ATTENDANCE FOR SUCCESS ACT CHANGES

HB0219

HOUSE BILL 219

57th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2026

INTRODUCED BY

Luis M. Terrazas
and
Gabriel Ramos

AN ACT

RELATING TO SCHOOL ATTENDANCE; REQUIRING GREATER COOPERATION
BETWEEN SCHOOLS AND JUVENILE PROBATION SERVICES IN THE
ENFORCEMENT OF THE ATTENDANCE FOR SUCCESS ACT; REQUIRING A
PRELIMINARY INQUIRY OF A DELINQUENCY COMPLAINT TO INCLUDE A
REVIEW OF THE CHILD'S SCHOOL ATTENDANCE; REQUIRING JUVENILE
PROBATION SERVICES TO INITIATE OR REVIEW INTERVENTIONS FOR A
CHILD SUBJECT TO A DELINQUENCY COMPLAINT WHO IS CHRONICALLY OR
EXCESSIVELY ABSENT FROM SCHOOL; REQUIRING A CHILDREN'S COURT
ATTORNEY TO INITIATE PROCEEDINGS PURSUANT TO THE FAMILY IN NEED
OF COURT-ORDERED SERVICES ACT FOR CERTAIN CHILDREN WHO ARE
CHRONICALLY OR EXCESSIVELY ABSENT FROM SCHOOL; AUTHORIZING
JUVENILE PROBATION SERVICES TO INITIATE ENFORCEMENT OF THE
ATTENDANCE FOR SUCCESS ACT FOR CERTAIN STUDENTS WHO ARE
CHRONICALLY OR EXCESSIVELY ABSENT FROM SCHOOL; PROVIDING
JUVENILE PROBATION SERVICES WITH IMMEDIATE ACCESS TO A
STUDENT'S ATTENDANCE RECORDS; MAKING CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

SECTION 1.
Section 22-12A-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2019,
Chapter 223, Section 2) is amended to read:

"22-12A-2. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Attendance for
Success Act:

A. "absent" means not in attendance for a class or
school day for any reason, whether excused or not; provided
that "absent" does not apply to participation in
interscholastic extracurricular activities;

B. "attendance improvement plan" means a tiered
data-informed system for public schools and school districts to
identify students who are chronically or excessively absent and
to aid public schools in developing whole-school prevention
strategies and targeted interventions. Each of the tiers is
defined as follows:

(1) "whole school prevention" means universal,
whole-school prevention strategies for all students, including
students who have missed less than five percent of classes or
school days for any reason;

(2) "individualized prevention" means targeted
prevention strategies for individual students who are missing
five percent or more but less than ten percent of classes or
school days for any reason;

(3) "early intervention" means interventions
for students who are missing ten percent or more but less than
twenty percent of classes or school days for any reason; and

(4) "intensive support" means interventions
for students who are missing twenty percent or more of classes
or school days for any reason;

C. "attendance team" means a group of school-based
administrators, teachers, staff, other school personnel and
community members who collaborate to implement an attendance
improvement plan;

D. "chronic absence rate" means the percentage of
students, in the aggregate and disaggregated by the subgroups
required for reporting pursuant to the federal Every Student
Succeeds Act, in a public school and a school district who have
been enrolled for at least ten days and who have missed ten
percent or more of school days since the beginning of the
school year;

E. "chronically absent" or "chronic absenteeism"
means that a student has been absent for ten percent or more of
classes or school days for any reason, whether excused or not,
when enrolled for more than ten days;

F. "excessively absent" or "excessive absenteeism"
means a student who is identified as needing intensive support
and has not responded to intervention efforts implemented by
the public school;

G. "excused absence" means absence from a class or
school day for a death in the family, medical absence,
religious instruction or tribal obligations or any other
allowable excuse pursuant to the policies of the local school
board;

H. "interscholastic extracurricular activities"
means those activities sponsored by a public school or an
organization whose principal purpose is the regulation,
direction, administration and supervision of interscholastic
extracurricular activities in public schools;

I. "juvenile probation services" means juvenile
probation and parole services provided in accordance with
Section 32A-2-5 NMSA 1978;

[
I.
]
J.
"local school board" includes the governing
body of a charter school;

[
J.
]
K.
"medical absence" or "medically absent"
means that a student is not in attendance for a class or a
school day for a parent- or doctor-authorized medical reason or
the student is a pregnant or parenting student;

[
K.
]
L.
"school day" means a portion of the school
day that is at least one-half of a student's approved program;

[
L.
]
M.
"school district" includes a charter
school;

[
M.
]
N.
"school principal" includes the head
administrator of a charter school; and

[
N.
]
O.
"unexcused absence" means an absence from a
class or school day for which the student does not have an
allowable excuse pursuant to the Attendance for Success Act or
policies of the local school board."

