H.R. 9320

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9320 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9320

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to allow 
local educational agencies to use Federal funds for programs and 
activities that address chronic absenteeism, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

June 15, 2026

Mr. Menefee (for himself, Ms. Bynum, Mrs. Beatty, Mr. Carter of 
Louisiana, Mr. Figures, Ms. Norton, Mrs. McIver, Ms. Ross, Ms. Wilson 
of Florida, and Mr. Thompson of Mississippi) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to allow 
local educational agencies to use Federal funds for programs and 
activities that address chronic absenteeism, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``All in For Attendance Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds the following:
(1) Students who are chronically absent--meaning they miss 
10 percent or more of the school year--are more likely to fall 
behind academically, which can lead to hardships later in life. 
These students are nearly four times more likely to not 
graduate from high school. This leaves them prone to living in 
poverty, suffering from diminished health, and being involved 
in the criminal justice system later in life.
(2) The Research and Development Corporation (RAND) found 
that around 22 percent of students were chronically absent 
during the 2024-2025 school year. No State has fully returned 
to pre-pandemic levels.
(3) According to the Department of Education, during the 
2024-2025 school year, students of color, specifically American 
Indian, Black, Hispanic, and Pacific Islander students, were 
disproportionately represented in students who are considered 
chronically absent. According to research by Stanford 
University, local immigration raids have dramatically 
exacerbated chronic absenteeism amongst Latino students, 
specifically with younger students. These years are critical in 
education formation and foundation and missing school can 
further exacerbate learning inequalities.
(4) The Department of Education has found that chronic 
absenteeism is widespread, stemming from a wide range of often 
overlapping internal and external factors. External factors 
include homelessness, challenges within families, and 
transportation; while internal factors include health concerns, 
fear of bullying, concern for safety, and not valuing daily 
school attendance. Therefore, it is critical to have cross-
sector collaborations and multifaceted strategies that 
incorporate parents (or guardians, as appropriate) and public 
and community partners.
(5) According to EdTrust, chronic absenteeism can be 
improved by investing in professional development for teachers 
and professionals to help increase relationships amongst 
students, parents, and their community. Research from the 
University of Chicago Consortium on School Research 
demonstrates that attendance is higher in schools where 
students' relationships with their peers and teachers are 
stronger and that teachers' reports of their relationships with 
parents were also significantly related to absence rates in 
their school in both middle grades and high schools. Research 
on Social and Emotional Learning has shown that students who 
demonstrate improved social and emotional learning skills are 
less likely to be chronically absent. In addition, early 
intervention with tiered-approach responses has been shown to 
reduce chronic absenteeism.
(6) Research from Stanford University demonstrates that 
high-impact tutoring can serve as an effective intervention to 
reduce student absenteeism. A 2025 study found that students 
were 1.2 percentage points less likely to be absent on days 
when they were scheduled to receive tutoring, with the 
strongest effects observed among middle school students and 
those with a history of chronic absenteeism. The study further 
found that tutoring programs were most effective at improving 
attendance when they incorporated evidence-based design 
features, including small group instruction, frequent sessions, 
and delivery during the school day.

SEC. 3. INTERVENTIONS TO ADDRESS CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM.

(a) In General.--Section 4108(5) of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7118(5)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (H)(iii) by striking ``or'' at the end;
(2) in subparagraph (I), by striking the period at the end 
and inserting ``; or''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(J) interventions for students who miss or are at 
risk of missing 10 percent or more of school days (as 
determined at any time during a school year), which may 
include--
``(i) implementing data collection systems 
that--
``(I) assist schools in collecting 
and tracking attendance data;
``(II) include at least one early 
warning indicator for students that 
identifies--
``(aa) unexcused absences;
``(bb) excused absences;
``(cc) absences due to 
sickness;
``(dd) absences due to 
suspension or expulsion; or
``(ee) absences due to a 
State emergency; and
``(III) collect, disaggregate, and 
cross-tabulate data on chronic 
absenteeism and attendance by--
``(aa) the categories 
described in section 
1111(b)(2)(B)(xi);
``(bb) homeless status;
``(cc) whether the student 
is in foster care; and
``(dd) whether the student 
has a parent who is a member of 
the Armed Forces (as defined in 
section 101(a)(4) of title 10, 
United States Code);
``(ii) creating data-sharing and 
confidentiality agreements between schools and 
social services agencies, city and county 
governments, partner agencies, or community 
organizations working with students;
``(iii) publishing and maintaining on a 
publicly available website data on chronic 
absenteeism and attendance (excluding any 
personally identifiable information), including 
publishing such data for each school year;
``(iv) establishing an advisory system to 
improve family engagement with student 
attendance that--
``(I) collects input from teachers;
``(II) provides counseling and 
support, to the extent practicable, for 
students and their families in their 
primary language, including by 
conducting home visits; and
``(III) dedicates a space at school 
for parents to receive resources 
pertaining to child education, 
participate in school activities, and 
engage with the school community;
``(v) establishing a tiered system of 
support with targeted engagement and 
interventions for individual students, small 
groups of students, and the student body;
``(vi) providing professional development 
opportunities for educational service centers 
and state support teams to build the capacity 
of local educational agencies and schools to 
reduce chronic absence;
``(vii) partnering with local health and 
transportation services to target chronic 
absence intervention efforts;
``(viii) partnering with community 
organizations that remove barriers to attending 
school by providing student mentorship, family 
engagement, and pipeline services (as defined 
in section 4622);
``(ix) establishing goals and evaluation of 
outcomes for mentored students;
``(x) planning and carrying out ongoing 
coordination between mentors and school 
personnel to identify individual student 
challenges causing chronic absenteeism in an 
effort to connect mentees to appropriate 
intervention efforts;
``(xi) identifying issues that lead to 
school absences;
``(xii) meeting with students and parents 
to engage students and improve student 
performance;
``(xiii) arranging for home visits by 
teachers to develop relationships among 
students, parents, and schools;
``(xiv) connecting students to existing 
school resources and activities, including 
school counseling services and community-based 
organizations;
``(xv) using mentors to serve as a bridge 
between students, parents, and schools;
``(xvi) implementing evidence-based 
restorative justice strategies aimed at 
reducing suspensions in order to keep students 
in school;
``(xvii) implementing evidence-based social 
and emotional learning strategies and programs 
aimed at strengthening student relationships 
with peers and teachers, improving sense of 
belonging, and cultivating a more inclusive 
school culture and climate; and
``(xviii) implementing evidence-based high-
impact tutoring programs, including high-dosage 
tutoring, that provide consistent, small-group, 
or one-on-one academic support to students with 
the goal of improving student engagement, 
attendance, and academic outcomes.''.
(b) Assurance.--Section 4106(e)(2)(D) of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7116(e)(2)(D)) is amended by 
striking the semicolon and inserting ``, including an assurance that 
the local educational agency, or consortium of local educational 
agencies, will not implement or carry out policies that include 
suspensions, fines, or academic penalties for students who have 
absences;''.
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