Staff Addressing Excessive Absenteeism and Truancy.  State law requires school districts to designate and identify to the local juvenile court and to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) a person or persons to coordinate efforts to address excessive absenteeism and truancy, including tasks associated with:

• entering into a memorandum of understanding with the juvenile court and establishing protocols;
• coordinating trainings, outreach, and conferences;
• sharing evidence-based and culturally appropriate promising practices;
• identifying a person within every school to serve as a contact with respect to excessive absenteeism and truancy; and
• assisting in the recruitment of community engagement board members.

Statewide Dropout Reengagement Program.  State law provides a framework for a statewide dropout reengagement system to provide appropriate educational opportunities. A dropout reengagement program means an educational program that offers at least the following instruction and services:

• academic instruction;
• case management, academic and career counseling, and assistance with accessing services and resources that support at-risk youth and reduce barriers to educational success; and
• the opportunity for qualified students to enroll in college courses that lead to a postsecondary degree or certification if the program provider is a community or technical college.

Eligible students are:

• at least 16 but less than 21;
• not accumulating sufficient credits toward a high school diploma to reasonably complete a diploma before age 21 or is recommended by case managers; and
• enrolled in a school district where they reside, enrolled in an institutional education program; or a nonresident school district.

OSPI must develop a model interlocal agreement and contract for the dropout reengagement system and school districts may enter into these agreement with an educational service district (ESD), community or technical college, or other public entity.  The model agreement must include uniform financial reimbursement rates, per full-time equivalent eligible student enrolled in a dropout reengagement program, calculated using a certain formula.

Chronically Absent Students.  Students who are chronically absent means students who miss 10 percent or more of their school days for any reason including excused and unexcused absences and suspensions.

Educational Service District Training and Coaching.  Subject to appropriations, each ESD must develop and maintain the capacity to offer training and coaching for staff, including staff designated to address excessive absenteeism and truancy, on the development of robust early warning systems to identify and locate students who are chronically absent and connect them with the necessary supports to reengage them in academic learning.  The training and coaching must include collecting, analyzing, and reporting early warning data.

Grant Program to Support Chronically Absent Students.  Subject to appropriations, OSPI must establish a grant program to support students who are chronically absent.  Community-based organizations, tribes, community colleges and technical colleges may apply for these grants.

Grant funds may be used for the following:

• proactive engagement with families;
• clear, supportive, and solution-oriented communication;
• visits to families of students who are chronically absent;
• connecting students to behavioral health supports;
• academic, systemic, and economic supports; and
• incentives and celebrations of improved attendance and engagement.

OSPI may adopt rules to implement the grant program and may require the recipient of grant funding to report the impacts of the recipient's efforts in alignment with the measures of the Washington School Improvement Framework.

Funding Supporting Students Enrolled in a Statewide Dropout Reengagement Program.  Subject to appropriations, OSPI must allocate funding to ESDs, school districts, public schools, and community and technical colleges to eliminate barriers to high school completion for students who are enrolled in a statewide dropout reengagement program:

Given that these students have varied needs, the use of these funds are flexible and can be used for supports such as testing fees, school supplies, clothing, food and nutrition, transportation, behavioral health supports, and contracting with nationally recognized providers of chronic absenteeism programs.

OSPI must allocate funding on a per-student basis, and the allocation of funding for either small or rural school districts must be differentiated and include a base amount of funding.

OSPI may adopt rules to implement the grant program and funding provisions.  These provisions expire December 31, 2026.

• Adds examples of "necessary supports" as it relates to the training and coaching that ESDs must offer.
• Adds that grant funds to support students who are chronically absent may be used for connecting students to behavioral health supports.
• Allows community and technical colleges to apply for these grants in addition to community-based organizations and tribes.
• Directs OSPI to allocate funding to community and technical colleges, in addition to educational service districts, school districts, and public schools, to help eliminate barriers to high school completion for students who are enrolled in a statewide dropout reengagement program.
• Adds that these allocations may be used for supports such as connecting students to behavioral health supports and contracting with nationally recognized providers of chronic absenteeism programs.

PRO:  This state and country has a chronic absenteeism problem, which means students miss school for any reason whether excused or unexcused.  Students need to get back into the classroom to address learning loss from the pandemic.  Schools need to engage and partner with community organizations to help remove barriers preventing students from getting to school.  By working with community organizations, local needs can be better met.  This bill would provide wrap-around support to help address barriers and basic needs.  This concept has been piloted, and it has been successful.  Students can become youth leaders in these programs.  Mentors can help improve student's attendance and graduation rate, and they can be especially important in rural communities.  Community colleges should be added to the bill to allow them to receive grant funds and barrier reduction funds.  This bill makes and continues critical investments to help solve this issue.

PRO: Senator John Braun, Prime Sponsor; Beatrice Kiraguri, Testifying on behalf of African Young Dreamers Empowerment Program Intl; Jeff Engle, Big Brothers Big Sisters; Evelyn Aguilar-Clavel, Lopez Island Family Resource Center; Krissy Johnson, OSPI; Kevin Chase, ESD 105; Shaelin Henry; Colleen Lang, United Way King County; Paula Sardinas, WBBA/UWKC; Troy Goracke, Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges; Pete Peterson, Kiona-Benton City School District.

The committee recommended a different version of the bill than what was heard. PRO: This bill provides for a local support structure. There was a decision package that requested funding for this work. Barrier reduction funding has been a successful approach. The state's existing support will go further if you add barrier reduction services. The impacts of a pandemic and homelessness have made this bill important. This primarily serves homeless children, children in foster care, children of color, and rural children.