: California
Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System.
(1) Existing law establishes the California Longitudinal Pupil
Achievement Data System, as provided. Existing law requires the State
Department of Education, in consultation with the Department of
Finance and the Legislative Analyst's Office, contingent upon the
receipt of federal funds, to prepare the system to include data on
pupil attendance, as specified. Existing law requires the system to
support local educational agencies in their efforts to identify and
support pupils at risk of dropping out and be capable of issuing
periodic reports to local educational agencies that include district,
school, class, and individual pupil reports on the rates of absence
and chronic absentees, as defined.
This bill would, among other things, instead require the State
Department of Education to enhance the system, as provided. The bill
would require the periodic reports to local educational agencies to
also include reports on the rates of absence, rates of chronic
absenteeism and the number of chronic absentees, rates of truancy and
the number of truants, rates of habitual truancy and the number of
habitual truants, and rates of chronic truancy and the number of
chronic truants. The bill would revise the definition of "chronic
absentee" and establish a definition for "rates of absence". The bill
would delete the federal funding requirement on these provisions.
(2) Existing law, once the system is prepared to accept data on a
quarterly rate of pupil attendance, authorizes a local educational
agency to submit data to the State Department of Education on a
quarterly rate of pupil attendance, and other indicators as
identified by the department.
This bill would, once the system is enhanced to accept data on
pupil attendance, require a local educational agency to submit
specified data, and other indicators identified by the department, to
the department at least 4 times per school year on dates to be
determined by the department. By imposing additional duties on local
educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local
program.
(3) This bill would also make conforming and nonsubstantive
changes.
(4) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
(5) This bill would become operative only if legislation is
enacted in the 2013-14 Regular Session that establishes an annual
report on elementary school truancy and chronic absenteeism, that
takes effect on or before January 1, 2015.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 60901 of the Education Code is amended to read:
60901. (a) Contingent upon the receipt of federal funds
for this purpose, the The department,
in consultation with the Department of Finance and the Legislative
Analyst's Office, shall prepare enhance
the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System
established pursuant to Section 60900 to include data on a quarterly
rate of pupil attendance. Preparation The
enhancement shall include all of the following:
(1) The addition of fields to facilitate the transfer of data.
(2) System development activities including any business rules and
definitions that would be needed to improve the quality and
consistency of the data.
(3) Processes for the transfer of data from local educational
agencies.
(4) Consultation with organizations representing school,
school district, and county office of education
administrators, classified and certified staff, and parents in order
to develop the criteria and frequency of reports on pupil attendance
data and other indicators as may be submitted by local educational
agencies.
(b) The system shall support local educational agencies in their
efforts to identify and support pupils at risk of dropping out and
shall be capable of issuing to local educational agencies periodic
reports that include, but may not be limited to, district, school,
class, and individual pupil reports on both of the
following: for pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to
12, inclusive, regarding:
(1) Rates of absence.
(2) Chronic Rates of chronic
absenteeism and the number of chronic absentees.
(3) Rates of truancy and the number of truants, as defined in
Section 48260.
(4) Rates of habitual truancy and the number of habitual truants,
as defined in Section 48262.
(5) Rates of chronic truancy and the number of chronic truants, as
defined in Section 48263.6.
(c) (1) For purposes of this section,
section and subdivision (d) of Section 52060, "chronic absentee"
means refers to a pupil who is
absent on 10 percent or more of the schooldays in the school
year when the total number of days a pupil is absent is divided by
the total number of days the pupil is enrolled and school was
actually taught in the regular day schools of the district, exclusive
of Saturdays and Sundays. subject to compulsory
full-time education or compulsory continuation education and who is
absent for 10 percent or more of the school days in a school year, as
measured from the date of enrollment to the date that the data is
submitted to the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data
System.
(2) For purposes of this section, "rates of absence" means the
following, to be calculated as of the date that a local educational
agency submits the reports required pursuant to subdivision (e), with
respect to each individualized pupil record:
(A) The number of school days enrolled.
(B) The number of school days on which the pupil had an unexcused
absence of more than 30 minutes but less than a full day.
(C) The number of school days on which the pupil had a full day of
unexcused absence.
(D) The number of school days on which the pupil had a full day of
excused absence.
(E) Whether the pupil has been designated a habitual truant, as
defined in Section 48262.
(2)
(3) Once available, chronic absentee rates
the data listed in subdivision (b) shall be
incorporated into the annual report on dropouts required pursuant to
Section 48070.6. 48070.6 and the annual
report on elementary school truancy and chronic absenteeism required
pursuant to Section 48070.7.
(d) It is the intent of the Legislature to support the development
of early warning systems to enable the identification and support of
individual pupils who are at risk of academic failure or dropping
out of school. The systems shall encompass the following
characteristics:
(1) The utilization of highly predictive indicators, including
attendance, course grades or completion, performance on assessments
of pupil achievement, suspensions, and expulsions.
(2) A thorough validation process to ensure the predictive
reliability of the systems.
(3) Periodic reports that inform principals, teachers, and parents
in a manner that enables timely identification and support of
individual pupils who are at risk of academic failure or dropping
out.
(e) When Once the system established
pursuant to Section 60900 is prepared
enhanced to accept data on a quarterly rate of
pupil attendance, a local educational agency may
shall submit the data specified
in subdivision (b), and other indicators as identified by the
department, to the department on a quarterly rate of
pupil attendance and other indicators as identified by the
department. at least four times per school year, on
dates to be determined by the department. It is the intent of
the Legislature that schools identified on the list of persistently
lowest-achieving schools will fully utilize the early warning systems
described in subdivision (d).
(f) A local educational agency that reports attendance data for
pupils to the system established pursuant to Section 60900 may
request, and the department shall provide, the early warning report
described in subdivision (d) up to four times each school year.
(g) The department shall notify local educational agencies that
reporting pupil attendance and chronic absentee data pursuant to this
section is voluntary. The notice shall include a description of the
benefits of reporting pupil attendance and chronic absentee data in
fostering the development of effective supports and interventions for
at-risk pupils.
(h) This section shall not be implemented unless federal funds are
appropriated specifically for the purposes of this section.
SEC. 2. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant
to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.
SEC. 3. This act shall become operative only if legislation is
enacted in the 2013-14 Regular Session that establishes an annual
report on elementary school truancy and chronic absenteeism that
takes effect on or before January 1, 2015.