Laredo ISD presents attendance gains, expands truancy prevention and PBIS supports; judges urge statutory alignment

Laredo Independent School District officials told the Board of Trustees on Nov. 4 that average daily attendance has improved in recent years and outlined a package of school-level and court-linked measures designed to reduce chronic absenteeism.

Eduardo Contreras, coordinator for attendance, said preliminary snapshots show year-over-year increases in ADA and that district staff recovered thousands of students after the start of the year. "We recovered more than 2,000 students, up to 19,507, which was our enrollment on Friday," Contreras said. He added that reconciliation of attendance data is ongoing and that the district's official PEIMS submissions come later in the year.

The presentation linked higher attendance rates to stronger PBIS (positive behavioral interventions and supports) practices at campuses. Staff described PBIS as a combination of training, campus teams led by assistant principals, and small incentives ("campus dollars" redeemable for items or privileges) intended to reward attendance and engagement. "There is a positive correlation with strong PBIS systems and high attendance rates," Contreras said.

Staff also described the district's truancy-prevention workflow: automated warning letters at early absence thresholds, attendance improvement plans and parent conferences, followed by referral to…