Early Intervention School Attendance Pilot.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 2
HOUSE BILL 1110
Committee Substitute Favorable 5/19/26

Short Title: Early Intervention School Attendance Pilot. (Public)
Sponsors:
Referred to:
April 30, 2026
*H1110-v-2*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO ESTABLISH A PILOT PROGRAM TO T EST THE USE OF DATA -DRIVEN 2
ATTENDANCE INTERVENTION SYSTEMS TO REDUCE CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM. 3
Whereas, chronic absenteeism in North Carolina has reached approximately 25 4
percent of enrolled public school students, meaning one in four students misses at least 10 percent 5
of instructional days; and 6
Whereas, chronic absenteeism is a leading indicator of academic underperformance, 7
increased remediation costs, and reduced graduation rates; and 8
Whereas, ea rly intervention and real -time attendance monitoring systems have 9
demonstrated measurable improvements in student attendance and reductions in chronic 10
absenteeism; and 11
Whereas, improving attendance increases the effective utilization of the State's per 12
pupil investment and reduces downstream costs associated with remediation, intervention 13
services, and dropout recovery; Now, therefore, 14
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 15
SECTION 1.(a) Purpose. – The Department of Public Instruction shall establish the 16
Student Attendance Early Intervention Pilot Program (Program) to implement a data -driven 17
attendance intervention system in select public schools to reduce chronic absenteeism. The 18
Program shall prioritize implementation within a single public school unit to ensure fidelity of 19
implementation, clear accountability, and operational efficiency. The Program shall begin with 20
the 2026-2027 fiscal year and conclude with the 2027-2028 fiscal year. 21
SECTION 1.(b) Selection of Schools. – All public school units may apply to 22
participate in the Program. By September 1, 2026, the Department shall select one public school 23
unit, and the schools within that public school unit, that will participate in the Program in 24
accordance with the following: 25
(1) The Program shall cover no more than 15,000 students combined across all 26
selected schools. 27
(2) The schools selected shall demonstrate diversity in student demographics, 28
including socioeconomic status, geography , and school -level characteristics 29
sufficient to support a representative pilot. 30
(3) The Department shall prioritize selecting schools that have a chronic 31
absenteeism rate above the State average. 32
(4) The Department shall consider the public school unit's and schools' technical 33
readiness, staffing capacity, and ability to meet implementation time lines, 34
including coordination requirements necessary for successful Program 35
deployment. 36
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 1110-Second Edition
SECTION 1.(c) Selection of Vendor. – The Department shall select a vendor to work 1
with the schools in the Program. The vendor shall offer, within a unified, purpose-built, scalable 2
platform, a research -proven attendance intervention solution, including tiered evidence -based 3
workflows, automated bidirectional family engagement, longitudinal documentation of outreach 4
and supports, and statewide reporting and monitoring across selected schools. The Department 5
shall select a participating vendor by September 15, 2026. 6
SECTION 1.(d) Implementation Requirements. – Program implementati on shall 7
align with the technical architecture of the selected solution, including integration with a single 8
student information system (SIS) in the participating public school unit. The selected public 9
school unit and schools shall work with the selected vendor to implement the Program beginning 10
no later than January 1, 2027. To implement the Program, the selected public school unit, schools, 11
and vendor shall work together to do all of the following: 12
(1) Designate a local program coordinator. 13
(2) Implement an attendance system that includes all of the following: 14
a. Real-time attendance monitoring and early warning indicators. 15
b. Automated, two -way communication with families, including 16
multilingual capability. 17
c. Intervention protocols aligned with a multit iered system of supports 18
(MTSS), including intervention workflows for at-risk students. 19
d. Data dashboards for educators and administrators. 20
e. Documentation and compliance tracking aligned with State attendance 21
policies. 22
f. Safeguards for data privacy in compliance with State and federal laws. 23
(3) Provide training to staff on system usage and intervention strategies. 24
SECTION 1.(e) Funding. – There is appropriated from the General Fund to the 25
Department of Public Instruction the sum of seventy -five thousan d dollars ($75,000) in 26
nonrecurring funds for the 2026 -2027 fiscal year to implement the Student Attendance Early 27
Intervention Pilot Program, as authorized by this act. The Department may either contract with a 28
selected vendor to provide services to the se lected public school unit or allocate funds to the 29
selected public school unit for that unit or schools in the unit to contract with the selected vendor. 30
Funds appropriated by this act shall not revert at the end of the 2026-2027 fiscal year but instead 31
shall remain available until June 30, 2028. The Department and the selected public school unit 32
may supplement State funds for the Program with eligible federal or philanthropic funding 33
streams. 34
SECTION 1.(f) Use of Funds. – Funds appropriated for the Program may be used 35
for any of the following purposes: 36
(1) Technology acquisition and licensing. 37
(2) Implementation and integration services. 38
(3) Training and professional development. 39
(4) Program administration and evaluation. 40
SECTION 1.(g) School Reporting. – Reporting shall be conducted at the public 41
school unit and school level, and the Department shall aggregate results across participating 42
schools for evaluation purposes. A single, statewide data instance across multiple student 43
information systems shall not be required. 44
SECTION 1.(h) Reporting. – No later than February 1, 2028, the Department shall 45
report to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee on the following: 46
(1) Measurable reductions in chronic absenteeism due to the Program. 47
(2) Improved student engagement and attendance consistency while participating 48
in the Program. 49
(3) Operational efficiencies provided by the Program for school staff. 50
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
House Bill 1110-Second Edition Page 3
(4) Any recommendations on statewide expansion of the Program, long -term 1
funding strategies, and integrating statewide data systems and longitudinal 2
data initiatives into the Program. 3
(5) Any other information the Department feels relevant to evaluating the 4
effectiveness of the Program. 5
SECTION 2. This act becomes effective July 1, 2026. 6