Pupil attendance: Attorney General report: truancy.

(1) Existing law authorizes the establishment of county and local school attendance review boards, and provides that any minor pupil who is a habitual truant, is irregular in attendance at school, or is habitually insubordinate or disorderly during attendance at school may be referred to a school attendance review board. Existing law requires the governing board of a school district to adopt rules and regulations to require the appropriate officers and employees of the district to gather and transmit to the county superintendent of schools the number and types of referrals to school attendance review boards and of requests for petitions to the juvenile court. This bill would, subject to available funding, on or before September 30, 2015, and annually thereafter, require the Attorney General and the State Department of Education to jointly submit a report on elementary school truancy and chronic absenteeism in California public schools to the Governor, the Legislature, and to the State Board of Education, as specified. The bill would require the report to include information on pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 5, inclusive, including, among other things, attendance-related data and information regarding truancy prevention and intervention efforts by local educational agencies, as defined, or county or local prosecuting authorities, as specified. The bill would, upon the request of the Attorney General or the department, require county and local prosecuting authorities or local educational agencies, respectively, to provide the Attorney General or the department with specified information in anonymized format. By imposing additional duties on local agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to coordinate and administer a state school attendance review board, as provided. Existing law requires the Superintendent to convene the state school attendance review board at least 4 times during the year. Existing law requires the state school attendance review board to, among other things, make recommendations annually to the Superintendent, and to other state agencies as deemed appropriate, regarding the needs and services provided to high-risk youth, including youth with school attendance or behavioral problems, in the state public schools. This bill would require the state school attendance review board to annually discuss the report jointly submitted by the Attorney General and the department at a regularly scheduled meeting. The bill would authorize the state school attendance review board to provide recommendations based on the report. (3) 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. (4) This bill would specify the intent of the Legislature in enacting these provisions.