,,ii  #aaith ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #dhgb  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,june #bc1     
#bjbf,mr4 ,bennet introduced the        
following bill2 which was read twice and
 referred to the ,committee on ,health1 
,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions  ,a   
,,bill  ,to help local educational      
agencies reduce chronic absenteeism and 
create safe learning environments in    
public elementary schools and secondary 
schools1 and for other purposes4  #a4   
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,keep ,kids in ,school ,act4  #b4   
,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,,esea 
terms ,the terms elementary school1     
local educational agency1 secondary     
school1 and ,state educational agency   
have the meanings given those terms in  
section #haja of the ,elementary and    
,secondary ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj
 ,u4,s4,c4 #ghja74  7#b7 ,chronic       
absenteeism ,the term chronic           
absenteeism means students at a public  
elementary school or secondary school   

who are absent1 for any excused or      
unexcused reason1 for #aj percent or    
more of the days for which the student  
is enrolled in a public school during a 
school year4  7#c7 ,secretary ,the term 
,secretary means the ,secretary of      
,education4  7#d7 ,state ,the term      
,state means each of the #ej ,states of 
the ,united ,states1 the ,district of   
,columbia1 the ,commonwealth of ,puerto 
,rico1 ,american ,samoa1 the            
,commonwealth of the ,northern ,mariana 
,islands1 ,guam1 and the ,united ,states
 ,virgin ,islands4  #c4 ,grant program  
7a7 ,program authorized  7#a7 ,in       
general ,from amounts made available to 
carry out this section1 the ,secretary  
shall award grants to ,state educational
 agencies to enable the ,state          
educational agencies to award subgrants 
to local educational agencies to provide
 assistance to public elementary schools
 and secondary schools served by the    
local educational agencies to reduce the
 chronic absenteeism rate at the schools

 and foster safe learning environments4 
7#b7 ,preference ,in awarding grants to 
,state educational agencies under       
paragraph 7#a71 the ,secretary shall    
give preference to ,states with high    
rates of chronic absenteeism or those   
serving the most vulnerable student     
populations4  7b7 ,applications  7#a7   
,state educational agencies ,a ,state   
educational agency desiring a grant     
under this section shall submit to the  
,secretary an application at such time1 
in such manner1 and containing such     
information as the ,secretary may       
require4  7#b7 ,local educational       
agencies ,a local educational agency    
desiring a subgrant under this section  
shall submit to the ,state educational  
agency in the ,state in which the local 
educational agency is located an        
application at such time1 in such       
manner1 and containing such information 
as the ,state educational agency may    
require4  7c7 ,use of funds  7#a7 ,by   
states ,a ,state educational agency     

receiving a grant under this section    
shall use the grant funds to award      
subgrants to local educational agencies 
in the ,state4  7#b7 ,by local          
educational agencies ,a local           
educational agency receiving a subgrant 
under this section shall use subgrant   
funds to reduce chronic absenteeism     
rates and to create safe learning       
environments in public elementary       
schools and secondary schools served by 
the local educational agency4 ,such     
activities may include-- 7,a7 hiring    
additional counselors1 mental health    
professionals1 social workers1 or family
 liaisons2  7,b7 providing stipends to  
teachers to perform home visits for     
students who are chronically absent2    
7,c7 supporting programming to address  
chronic absenteeism and to improve      
safety in learning environments2  7,d7  
transportation costs1 such as buses2    
7,e7 research and data collection so    
schools and local educational agencies  
can track absenteeism rates1 patterns1  

and root causes throughout the school   
year2 or  7,f7 other activities or      
methods that have been shown to reduce  
the chronic absenteeism rate4  7d7      
,reports ,not later than #c years after 
the date a local educational agency     
receives a subgrant under this section1 
the local educational agency shall      
prepare and submit to the ,state        
educational agency a report regarding   
the impact of the subgrant funds and    
whether each of the elementary schools  
or secondary schools supported under the
 subgrant reduced their chronic         
absenteeism rate4 ,the ,state           
educational agency shall submit reports 
received from local educational agencies
 to the ,secretary4  #d4 ,study         
regarding chronic absenteeism and safe  
learning environments  7a7 ,study ,the  
,comptroller ,general of the ,united    
,states shall conduct a study on chronic
 absenteeism and safety in learning     
environments in public elementary       
schools and secondary schools of the    

,united ,states4  7b7 ,contents of study
 ,in carrying out the study under       
subsection 7a71 the ,comptroller        
,general shall examine chronic          
absenteeism and research the extent to  
which evidence-based interventions can  
reduce chronic absenteeism rates and    
improve student achievement and student 
well-being4  7c7 ,report ,not later than
 #a year after the date of enactment of 
this ,act1 the ,comptroller ,general    
shall prepare and submit a report       
regarding the study conducted under     
subsection 7a7 and the conclusions and  
recommendations generated from the study
 to the ,committee on ,health1          
,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions of the
 ,senate1 the ,committee on ,education  
and ,workforce of the ,house of         
,representatives1 and the ,secretary4