Bill Text: CA SB691 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Pupil attendance: truancy notifications.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2024-09-28 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 863, Statutes of 2024. [SB691 Detail]
Download: California-2023-SB691-Chaptered.html
Senate Bill
No. 691
CHAPTER 863
An act to amend, repeal, and add Section 48260.5 of the Education Code, relating to pupil attendance.
[
Approved by
Governor
September 28, 2024.
Filed with
Secretary of State
September 28, 2024.
]
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 691, Portantino.
Pupil attendance: truancy notifications.
Existing law requires a pupil subject to compulsory full-time education or compulsory continuation education, and who is absent from school without a valid excuse 3 full days in one school year, tardy or absent for more than a 30-minute period during the schoolday without a valid excuse on 3 occasions in one school year, or any combination thereof, to be classified as a truant. Existing law requires a school district, upon a pupil’s initial classification as a truant, to notify the pupil’s parent or guardian of specified information, including, among other information, that the pupil and parent or guardian of the pupil may be subject to prosecution, as specified, and that it is recommended that the parent or guardian accompany the pupil to school and attend classes with the pupil for one day.
This bill, commencing July 1, 2025, would remove those
specific pieces of information from that notification and would require that notification to include additional information, including, among other information, that mental health and supportive services may be available to the pupil and the family and that school personnel are available to meet with the pupil and family to develop strategies to support the pupil’s attendance at school. To the extent the bill would impose additional duties on school district officials, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
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 the statutory provisions noted above.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YESBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 48260.5 of the Education Code is amended to read:48260.5.
Upon a pupil’s initial classification as a truant, the school district shall notify the pupil’s parent or guardian using the most cost-effective method possible, which may include email or a telephone call:(a) That the pupil is truant.
(b) That the parent or guardian is obligated to compel the attendance of the pupil at school.
(c) That parents or guardians who fail to meet this obligation may be guilty of an infraction and subject to prosecution pursuant to Article 6 (commencing with Section 48290).
(d) That alternative educational programs are available in the school district.
(e) That the parent or guardian has the right to meet with appropriate school personnel to discuss solutions to the pupil’s truancy.
(f) That the pupil may be subject to prosecution under Section 48264.
(g) That it is recommended that the parent or guardian accompany the pupil to school and attend classes with the pupil for one day.
(h) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2025, and, as of January 1, 2026, is repealed.
SEC. 2.
Section 48260.5 is added to the Education Code, to read:48260.5.
Upon a pupil’s initial classification as a truant, the school district shall notify the pupil’s parent or guardian using the most cost-effective method possible, which may include email or a telephone call:(a) That the pupil is truant.
(b) That the parent or guardian is obligated to compel the attendance of the pupil at school.
(c) That alternative educational programs are available in the school district.
(d) That the parent or guardian has the right to meet with appropriate school personnel to discuss solutions to the pupil’s truancy.
(e) That mental health and supportive services may be available to the pupil and the family.
(f) That school personnel are available to meet with the pupil and family to develop strategies to support the pupil’s attendance at school.
(g) That research shows that missing 10 percent of school for any reason can translate into pupils having difficulty learning to read by third grade, achieving in middle school, and graduating from high school.
(h) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2025.
