Creates a study group to study truancy, including potentially adjusting the student count methodology used in the public school funding formula in the effort to address truancy
House Resolution 180 creates a temporary legislative study group to examine truancy in Louisiana schools and to evaluate whether changes to the state’s student-count method in the Minimum Foundation Program (MFP) funding formula could help address attendance problems. The resolution notes that Louisiana currently uses specific student count dates, while other states use average daily attendance methods, and it directs the group to study whether shifting to an attendance-based approach would be feasible or advisable.
The study group is required to include representatives from BESE, attendance officers, school social workers, school counselors, principals, superintendents, charter schools, the East Baton Rouge truancy assessment and service center, and the Louisiana School Boards Association. Its report must address the pros and cons of average daily attendance, ways to increase attendance and reduce chronic absences, communication with parents—especially English Language Learner families—attendance data by student demographics, student engagement and family outreach, and problems caused by inconsistent attendance reporting and software systems across districts. The group must report to the House Committee on Education and BESE by February 1, 2026, at which point it terminates.
HR 180 does not directly change any statutes or funding formulas; instead, it creates a temporary advisory body to study truancy and possible revisions to the MFP student-count methodology. Its practical effect is to place attendance policy, school funding calculations, and truancy prevention under formal review, with the potential to influence future legislation or BESE action affecting public elementary and secondary education funding, attendance reporting, and district-level truancy practices.
The resolution appears to have broad support and little visible opposition. It passed the House on final consideration by a vote of 95-0, suggesting consensus around the need to study truancy and attendance-related funding issues. The bill’s framing emphasizes problem-solving and information gathering rather than immediate policy change, which likely contributed to the favorable reception.
The main policy question raised by the resolution is whether Louisiana should move from fixed student count dates to an average daily attendance model in the MFP formula. Supporters of the study appear to view this as a possible tool to discourage truancy and better align funding with actual attendance, while the resolution itself acknowledges that such a change could have advantages, disadvantages, and broader impacts. Potential areas of concern include how attendance data are reported and coded across districts, differences between rural and urban systems, and how any funding change might affect schools serving English Language Learners, charter schools, and districts with high chronic absenteeism.