Assemblymember Chris Holden Joins Atty General for Press Conference on Truancy Bills

Assemblymember Chris Holden (D-Pasadena) today joined Attorney General Kamala Harris and legislative leaders in announcing legislation to tackle the truancy crisis in California.

“I am proud to author a bill that will help more students stay in the classroom and out of the courtroom,” said Assemblymember Holden. “If schools aren’t tracking what students are missing you won’t be able to effectively fix the problem. Second graders are missing school and arriving late for very different reasons than 11th graders. Requiring County Offices of Education to forward the complete reports to the Dept. of Education will allow them to identify trends and find best practices to address this crisis.”

Holden’s AB 1672 requires local Student Attendance Review Boards (SARB) to report information on student enrollment, absence and truancy rates, referrals to the district attorney and intervention outcomes. Current SARB reports provide minimal information about intervention outcomes, so it is difficult to get the full picture. This bill ensures schools, districts, and counties can evaluate the success of truancy intervention efforts.