Pupil attendance: electronic attendance accounting systems.

Existing law requires that pupil attendance and absence be recorded for certain purposes, including meeting requirements relating to the minimum required school day and calculation of average daily attendance. Existing law requires that records of pupil attendance be kept according to specified provisions of law. This bill would authorize a local educational agency to use electronic attendance accounting systems that meet certain requirements, and that are approved by the State Department of Education, for purposes of demonstrating that pupils have satisfied the minimum instructional time requirements and for purposes of computing average daily attendance. The bill also would authorize pupil attendance records to be combined from more than one system, including manual and electronic attendance accounting systems. The bill would specify that its provisions do not authorize the use of radio frequency identification, global positioning systems, biometric information, or any other technology that allows the electronic tracking of pupils or the collection of pupil data, as well as the collection, dissemination, or release of individual pupil data in a manner that violates state or federal privacy law. The bill would state the Legislature's intent that electronic attendance accounting systems only be used to facilitate the recording and reporting of attendance and absence information by employees of the local educational agency or other individuals lawfully provided access to that information.