A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to ensure that schools document student absences and work with parents, local law ENFORCEMENT, and social services agencies to improve school attendance.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 115C‑12(27a) reads as rewritten:
"§ 115C‑12.  Powers and duties of the Board generally.
The general supervision and administration of the free public school system shall be vested in the State Board of Education. The State Board of Education shall establish policy for the system of free public schools, subject to laws enacted by the General Assembly. The powers and duties of the State Board of Education are defined as follows:
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(27a)	Reducing School Dropout Rates. – The State Board of Education shall adopt rules to ensure that schools accurately document unexcused absences and report them to parents. The rules shall require schools to counsel a student and the student's parents about the student's risk of dropping out of school when the number of the student's absences reaches a benchmark set by the State Board. The rules shall also ensure that schools collaborate with parents, local law enforcement, and social services agencies to ensure compliance with the compulsory attendance laws by notifying parents of excessive school absences in accordance with G.S. 115C‑378 and by monitoring student home situations.
The State Board of Education shall also develop a statewide plan to improve the State's tracking of dropout data so that accurate and useful comparisons can be made over time. The plan shall include, at a minimum, how dropouts are counted and the methodology for calculating the dropout rate, the ability to track  students' movements among schools and districts, and the ability to provide information on who drops out and why."
SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law and applies beginning with the 2007‑2008 school year.