BISD reports 23,921 absences in first 26 days, rolls out incentives and truancy steps

The district's chief of schools and academics presented attendance data showing 23,921 total student absences during the first 26 days of the school year (reported on a per‑day ADA reporting basis) and that roughly 2,100 students already have four or more absences. "That's about 15% of our kids that are already chronically truant," the presenter said, and described a two‑pronged approach emphasizing both recognition for strong attendance and firm documentation leading to truancy filings where appropriate.

Planned interventions include calling families of students who maintain 95% attendance, class-level and grade-level recognition assemblies, raffles and social‑media acknowledgments to reward consistent attendance. Administrators also outlined a documentation protocol: campus staff must make three attempts after three absences (including phone, voicemail and home visits where required); the district will continue statutory notifications at 3, 5, 7 and 10 absences, with truancy filings submitted after 10 unexcused absences. The presenter emphasized that some early data clean-up has been done to remove 'no shows' and that communication of the policy will be published on the district website.