St. Paul, MN - Today, the Minnesota House of Representatives passed House File 2067, attendance-related policy provisions recommended by the bipartisan Student Attendance and Truancy Legislative Study Group. Authored by the study group’s House Chair, Rep. Heather Keeler (DFL - Moorhead), the legislation passed with unanimous support.
“Our bipartisan study group, along with a broad coalition of stakeholders, set out with a mission to find solutions for Minnesota’s students, and this is a starting point for our recommendations,” said Rep. Keeler. “There’s a massive amount of work that remains to be done, but to effectively take on this issue we first need to clarify state law on reporting attendance. Passing this bill and setting this foundation will better equip us to make our schools more welcoming and engaging for all of Minnesota’s students.”
The legislation aligns statute with Minnesota Department of Education guidance to say that a student is in attendance on each day that a school employee is paid to supervise or provide services to the student.
The bill clarifies that applications for excused absences should be made to a truant officer or to the school official designated by the school principal. The school principal or designated official is responsible for issuing and keeping these records.
Once a student reaches 15 consecutive unexcused absences, leading to unenrollment, the bill requires a reporting process and timeline that includes the school’s principal, superintendent, the relevant county service agency whose purpose is to enroll students in school, the local welfare agency, and the Minnesota Department of Education.
The Minnesota House also unanimously approved Rep. Keeler’s House File 62, which provides a central reference point for all the statutes related to student attendance
Video of today’s floor debate can be found on the House Public Information YouTube channel. The bills have not yet passed in the Minnesota Senate.
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