Senate committee hears progress reports from four districts and study group on student attendance pilot

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Senate Education Finance Committee on Jan. 28 heard progress reports from four school districts and a legislative study group about a statewide student attendance pilot created to reduce chronic absenteeism.

Committee members heard how districts used pilot funding to standardize attendance coding, create attendance teams and test outreach strategies such as text messaging in multiple languages, home visits and mentor programs.

The Minnesota Department of Education-funded pilot convened 12 districts in July 2024 to examine local attendance definitions and practices, a preliminary step many witnesses said is necessary before setting statewide targets. Colleen Cable, director of student retention and recovery for Minneapolis Public Schools, said the district participated in the pilot and joined monthly meetings to compare data, codes and responses to chronic absenteeism. "Minneapolis is very excited to be 1 of the attendance, pilot districts," Cable said.

Columbia Heights Public Schools assistant superintendent Bondo Nyemwe told the committee the district has a single goal for the pilot: raise the share of students who attend consistently from about 68% pre‑pandemic (71% last year) toward an 80% target by 2026. Columbia Heights used pilot funds to create school‑level attendance teams, hire Promise Fellows through AmeriCorps partnerships, send quarterly paper postcards to families for students with five or more absences and plan a parent health line to help guardians decide whether a child should stay home. Nyemwe said the district is emphasizing…