SECTION 2.
Section 22-12A-6 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2019,
Chapter 223, Section 6) is amended to read:

"22-12A-6. PUBLIC SCHOOL ATTENDANCE POLICIES--
REPORTING.--

A. A public school shall maintain an attendance
policy that:

(1) establishes an early warning system that
includes evidence-based metrics to identify students at risk of
chronic absenteeism or excessive absenteeism;

(2) provides for early identification of
chronically absent and excessively absent students;

(3) employs an attendance improvement plan
that focuses on:

(a) keeping students in an educational
setting;

(b) prohibiting out-of-school suspension
or expulsion as the punishment for absences;

(c) assisting a student's family to
remove barriers to the student's regular school attendance or
attendance in another educational setting; and

(d) providing additional educational
opportunities to students who are struggling with attendance;

(4) limits the ability of a student to
withdraw to only after all intervention efforts by the public
school or the children, youth and families department to keep
the student in an educational setting have been exhausted;

(5) requires that accurate class attendance be
taken for every instructional class and school day in a public
school or school program;

(6) provides that a public school shall
differentiate between different types of absences;

(7) requires a public school to document the
following for each chronically or excessively absent student:

(a) attempts by the public school to
notify a parent that the student was absent from class or the
school day;

(b) attempts to improve attendance by
talking to a student or parent to identify barriers to school
attendance, identify solutions to improve the student's
attendance behavior and discuss necessary interventions for the
student or the student's family; and

(c) intervention strategies implemented
to support keeping the student in an educational setting,
including additional educational opportunities offered to the
student;

(8) requires a student or the parent of a
student who intends to claim excused absence because of medical
condition, pregnancy or parenting to communicate the student's
status to the appropriate school personnel and to provide
required documentation; and

(9) encourages and supports compliant data
sharing, pursuant to the federal Family Educational Rights and
Privacy Act of 1974, between a public school and community-based organizations that provide services to students for the
purpose of providing more personalized interventions and
specialized supports as part of the public school's attendance
improvement plan.

B. Local school boards shall review and approve
their public school attendance policies.

C. School districts shall report absences, chronic
absences and excessive absences data to the department at each
reporting date and the end of the school year and shall
document intervention efforts made to keep students in an
educational setting. The department shall compile school
district reports as provided in Section [
13 of the Attendance
for Success Act
]
22-12A-13 NMSA 1978
and require school
districts to certify that the information is being reported
consistently and correctly. The department shall share
information from state-chartered charter schools with the
commission.

D. A public school shall provide a copy of the
public school's attendance policy to all parents of students in
that school and publish the policy on the public school's
website. The attendance policy shall include:

(1) the rights and obligations of parents and
students pursuant to the Attendance for Success Act;

(2) the prevention strategies that will be
implemented to ensure that students attend classes; and

(3) details about consequences of failing to
adhere to the attendance policy.

E. A public school shall provide a parent, within
five days of the parent's written request, with access to the
attendance data of that parent's child, including information
about any intervention strategies that have been employed to
help the student improve the student's attendance.

F. Upon request, school districts shall provide the
chronic absence rate from the most current reporting date or
end-of-year report, in the aggregate and disaggregated by
subgroups, for all its public schools.

G. Immediately upon request, a public school shall
provide juvenile probation services with a student's attendance
records and records of any attendance interventions and
responses to those interventions.
"

SECTION 3.
Section 22-12A-12 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2019,
Chapter 223, Section 12) is amended to read:

"22-12A-12.
CHRONIC AND
EXCESSIVE ABSENTEEISM--ENFORCEMENT.--

A. Each local school board and each governing body
of a charter school or private school shall initiate the
enforcement of [
the provisions of
] the Attendance for Success
Act for excessively absent students.
Juvenile probation
services shall initiate enforcement of the Attendance for
Success Act for chronically absent students who are subject to
a delinquency complaint.

