SB 691: 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 pupils initial classification as a truant, to notify the pupils 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 pupils 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.