[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4220 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4220
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to allow
local educational agencies to use Federal funds for programs and
activities that address chronic absenteeism.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
August 30, 2019
Mr. Ryan (for himself and Ms. Herrera Beutler) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to allow
local educational agencies to use Federal funds for programs and
activities that address chronic absenteeism.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Chronic Absenteeism Reduction in
Every School (CARES) Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) Students who are chronically absent-- meaning they miss
10 percent or more of the school year--are more likely to fall
behind academically, which can lead to hardships later in life.
These students are 68 percent less likely than their peers to
graduate. This leaves them prone to living in poverty,
suffering from diminished health, and being involved in the
criminal justice system later in life.
(2) The Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights
Data Collection found that over 7,000,000 students were
chronically absent during the 2015-2016 school year. This makes
up 14 percent of all students.
(3) Students of color are disproportionately chronically
absent compared to their White peers. Latino students are 17
percent more likely to be chronically absent, African-American
students are 40 percent more likely, and American Indian and
Pacific Islander students are over 50 percent more likely,
according to the Department of Education's Office of Civil
Rights Data Collection.
(4) The Department of Education has found that chronic
absenteeism is widespread, stemming from a wide range of often
overlapping internal and external factors. External factors
include homelessness, challenges within families, and
transportation; while internal factors include health, fear of
bullying, concern for safety, and not valuing daily school
attendance. Therefore, it is critical to have cross-sector
collaborations and multifaceted strategies that incorporate
parents (or guardians, as appropriate), public-partner
partnerships, and community partners.
(5) Studies have shown that mentors can help reduce chronic
absenteeism. Students who regularly meet with mentors are 52
percent less likely than their peers to skip a day of school
and 37 percent less likely to skip a class. In one program,
previously chronically absent students in 2012-2013 with
``Success Mentors'' gained 51,562 additional days of school
compared to previously chronically absent students without
mentors at comparison schools; and 92,277 additional days
compared to comparison school students without mentors during
the 3-year initiative. A report on the impact of one mentoring
program found that it reduced school absenteeism by half. In
another study, youth showed a gain of more than a week of class
attendance.
SEC. 3. INTERVENTIONS TO ADDRESS CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM.
Section 4108(5) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 7118(5)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (H)(iii) by striking ``or'' at the end;
(2) in subparagraph (I), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``; or''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(J) interventions for students who miss 10
percent or more of school days (as determined at any
time during a school year), which may include--
``(i) implementing data collection systems
that assist schools in collecting and tracking
attendance data;
``(ii) creating data-sharing and
confidentiality agreements between schools,
social service agencies, city and county
governments, and partner agencies or community
organizations working with students;
``(iii) partnering with local health,
transportation, and service providers to target
intervention efforts;
``(iv) training and integrating school
personnel for mentoring;
``(v) carrying out mentoring programs
that--
``(I) are structured, managed, and
appropriately match students with
screened and well-trained adult
volunteers for group and one-on-one
mentoring relationships;
``(II) encourage mentors and
students to meet frequently;
``(III) emphasize the importance of
regular school attendance; and
``(IV) provide and facilitate the
necessary student support services;
``(vi) partnering with community
organizations that offer mentoring services
that consist of--
``(I) screening and training of
adult volunteers;
``(II) matching students with the
appropriate adult volunteer mentors;
``(III) support and oversight of
the mentoring relationship;
``(IV) establishing goals and
evaluation of outcomes for mentored
students; and
``(V) planned and ongoing
coordination between mentors and school
personnel to identify individual
student challenges causing chronic
absenteeism in an effort to connect
mentees to appropriate intervention
efforts;
``(vii) cross-age peer mentoring programs
under which an older student serves a mentor
for a younger student for the purpose of
guiding and supporting the student's academic,
social, and emotional development;
``(viii) identifying issues that lead to
school absences;
``(ix) meeting with students and parents
(or guardians, as appropriate) to engage
students and improve performance;
``(x) arranging for teacher home visits to
develop relationships among students, parents
(or guardians, as appropriate) and schools;
``(xi) connecting students to existing
school resources and activities, including
school counseling services and existing
community-based organizations;
``(xii) using mentors to serve as a bridge
between students, parents (or guardians, as
appropriate), and schools;
``(xiii) implementing evidence-based
restorative justice strategies aimed at
reducing suspensions in order to keep students
in school; or
``(xiv) providing personnel training to
build positive school climates and promote
social-emotional learning.''.
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