Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Attendance Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Minnesota lawmakers advance bill to create interagency student-attendance council; committee adopts amendment and refers to finance
Summary
H.F. 3585 would create an interagency council on student attendance housed at the Minnesota Department of Education. Supporters including county truancy programs, foundations and students pressed for cross-agency coordination; the committee adopted an amendment locating the council at MDE and re-referred the bill to Education Finance.
Representatives Cuellar and Bakeberg introduced H.F. 3585 to establish an interagency council on student attendance, aiming to coordinate state, county and tribal efforts to reduce chronic absenteeism.
Representative Cuellar said the issue is "not just one agency's job" and that housing the council at the Minnesota Department of Education would provide an ongoing structure to keep attendance efforts aligned across agencies. "It is not just one agency's job to lean into how we support our students to increase their attendance," Cuellar said.
The committee adopted an A-1 amendment that moved the council's administrative home to MDE. The amendment passed by voice vote.
Stakeholders testified in support. Matt Shaver, senior policy director at Allies for Education, urged an interagency approach and provided statewide data: "In [2023-24] one in 4 Minnesota students were chronically absent...There are 191,321 chronically absent students statewide," he told the committee, noting those students missed "at least 3 million combined days of school."
Angela Mansfield of MDE said an interagency council could build on work already underway through the Compass attendance team but emphasized the need for permanent funding for staff now supported by temporary dollars. Ashley Hightower, who manages Hennepin County's truancy program, described attendance as a cross-sector issue tied to housing, health, transportation and public safety and urged an interagency response.
Student witnesses echoed the need for youth voice on the council and recommended expanding student representation. Henry Brick and Eva Northrop said student perspectives are essential to understand root causes, including mental health and transportation barriers.
Members discussed whether the council should include a sunset, how it would be staffed and the timing of a fiscal note. Representative Cuellar and supporters said the council should set measurable goals and could be sunsetted if outcomes are achieved. The committee re-referred the amended bill to the Education Finance Committee for fiscal review and next steps.
A motion to re-refer the amended H.F. 3585 passed by voice vote; the meeting adjourned shortly thereafter.
