🟡Relating to the inclusion of chronically absent and truant students as students at risk of dropping out of school and the collection and reporting of data regarding those students.

🟡 SB 991: Defining Chronic Absenteeism and Making Schools Act

What it says it does:
SB 991 defines what counts as a chronically absent student and adds those students to the state’s list of kids who are officially at risk of dropping out. It directs schools to report those numbers so the Texas Education Agency, or TEA, can publish them.

What it actually changes:
Schools already record attendance daily, but SB 991 tells them to use that data to identify students missing too much class. Once a student crosses the threshold, the district must provide extra instruction and report those details by campus and grade. TEA will collect those reports, compile them, and post the results for public view.

Who is pushing for it:
Author Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R-SD07). Support in the record came from groups such as Children at Risk, Texas PTA, Texas AFT, Texas Association of School Boards, Texas Charter Schools Association, and several advocacy nonprofits and education vendors.

Who benefits:
Families get earlier notice when their children are slipping toward dropout risk. Advocacy groups gain clearer statewide data. TEA gets a cleaner, more standardized reporting system. Vendors who create attendance or data tools may also gain new work.

Who gets left out or exposed:
Small and rural districts may face extra reporting pressure without new funding. The state gains stronger oversight but shifts the daily work to local schools. Students dealing with transportation, housing, or health issues still face the same barriers that keep them out of class.

Why this matters long term:
SB 991 turns absenteeism from a statistic into a state-level accountability measure. That is progress for tracking who needs help, but it could also be used to rate or penalize schools without offering them resources. It improves awareness but leaves implementation uneven.

What to watch next:
TEA’s rulemaking on how districts flag students will decide whether the system works smoothly or becomes another unfunded data mandate. Watch who wins contracts to manage the reporting tools, and whether the state uses the data to support or punish schools.

Bottom line:
SB 991 is built on a good idea, but the structure puts more responsibility on schools and more control in Austin. It will spotlight chronic absenteeism, but unless TEA takes ownership and funds real support, the promise may stop at the data report.

#SB991 #TexasPolicy #Education #Attendance #AtRiskStudents #WatchTheRules