B.
For excessively absent students
, if unexcused
absences continue after written notice of excessive absenteeism
as provided in Section [
11 of the Attendance for Success Act
]

22-12A-11 NMSA 1978
, the local school board or governing body
of a charter school or private school, after consultation with
the local superintendent or head administrator of a charter
school or private school, shall report the excessively absent
student to the
juvenile
probation services office of the
judicial district in which the student resides. [
for an
investigation as to
]
Upon receiving a report, the juvenile
probation services office shall investigate
whether the student
[
should be considered to be
]
is
a neglected child or a child in
a family in need of family services because of excessive
absenteeism [
and, thus, subject to the provisions of
]
in
accordance with
the Children's Code. The
local superintendent
or head administrator of a charter school or private school
shall provide the
record of the [
public
] school's interventions
and the student's and parent's responses to the interventions
[
shall be provided
] to the juvenile probation services office
[
The local superintendent or head administrator of a charter
school or private school shall provide the documentation to the
juvenile probation services office
] within ten business days of
the student being identified as excessively absent.

C. If the juvenile probation services office
determines that the
excessively absent
student is a child in a
family in need of family services, a caseworker from the [
child
or family in need of family services program
]
children, youth
and families department
shall meet with the family at the
[
public school in which the student is enrolled
]
student's
school
to determine if [
there are
] other intervention services
[
that
] may be provided. The meeting shall involve the school
principal or other school personnel and, unless the parent
objects in writing, appropriate community partners that provide
services to children and families. The children, youth and
families department shall determine if additional
interventions, including monitoring, will positively affect the
student's behavior.
Juvenile probation services may call a
meeting to review interventions for an excessively absent
student at any time; provided that if juvenile probation
services determines that a student who is subject to a
delinquency complaint or petition or who is alleged to be a
serious youthful offender is also an excessively absent
student, juvenile probation services shall immediately schedule
a meeting to review interventions, which shall be held within
five business days.

D. For a chronically absent student who is subject
to a delinquency complaint, juvenile probation services shall
schedule a meeting to determine interventions for the student.

Juvenile probation services shall schedule the meeting
immediately upon determining that the student is chronically
absent. The meeting shall be held within ten business days
from the date the meeting is scheduled and shall involve the
child, the child's parents, the school principal or head
administrator and any other school personnel or service
providers deemed necessary by juvenile probation services.
Juvenile probation services may call a meeting to review
interventions for a chronically absent student at any time.
"

SECTION 4.
Section 32A-2-7 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1993,
Chapter 77, Section 36, as amended) is amended to read:

"32A-2-7.
COMPLAINTS--REFERRAL--PRELIMINARY INQUIRY--NOTICE--TIME WAIVER.--

A. [
Complaints
]
A complaint
alleging delinquency
shall be referred to probation services, which shall conduct a
preliminary inquiry to determine the best interests of the
child and of the public [
with regard to any action to be taken
]

and to recommend an appropriate disposition for the case. A
preliminary inquiry shall include a review of the child's
school attendance. If the child is chronically or excessively
absent from school as provided in the Attendance for Success
Act, probation services shall call a meeting pursuant to
Section 22-12A-12 NMSA 1978 to initiate or review
interventions. Probation services shall call a meeting to
initiate or review interventions for a chronically or
excessively absent child regardless of the delinquent act
alleged in the complaint and of probation services' recommended
disposition for the case
.

B. During the preliminary inquiry on a delinquency
complaint, the matter may be referred to another appropriate
agency and conferences may be conducted for the purpose of
effecting adjustments or agreements that will obviate the
necessity for filing a petition. At the commencement of the
preliminary inquiry, the parties shall be advised of their
basic rights pursuant to Section 32A-2-14 NMSA 1978, and no
party may be compelled to appear at any conference, to produce
any papers or to visit any place. The child shall be informed
of the child's right to remain silent. The preliminary inquiry
shall be completed within the time limits set forth in the
Children's Court Rules.

C. Prior to a preliminary inquiry being conducted
with a child who is detained, the child's parent, guardian or
custodian or the child's attorney shall be given reasonable
notice by the juvenile probation and parole officer and an
opportunity to be present at the preliminary inquiry. If a
child is not detained, the preliminary inquiry shall be
conducted within thirty days of receipt of the referral from
law enforcement.
The thirty-day time period may be extended
upon a determination by the department that an extension is
necessary to conduct a thorough preliminary inquiry and that
the extension is not prejudicial to the best interests of the
child.

