Enforcement of School Attendance

HB 1181 2026

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hb1181-00
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to enforcement of school attendance; 2
amending s. 1003.26, F.S.; requiring district school 3
boards to implement a mandatory alert system within 4
specified systems or platforms to notify certain 5
persons when a student reaches the truancy threshold 6
for absences; amending ss. 984.151 and 1003.02, F.S.; 7
conforming cross-references to changes made by the 8
act; providing an effective date. 9
10
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 11
12
Section 1. Paragraphs (b) through (h) of subsection (1) of 13
section 1003.26, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as 14
paragraphs (c) through (i), respectively, paragraph (a) of 15
subsection (2) is amended, and a new paragraph (b) is added to 16
subsection (1) of that section, to read: 17
1003.26 Enforcement of school attendance.—The Legislature 18
finds that poor academic performance is associated with 19
nonattendance and that school districts must take an active role 20
in promoting and enforcing attendance as a means of improving 21
student performance. It is the policy of the state that each 22
district school superintendent be responsible for enforcing 23
school attendance of all students subject to the compulsory 24
school age in the school district and supporting enforcement of 25

HB 1181 2026

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hb1181-00
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school attendance by local law enforcement agencies. The 26
responsibility includes recommending policies and procedures to 27
the district school board that require public schools to respond 28
in a timely manner to every unexcused absence, and every absence 29
for which the reason is unknown, of students enrolled in the 30
schools. District school board policies shall require the parent 31
of a student to justify each absence of the student, and that 32
justification will be evaluated based on adopted district school 33
board policies that define excused and unexcused absences. The 34
policies must provide that public schools track excused and 35
unexcused absences and contact the home in the case of an 36
unexcused absence from school, or an absence from school for 37
which the reason is unknown, to prevent the development of 38
patterns of nonattendance. The Legislature finds that early 39
intervention in school attendance is the most effective way of 40
producing good attendance habits that will lead to improved 41
student learning and achievement. Each public school is required 42
to implement the following steps to promote and enforce regular 43
school attendance: 44
(1) CONTACT, REFER, AND ENFORCE.— 45
(b) To support the timely communication and intervention 46
for students with absences, each district school board shall 47
implement a mandatory electronic alert system within its data 48
management system or educational platform to notify school 49
administrators, the child study team, and a student's parent 50

HB 1181 2026

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when a student reaches the school district's truancy threshold 51
for absences. 52
(2) GIVE WRITTEN NOTICE.— 53
(a) Under the direction of the district school 54
superintendent, a designated school representative must provide 55
written notice in person or by return-receipt mail to the 56
parent, requiring the child's enrollment or attendance within 3 57
days after the date of notice, when no valid reason is found for 58
a student's nonenrollment in school if the child is under 59
compulsory education requirements, and is not exempt. If the 60
child is not enrolled or in attendance in school within 3 days 61
after the notice being provided, the designated school 62
representative must report the case to the district school 63
superintendent, who must refer the case to the child study team 64
in paragraph (1)(c) (1)(b) at the school the student would be 65
assigned according to district school board attendance area 66
policies. In addition, the designated school representative may 67
refer the case to the Department of Juvenile Justice's 68
authorized agent for families in need of services. The child 69
study team must diligently facilitate intervention services and 70
report the case back to the district school superintendent 71
within 15 days after referral of the case if reasonable efforts 72
to resolve the nonenrollment behavior have been made and the 73
child is still not attending school. If the parent refuses to 74
cooperate or enroll the child in school within 15 days after 75

HB 1181 2026

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referral of the case to the child study team, the district 76
school superintendent must make a report to law enforcement and 77
refer the case to the Office of the State Attorney to bring 78
criminal prosecution against the parent. 79
Section 2. Subsection (1) of section 984.151, Florida 80
Statutes, is amended to read: 81
984.151 Early truancy intervention; truancy petition; 82
judgment.— 83
(1) If the school determines that a student subject to 84
compulsory school attendance has had at least five unexcused 85
absences, or absences for which the reasons are unknown, within 86
a calendar month or 10 unexcused absences, or absences for which 87
the reasons are unknown, within a 90-calendar-day period 88
pursuant to s. 1003.26(1)(c) s. 1003.26(1)(b), or has had more 89
than 15 unexcused absences in a 90-calendar-day period, the 90
superintendent of schools or his or her designee may file a 91
truancy petition seeking early truancy intervention. 92
Section 3. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 93
1003.02, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 94
1003.02 District school board operation and control of 95
public K-12 education within the school district.—As provided in 96
part II of chapter 1001, district school boards are 97
constitutionally and statutorily charged with the operation and 98
control of public K-12 education within their school districts. 99
The district school boards must establish, organize, and operate 100

HB 1181 2026

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their public K-12 schools and educational programs, employees, 101
and facilities. Their responsibilities include staff 102
development, public K-12 school student education including 103
education for exceptional students and students in juvenile 104
justice programs, special programs, adult education programs, 105
and career education programs. Additionally, district school 106
boards must: 107
(1) Provide for the proper accounting for all students of 108
school age, for the attendance and control of students at 109
school, and for proper attention to health, safety, and other 110
matters relating to the welfare of students in the following 111
areas: 112
(b) Enforcement of attendance laws.—Provide for the 113
enforcement of all laws and rules relating to the attendance of 114
students at school. District school boards are authorized to 115
establish policies that allow accumulated unexcused tardies, 116
regardless of when they occur during the school day, and early 117
departures from school to be recorded as unexcused absences. 118
District school boards are also authorized to establish policies 119
that require referral to a school's child study team for 120
students who have fewer absences than the number required by s. 121
1003.26(1)(c) s. 1003.26(1)(b). 122
Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026. 123