New York Assembly Bill A09181

New York 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 10/17/25
• Refer: 10/17/25
• Refer: 1/7/26

Caption

Directs the commissioner of education to develop and maintain a publicly accessible statewide attendance and absenteeism dashboard to be posted publicly on the state education department's website.

Summary

A09181 would require the New York State Commissioner of Education, working with school districts, BOCES, and other stakeholders, to create and maintain a publicly accessible statewide attendance and absenteeism dashboard on the State Education Department’s website. The dashboard would present attendance and chronic absenteeism data at the statewide, district, and school levels, broken down by grade and by student subgroup, including race and ethnicity, disability status, and English language learner status. It would also show year-to-year comparisons and use clear visualizations intended for families, educators, policymakers, and the public. The bill also sets expectations for data collection and updating: school districts would provide attendance data at least weekly, and the dashboard would be updated no less often than once per week. The commissioner would be authorized to adopt regulations governing the method and format of data submission to improve accuracy, uniformity, and timeliness. The act would take effect one year after becoming law.

Impact

If enacted, the bill would add a new section 3213-a to the Education Law and create a new statewide reporting and transparency requirement for attendance and chronic absenteeism. It would affect the State Education Department, school districts, and BOCES by requiring regular data submission, ongoing dashboard maintenance, and technical assistance to support consistent reporting. The bill also requires that data be displayed in a way that protects student privacy and complies with FERPA and other applicable laws.

Sentiment

No committee transcript or vote record is available, so there is no documented floor or committee sentiment to assess. Based on the bill text, the measure appears generally policy-oriented and informational rather than punitive, with an emphasis on transparency, accessibility, and data-driven decision-making. The absence of recorded opposition or amendments in the provided materials suggests no clear public controversy is documented here.

Contention

The main potential points of contention are likely to be the administrative burden on school districts, the feasibility of weekly data reporting and dashboard updates, and the need to ensure data accuracy and consistency across districts. Privacy concerns may also arise because the dashboard would publish detailed subgroup data, although the bill explicitly requires compliance with FERPA and other privacy laws. Stakeholders such as school districts, data administrators, and privacy advocates may focus on implementation costs, reporting standards, and safeguards against inadvertent disclosure.