An Act amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known as the Public School Code of 1949, in pupils and attendance, further providing for attendance policy at charter, regional charter and cyber charter schools, for excuses from attending school, for procedure when child is truant, for procedure by school when child habitually truant and for penalties for violating compulsory school attendance requirements.

PRINTER'S NO. 3506
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No. 2594
Session of
2026
INTRODUCED BY GLEIM, M. MACKENZIE, KRUPA, HAMM, ANDERSON,
BERNSTINE, WATRO, WALSH, KAUFFMAN AND DIAMOND, JUNE 2, 2026
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, JUNE 3, 2026
AN ACT
Amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), entitled "An
act relating to the public school system, including certain
provisions applicable as well to private and parochial
schools; amending, revising, consolidating and changing the
laws relating thereto," in pupils and attendance, further
providing for attendance policy at charter, regional charter
and cyber charter schools, for excuses from attending school,
for procedure when child is truant, for procedure by school
when child habitually truant and for penalties for violating
compulsory school attendance requirements.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section 1327.2(a.1) and (c) of the act of March
10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known as the Public School Code of
1949, amended November 12, 2025 (P.L.244, No.47), are amended to
read:
Section 1327.2. Attendance Policy at Charter, Regional
Charter and Cyber Charter Schools.--* * *
(a.1) In addition to the requirements of subsection (a), a
cyber charter school shall include in its attendance policy the
following:
(1) A policy to determine when a child has an unexcused or
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excused absence or is present for synchronous instruction. To be
present for synchronous instruction, a child must be present and
visible to the teacher on camera [during each synchronous
instructional period for each course].
(2) A prohibition specifying that a cyber charter school
administrator or chief administrator may not alter an attendance
record taken by a teacher, unless the alteration corrects an
error.
(3) A policy to determine when a child has an unexcused or
excused absence or is present for asynchronous instruction. To
be present for asynchronous instruction, a child must complete
[weekly] benchmarks. The following requirements shall apply to
the [weekly] benchmarks:
(i) A cyber charter school shall establish [weekly]
benchmarks for students participating in asynchronous
instruction. [and shall submit the weekly benchmarks to the
department for approval by June 30 of each year for the
following school year. If the department has not approved,
denied or returned the weekly benchmarks within forty-five (45)
days, the weekly benchmarks shall be deemed approved for the
following school year.]
(ii) The [weekly] benchmarks must be sufficient to
demonstrate the student is making adequate and consistent
progress toward completion of each course in which the student
is enrolled. The cyber charter school's attendance policy shall
define adequate and consistent progress and include the
[consequence] intervention for failure to make adequate and
consistent progress.
(iii) If a student does not complete the [weekly] benchmark,
the student shall receive an absence or other [consequence]
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intervention in accordance with the policy under this paragraph.
* * *
(c) [(1)] Charter, regional charter and cyber charter
schools shall report all unexcused absences directly to the
department annually through the Pennsylvania Information
Management System (PIMS).
[(2) In addition to the reporting requirements under
paragraph (1), cyber charter schools shall submit information
related to the completion of the weekly benchmarks established
under subsection (a.1)(3) annually through PIMS and the
department shall post the information on the department's
publicly accessible Internet website.
(3) For students who have been found to be truant or
habitually truant, cyber charter schools shall report the
information required under paragraphs (1) and (2) directly to
the department monthly through PIMS.]
Section 2. Section 1329 of the act is amended by adding
subsections to read:
Section 1329. Excuses from Attending School.--* * *
(b.1) A board of school directors of a school district may
not create rules governing pupil attendance, absences and
excusals that:
(1) Assign an unexcused absence or unexcused tardy
determination to students who are unable to attend school or
delayed in attending school due to a lack of transportation
provided by the local school district or a delayed
transportation vehicle provided by the local school district.
(2) Assign an unexcused absence or unexcused tardy
determination to students who are unable to attend school or
delayed in attending school due to a lack of common carriers or
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a delay in common carriers if the local board of school
directors chooses to provide students with free transportation
through common carriers, in accordance with section 1362.
(3) Assign an unexcused absence to students as a result of
accumulating a certain number of unexcused tardy determinations.
(4) Assign an unexcused absence to students if they are
tardy for a class or are absent from a class.
