,i #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #dbbj ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,august #cj1 #bjai,mr4 ,ryan 7for himself and ,ms4 ,herrera ,beutler7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,education and ,labor ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,elementary and ,secondary ,education ,act of #aife to allow local educational agencies to use ,federal funds for programs and activities that address chronic absenteeism4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,chronic ,absenteeism ,reduction in ,every ,school 7,,cares7 ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,the ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,students who are chronically absent-- meaning they miss #aj percent or more of the school year--are more likely to fall behind academically1 which can lead to hardships later in life4 ,these students are #fh percent less likely than their peers to graduate4 ,this leaves them prone to living in poverty1 suffering from diminished health1 and being involved in the criminal justice system later in life4 7#b7 ,the ,department of ,education's ,office of ,civil ,rights ,data ,collection found that over #g1jjj1jjj students were chronically absent during the #bjae-bjaf school year4 ,this makes up #ad percent of all students4 7#c7 ,students of color are disproportionately chronically absent compared to their ,white peers4 ,latino students are #ag percent more likely to be chronically absent1 ,african-,american students are #dj percent more likely1 and ,american ,indian and ,pacific ,islander students are over #ej percent more likely1 according to the ,department of ,education's ,office of ,civil ,rights ,data ,collection4 7#d7 ,the ,department of ,education has found that chronic absenteeism is widespread1 stemming from a wide range of often overlapping internal and external factors4 ,external factors include homelessness1 challenges within families1 and transportation2 while internal factors include health1 fear of bullying1 concern for safety1 and not valuing daily school attendance4 ,therefore1 it is critical to have cross-sector collaborations and multifaceted strategies that incorporate parents 7or guardians1 as appropriate71 public-partner partnerships1 and community partners4 7#e7 ,studies have shown that mentors can help reduce chronic absenteeism4 ,students who regularly meet with mentors are #eb percent less likely than their peers to skip a day of school and #cg percent less likely to skip a class4 ,in one program1 previously chronically absent students in #bjab-bjac with 8,success ,mentors0 gained #ea1efb additional days of school compared to previously chronically absent students without mentors at comparison schools2 and #ib1bgg additional days compared to comparison school students without mentors during the #c-year initiative4 ,a report on the impact of one mentoring program found that it reduced school absenteeism by half4 ,in another study1 youth showed a gain of more than a week of class attendance4 #c4 ,interventions to address chronic absenteeism ,section #dajh7e7 of the ,elementary and ,secondary ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #gaah7e77 is amended-- 7#a7 in subparagraph 7,h77iii7 by striking or at the end2 7#b7 in subparagraph 7,i71 by striking the period at the end and inserting 2 or2 and 7#c7 by adding at the end the following3 7,j7 interventions for students who miss #aj percent or more of school days 7as determined at any time during a school year71 which may include-- 7i7 implementing data collection systems that assist schools in collecting and tracking attendance data2 7ii7 creating data-sharing and confidentiality agreements between schools1 social service agencies1 city and county governments1 and partner agencies or community organizations working with students2 7iii7 partnering with local health1 transportation1 and service providers to target intervention efforts2 7iv7 training and integrating school personnel for mentoring2 7v7 carrying out mentoring programs that-- 7,i7 are structured1 managed1 and appropriately match students with screened and well-trained adult volunteers for group and one-on-one mentoring relationships2 7,,ii7 encourage mentors and students to meet frequently2 7,,iii7 emphasize the importance of regular school attendance2 and 7,,iv7 provide and facilitate the necessary student support services2 7vi7 partnering with community organizations that offer mentoring services that consist of-- 7,i7 screening and training of adult volunteers2 7,,ii7 matching students with the appropriate adult volunteer mentors2 7,,iii7 support and oversight of the mentoring relationship2 7,,iv7 establishing goals and evaluation of outcomes for mentored students2 and 7,v7 planned and ongoing coordination between mentors and school personnel to identify individual student challenges causing chronic absenteeism in an effort to connect mentees to appropriate intervention efforts2 7vii7 cross-age peer mentoring programs under which an older student serves a mentor for a younger student for the purpose of guiding and supporting the student's academic1 social1 and emotional development2 7viii7 identifying issues that lead to school absences2 7ix7 meeting with students and parents 7or guardians1 as appropriate7 to engage students and improve performance2 7x7 arranging for teacher home visits to develop relationships among students1 parents 7or guardians1 as appropriate7 and schools2 7xi7 connecting students to existing school resources and activities1 including school counseling services and existing community-based organizations2 7xii7 using mentors to serve as a bridge between students1 parents 7or guardians1 as appropriate71 and schools2 7xiii7 implementing evidence-based restorative justice strategies aimed at reducing suspensions in order to keep students in school2 or 7xiv7 providing personnel training to build positive school climates and promote social-emotional learning4 4