2025 · Regular session · Senate bill
SB991
SB991 adds chronic absence and qualifying truancy to the reasons a student under age 26 is classified as at risk of dropping out.
Official caption: Relating to the inclusion of chronically absent and truant students as students at risk of dropping out of school and the collection and reporting of data regarding those students.
Official report lists Senate author(s): Bettencourt. This does not identify sponsors or amendment drafters.
Bill explanation published · Version and amendment review scope is stated below · Individual amendment records may not be separately annotated.
Bill highlights
Selected points from the published explanation. Follow each point to its source-linked context; conditions and limits may matter.
- SB991 adds chronic absence and qualifying truancy to the reasons a student under age 26 is classified as at risk of dropping out.
- A chronically absent student is absent for more than 10% of the school’s required operation and instructional time during a school year, or during an enrollment period longer than 30 instructional days.
- Districts and open-enrollment charter schools must report chronic-absence counts for each campus, both overall and separated by whether students receive section 29.081 instructional services.
What does it do?
SB991 adds chronic absence and qualifying truancy to the reasons a student under age 26 is classified as at risk of dropping out. It also requires more detailed attendance reporting and annual public totals. The governor signed it June 20, 2025, and it took effect September 1, 2025. History; Final law.
A chronically absent student is absent for more than 10% of the school’s required operation and instructional time during a school year, or during an enrollment period longer than 30 instructional days. That definition does not limit the absences to unexcused ones. The separate truancy category requires compulsory attendance with no statutory exemption and 10 or more unexcused days or parts of days in six months within the same school year. These are different tests, not interchangeable descriptions of ten missed days. Final law, sections 29.081(d)(1)(P)–(Q) and 48.009(a).
Districts and open-enrollment charter schools must report chronic-absence counts for each campus, both overall and separated by whether students receive section 29.081 instructional services. The existing campus-and-grade truancy count also gains that services breakdown. The Texas Education Agency must annually aggregate the truancy and chronic-absence data at campus and district levels and make it public. The bill calls for aggregated data, not a public list of named children. Final law, section 48.009(b)(6)(A), (8) and (c-1).
What changed along the way?
The introduced, Senate committee, engrossed, House committee and enrolled versions have identical operative provisions. There are no indexed floor amendments. Previously, section 29.081’s list did not expressly include these two attendance categories; section 48.009 already required truancy counts but not the new services breakdown, chronic-absence category or annual public aggregation added here. All five versions; Amendment index; Pre-act section 29.081; Pre-act section 48.009; Final law.
For the full amendment record, open the official amendment index.
Official bill versions
Compare the published text versions in the official text index. A change is not attributed to a specific amendment here without a verified record.
Who could benefit—and who could bear the costs?
The new classification brings qualifying students into the existing at-risk instruction framework. Section 29.081(b) already requires districts to provide accelerated instruction to students at risk of dropping out. Schools may therefore identify additional students for support, while families and communities gain more information about attendance and services. The law does not specify a new payment per identified student or guarantee improved attendance or graduation. Final law; Pre-act section 29.081.
The March 24 and May 7 fiscal notes anticipate no significant state fiscal impact and assume state costs can be absorbed with existing resources. They warn that more students may meet the at-risk definition and that schools must use existing attendance data to track, flag and report chronic absence. They do not put a dollar figure on local reporting or added services. Introduced fiscal note; Engrossed fiscal note.
SB991 does not create a new truancy offense or erase compulsory-attendance exemptions. Its new at-risk truancy category expressly preserves the requirement that the student be subject to attendance and not exempt. Final law; Pre-act section 25.085; Pre-act section 25.086.
Official sources
- Bill history and latest recorded action
- Bill versions, analyses and fiscal notes
- Action history and votes
- Amendment index
Catalog report retrieved 2026-10-25. Check the official record for corrections or later changes.