(b.2) A board of school directors of a school district shall
establish a process in which a determination made by a school
employee to issue an unexcused absence or unexcused tardy to a
student may be appealed to the school district superintendent,
the local board of school directors or a neutral third party.
The following procedures apply to the appeal process established
by the board of school directors:
(1) The school district shall, at a minimum, annually
provide the appeal process to parents and guardians of students
in the school district, which must be in writing and in the mode
and language of communication preferred by the parent or
guardian receiving the information.
(2) The appeal process shall be posted on the publicly
accessible Internet website of the school district.
* * *
Section 3. Section 1333(a)(2.1), (3) and (4) and (c.1) of
the act, added November 12, 2025 (P.L.244, No.47), are amended,
subsection (a) is amended by adding paragraphs and the section
is amended by adding a subsection to read:
Section 1333. Procedure When Child is Truant.--(a) When a
child is truant, the school shall notify in writing the person
in parental relation with the child who resides in the same
household as the child of the child's violation of compulsory
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school attendance within ten (10) school days of the child's
third unexcused absence. The notice:
* * *
[(2.1) shall include notice to the person in parental
relation that a child who is habitually truant may not transfer,
during the school year, to a cyber charter school unless a judge
determines that the transfer is in the best interest of the
child;]
* * *
(3) may include the offer of a school attendance improvement
conference; [or]
(4) when transmitted to a person who is not the biological
or adoptive parent, shall also be provided to the child's
biological or adoptive parent if the parent's mailing address is
on file with the school and the parent is not precluded from
receiving the information by court order[.];
(5) shall include a list of the unexcused absence dates; or
(6) shall include information about how a parent or guardian
can appeal the school's determination of unexcused absence and
truancy designation.
* * *
[(c.1) A child who is habitually truant may not transfer,
during the school year, to a cyber charter school unless a judge
determines that the transfer is in the best interest of the
child.]
* * *
(e) A school district shall report all unexcused absences
directly to the Department of Education annually through the
Pennsylvania Information Management System (PIMS).
Section 4. Section 1333.1(a) and (b) of the act are amended
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and the section is amended by adding a subsection to read:
Section 1333.1. Procedure by School When Child Habitually
Truant.--(a) When a child is habitually truant and under
fifteen (15) years of age at the time of referral, the school[:
(1)] shall notify in writing the person in parental relation
with the child who resides in the same household as the child of
the child's violation of compulsory school attendance within ten
(10) school days of the child's sixth unexcused absence. The
notice:
(1) Shall be in the mode and language of communication
preferred by the person in parental relation.
(2) Shall include a list of the unexcused absence dates.
(3) Shall include information about how a parent or guardian
can appeal the school's determination of unexcused absence and
habitual truancy designation.
(4) Shall refer the child to either of the following:
(i) A school-based or community-based attendance improvement
program.
(ii) The county children and youth agency for services or
for possible disposition as a dependent child under the
provisions of 42 Pa.C.S. Ch. 63 (relating to juvenile matters).
[(2) May] (a.1) In the circumstance described in the
introductory paragraph of subsection (a), the school may file a
citation in the office of the appropriate judge against the
person in parental relation who resides in the same household as
the child.
(b) When a child is habitually truant and fifteen (15) years
of age or older at the time of referral, the school shall
[either:] notify in writing the child and the person in parental
relation with the child who resides in the same household as the
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child of the child's violation of compulsory school attendance
within ten (10) school days of the child's sixth unexcused
absence. The notice:
(1) Shall be in the mode and language of communication
preferred by the child and the person in parental relation.
(2) Shall include a list of the unexcused absence dates.
(3) Shall include information about how a parent or guardian
can appeal the school's determination of unexcused absence and
habitual truancy designation.
(4) Shall do either of the following:
[(1)] (i) Refer the child to a school-based or community-
based attendance improvement program or service.
[(2)] (ii) File a citation in the office of the appropriate
judge against the child or the person in parental relation who
resides in the same household as the child.
* * *
Section 5. Section 1333.3(i) of the act, added November 12,
2025 (P.L.244, No.47), is amended to read:
Section 1333.3. Penalties for Violating Compulsory School
Attendance Requirements.--* * *
[(i) At the time of conviction of a child for a violation of
the requirements of compulsory school attendance under this
article, the court shall make a determination on the ability of
the child to transfer to a cyber charter school in accordance
with section 1333(c.1).]
* * *
Section 6. This act shall take effect in 30 days.
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