A. School districts shall differentiate public schools based on their chronic absence rates into no fewer than four categories.

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B. School districts shall differentiate student subgroups based on their chronic absence rates into no fewer than four categories.

C. Using the differentiation scheme pursuant to Subsections A and B of this section, a school district shall develop attendance improvement plans that include the following elements:

(1)     specific school district supports and resources available to public schools at each level to further the implementation of their attendance improvement plans;

(2)     attendance improvement targets for public schools or subpopulations with chronic absence rates of ten percent or greater, developed in collaboration with each public school; and

(3)     an attendance improvement target for school districts with chronic absence rates of ten percent or greater.

D. Each school district shall report its attendance improvement plan to the department no later than forty-five days after the beginning of the school year. The department may allow a school district to report its attendance improvement plan as part of the educational plan for student success.

E. At the end of each school year, each school district shall report to the local school board and to the public on the school district’s website, the progress made on its attendance improvement plan, to include:

(1)     a description of the supports and resources provided to public schools at each tier of the attendance improvement plan;

(2)     the extent to which public schools with chronic absence rates greater than ten percent achieved their attendance improvement targets;

(3)     the extent to which the school district achieved its attendance improvement targets;

(4)     barriers and challenges to reducing chronic absence rates, as reported by the public school and school district personnel;

(5)     effective school-based practices, as evidenced by decreased chronic absence rates; and

(6)     recommendations for improvement during the next school year at both the public school and school district level.

F. Attendance teams may be formed in whole or in part from preexisting groups or teams within a public school or may be formed for the explicit purpose of improving school attendance. School districts shall reserve time for school personnel to collaborate as an attendance team.

G. School districts shall provide support and guidance to attendance teams on transportation and school scheduling options when these are identified as barriers to school attendance.