D. When a child is in detention or custody and the
children's court attorney does not file a petition within the
time limits authorized by the Children's Court Rules, the child
shall be released immediately. If a child is not detained and
a determination is made to file a petition, the petition shall
be filed within sixty days of completion of the preliminary
inquiry, unless a motion is granted to extend the time limit
for good cause shown.
If a child is not in custody or
detention, a petition shall not be dismissed for failure to
comply with the time limit set forth in this subsection unless
there is a showing of prejudice to the child.

E. After completion of the preliminary inquiry on a
delinquency complaint involving a misdemeanor, probation
services may notify the children's court attorney and recommend
an appropriate disposition for the case. If the child has been
referred for three or more prior misdemeanors within two years
of the instant offense, probation services shall notify the
children's court attorney and recommend an appropriate
disposition for the case,
and if the child is chronically or
excessively absent from school, probation services shall give
notice of the child's absenteeism to the children's court
attorney
.

F. Probation services shall notify the children's
court attorney of the receipt of any complaint involving an act
that constitutes a felony under the applicable criminal law.
Probation services shall also recommend a disposition to the
children's court attorney,
and if the child is chronically or
excessively absent from school, probation services shall give
notice of the child's absenteeism to the children's court
attorney
.

G. The child, through counsel, and the children's
court attorney may agree, without judicial approval, to a
waiver of time limitations imposed after a petition is filed.
A time waiver defers adjudication of the charges. The
children's court attorney may place restrictions on a child's
behavior as a condition of a time waiver. If the child
completes the agreed upon conditions and no new charges are
filed against the child, the pending petition shall be
dismissed. If the children's court attorney files a new
petition against the child, the children's court attorney may
proceed on both the original petition and the new charges. The
department shall become a party if probation services are
requested as a condition of the time waiver.

H. In addition to proceeding with the appropriate
disposition of a child's case, if the children's court attorney
received notice that the child is chronically or excessively
absent from school pursuant to Subsections E and F of this
section, the children's court attorney shall determine if the
child's family is a family in need of court-ordered services.

If the child's family is a family in need of court-ordered
services, the children's court attorney shall file a petition
in accordance with the Family in Need of Court-Ordered Services
Act.
"

SECTION 5.
Section 32A-3B-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1993,
Chapter 77, Section 74, as amended) is amended to read:

"32A-3B-2. [
DEFINITIONS
]
DEFINITION
.--As used in Chapter
32A, Article 3B NMSA 1978, "family in need of court-ordered
services" means [
the child or the family
]
a family that
has
refused family services, [
or
]
whose child who has refused
family services or for whom
the department has exhausted
appropriate and available family services and court
intervention is necessary to provide family services to the
child or family and: [
it is a family
]

A. whose child [
subject to compulsory school
attendance, is absent from school without an authorized excuse
more than ten days during a school year
]
is chronically or
excessively absent from school as provided in the Attendance
for Success Act
;

B. whose child is absent from the child's place of
residence for a time period of twelve hours or more without
consent of the child's parent, guardian or custodian;

C. whose child refuses to return home and there is
good cause to believe that the child will run away from home if
forced to return to the parent, guardian or custodian;

D. in which the child's parent, guardian or
custodian refuses to allow the child to return home and a
petition alleging neglect of the child is not in the child's
best interests; or

E. whose child is:

(1) alleged to be engaged in an act that would
be designated as prostitution if committed by an adult; or

(2) a victim of human trafficking as defined
in Section 30-52-1 NMSA 1978."

SECTION 6.
Section 32A-3B-11 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1993,
Chapter 77, Section 83) is amended to read:

"32A-3B-11. PETITION--ALLEGATIONS.--

A. A petition to initiate a proceeding regarding an
alleged family in need of court-ordered services shall include
the following allegations:

(1) that the child or the family are in need
of court-ordered family services;

(2) that the child and the family participated
in or refused to participate in a plan for family services and
that the department has exhausted appropriate and available
services; and

(3) that court intervention is necessary to
assist the department in providing necessary services to the
child and the family.

B. In addition to the allegations required pursuant
to the provisions of Subsection A of this section, a petition
that alleges a child's chronic
or excessive
absence from school
shall be accompanied by an affidavit filed by a school official
[
in accordance with the provisions of Section 32-3A-3 NMSA
1978
]
or a juvenile probation services officer
."

- 17 -