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This bill — the Chronic Absenteeism Reduction in Every School (CARES) Act — would allow local educational agencies to use specified federal funds for mentoring programs and other activities that address chronically absent students (i.e., students who miss 10% or more of school days).

Activities that could be funded would include:

Implementing data collection systems that help schools collect and track attendance data;
Creating data-sharing and confidentiality agreements between schools, social service agencies, city and county governments, and partner agencies or community organizations working with students;
Establishing partnerships with local health, transportation, and service providers to target intervention efforts;
Training and integrating school personnel for mentoring;
Carrying out mentoring programs that match students with screened and well-trained adult volunteers for group and one-on-one mentoring relationships;
Partnering with community organizations that offer mentoring services that meet certain criteria;
Planning and ongoing coordination between mentors and school personnel to identify individual student challenges causing chronic absenteeism in order to connect mentees to appropriate intervention efforts;
Cross-age peer mentoring programs under which older students serve as mentors for younger students for the purpose of guiding and supporting the younger student’s academic, social, and emotional development;
Identifying issues that lead to school absences;
Meeting with students and parents (or guardians) to engage students and improve performance;
Arranging for teacher home visits to develop relationships between students, parents (or guardians), and schools;
Connecting students to existing school resources and activities;
Implementing evidence-based restorative justice strategies aimed at reducing suspensions to keep students in school; or
Providing personnel training to build positive school climates and promote social-emotional learning.

","official_title":"To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to allow local educational agencies to use Federal funds for programs and activities that address chronic absenteeism.","short_title":"Chronic Absenteeism Reduction in Every School (CARES) Act","popular_title":null,"short_summary":"","summarized":true,"cost":null,"cost_commentary":"A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.","impact":"Students; chronic absentee students; schools; schools with chronic absentee students; ESEA funding to schools; and use of ESEA funds to combat chronic absenteeism.","argument_for":"Chronic absenteeism is a major challenge to students’ learning. Using federal education funds to keep students in class is valid and justifiable, and should yield meaningful returns for both schools and students. ","argument_against":"Teachers and school administrative staff (such as guidance counselors) should already be working with students and their families to address chronic absenteeism. 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Won’t listen to slogans, chanted mantras or generally any kind of marketing spin or “rebranding” crap. I firmly believe that everyone else is entitled to their erroneous opinions. Citizen vigilance and due diligence is price we must pay to live in a thriving, functional democracy.\nI fear that our citizens are too easily swayed by politician’s pablum about “babies”, “jobs” and now, in particular, perceived “enemies”. I fear that a citizenry focused on the “here-and-now” is easily tricked by short term benefits that have negative long-term consequences. I fear that our legislators are more concerned about buffing their constituents than looking out for the long-term welfare of our country- and are way too eager to provide those short-term benefits to the “here-and-now” crowd.\nI fear that honor is generally being sacrificed/replaced by expediency. I hear politicians eloquently argue for one side of an issue and later, when it’s to their benefit, just as eloquently argue for the opposite side. OK, so they are good at arguing- but what is that they actually believe? What is it that they actually stand for? An honorable person has values that persist even when it is not convenient or expedient. An honorable person has a moral compass that stops them from doing something wrong even if it is not illegal. 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Should Federal Education Funds be Used to Combat Chronic Absenteeism in K-12 Schools?