HB 399: School Attendance Amendments - Utah

Introduced → Amended Excerpts 2/21/2025 14:02:57 · 7 edits

MODERATE

This bill significantly expands Utah's approach to addressing chronic absenteeism and truancy by creating a new chapter for children in need of services, establishing a testing-out assessment system for core courses, and modifying how habitual truants are identified and handled. The changes shift focus from purely punitive measures to a more comprehensive system that includes early intervention, community resources, and restorative justice approaches.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope from addressing only habitual truancy to include a broader range of children in need of services, including runaways and homeless youth, and adds new requirements for testing-out assessments for core courses.

REQUIREMENT

New testing-out assessment system established for core courses in grades 8-12, allowing students to demonstrate mastery without taking the course, with assessments to be implemented by the 2026-2027 school year.

New chapter created for children in need of services, moving runaway and homeless youth statutes to Title 80, Chapter 5a, and establishing new referral procedures to Division of Juvenile Justice and Youth Services.

Schools required to implement non-punitive intervention strategies including mentorship programs, family connections to community resources, and executive function skills training before taking punitive action.

ELIGIBILITY

Habitual truancy definition modified to require 10 absences during one school year for grades 9 and above, down from the previous standard, and truancy notice requirements adjusted to 5 absences for grades 7 and above.

ENFORCEMENT

School-based behavior response procedures modified to prioritize evidence-based alternative interventions and restorative justice programs before referring minors to law enforcement or court, with specific requirements for habitual truancy cases.

DEFINITION

New definitions added for home-based microschools, micro-education entities, and expanded valid excuse categories to include mental or behavioral health conditions and family death.

TIMELINE

State Board required to submit chronic absenteeism study report by September 15, 2026, including analysis of root causes such as socioeconomic factors, mental health, and accessibility to health care.

Amended 2/21/2025 14:02:57 → Substitute #1 · 5 edits

MODERATE

This bill establishes requirements for tracking chronic absenteeism in Utah schools and mandates a state study on the issue. The main changes involve formatting and presentation of the bill text, with minor text corrections like changing 'statstate' to 'state' and 'health care' to 'healthcare'. The substantive policy content regarding data collection, study requirements, and reporting deadlines remains unchanged.

TECHNICAL

Fixed a typo in Subsection (5)(b) where 'statstate board' was changed to 'state board'

Changed 'health care' to 'healthcare' in Subsection (4)(b)(iii)(D) for consistency

Removed redundant 'chronic' before 'absenteeism' in Subsection (1) definition

Added header information including bill version '1st Sub.' and timestamp details

Added sponsor signature line 'Andrew Stoddard proposes the following substitute bill'

Amended Excerpts 2/21/2025 14:02:57 → Amended 2/21/2025 14:02:57 · 8 edits

MODERATE

This bill establishes new requirements for tracking and studying chronic absenteeism in Utah schools. It defines chronic absenteeism as missing 10% or more of school days and requires Local Education Agencies to collect detailed data on student absences. The bill also mandates a state study to identify root causes and evidence-based interventions for addressing chronic absenteeism.

Scope change

The bill expands data collection requirements to include individual student absence records and requires the state board to publish aggregated data statewide. It adds specific root causes to examine including transportation issues and general student disengagement.

DEFINITION

Changed the definition of chronic absenteeism from 'ten percent' to '10%' for clarity

REQUIREMENT

Added requirement for LEAs to report individual student absence data including total days absent and excused days

Required state board to develop standardized reporting templates for LEAs

Mandated annual publication of aggregated, anonymized chronic absenteeism data on the state board's website

Added 'transportation related issues' and 'general student disengagement' as root causes to examine in the study

Expanded stakeholder consultation requirements to include parents, students, and school administrators

Required the study report to include specific analysis of root causes and recommendations for professional development

TIMELINE

Set the report deadline to September 15, 2026 and effective date to May 7, 2025

School Attendance Amendments

What changed between versions

How they voted

Actions timeline

Sponsors