Florida SB 938: Student Absences

Bill Text

Florida Senate - 2025 SB 938

By Senator McClain

9-01097-25 2025938__
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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to student absences; amending s. 2
1003.26, F.S.; requiring a student’s primary teacher 3
to report to the principal, or his or her designee, if 4
a student is chronically absent; requiring the State 5
Board of Education to create guidelines relating to 6
student absences; providing an effective date. 7
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 9
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Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 11
1003.26, Florida Statutes, is amended, and subsection (6) is 12
added to that section, to read: 13
1003.26 Enforcement of school attendance.—The Legislature 14
finds that poor academic performance is associated with 15
nonattendance and that school districts must take an active role 16
in promoting and enforcing attendance as a means of improving 17
student performance. It is the policy of the state that each 18
district school superintendent be responsible for enforcing 19
school attendance of all students subject to the compulsory 20
school age in the school district and supporting enforcement of 21
school attendance by local law enforcement agencies. The 22
responsibility includes recommending policies and procedures to 23
the district school board that require public schools to respond 24
in a timely manner to every unexcused absence, and every absence 25
for which the reason is unknown, of students enrolled in the 26
schools. District school board policies shall require the parent 27
of a student to justify each absence of the student, and that 28
justification will be evaluated based on adopted district school 29

Florida Senate - 2025 SB 938

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board policies that define excused and unexcused absences. The 30
policies must provide that public schools track excused and 31
unexcused absences and contact the home in the case of an 32
unexcused absence from school, or an absence from school for 33
which the reason is unknown, to prevent the development of 34
patterns of nonattendance. The Legislature finds that early 35
intervention in school attendance is the most effective way of 36
producing good attendance habits that will lead to improved 37
student learning and achievement. Each public school shall 38
implement the following steps to promote and enforce regular 39
school attendance: 40
(1) CONTACT, REFER, AND ENFORCE.— 41
(b)1. If a student has had at least 5 five unexcused 42
absences, or absences for which the reasons are unknown, within 43
a calendar month or 10 unexcused absences, or absences for which 44
the reasons are unknown, within a 90-calendar-day period, the 45
student’s primary teacher must shall report to the school 46
principal or his or her designee that the student may be 47
exhibiting a pattern of nonattendance. The principal shall, 48
unless there is clear evidence that the absences are not a 49
pattern of nonattendance, refer the case to the school’s child 50
study team to determine whether if early patterns of truancy are 51
developing. If the child study team finds that a pattern of 52
nonattendance is developing, whether the absences are excused or 53
not, a meeting with the parent must be scheduled to identify 54
potential remedies, and the principal must shall notify the 55
district school superintendent and the school district contact 56
for home education programs that the referred student is 57
exhibiting a pattern of nonattendance. 58

Florida Senate - 2025 SB 938

9-01097-25 2025938__
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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
2. If a student is absent for 10 percent of school days 59
within the first 45 days of the school year, regardless of the 60
absences being excused or unexcused, the student’s primary 61
teacher must report to the school principal, or his or her 62
designee, that the student is chronically absent. 63
(6) STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION GUIDELINES.—The State Board of 64
Education shall create guidelines for school districts to follow 65
when creating policies relating to student absences. The 66
guidelines must include policies for the determination and 67
accounting of excused and unexcused absences. 68
Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. 69