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Primary Sponsor

Last Action

Re-ref Com On Appropriations2026-05-19

Vote Breakdown

No floor votes recorded.

Plain Language Summary

This bill establishes a two-year pilot program in one North Carolina school district to test a data-driven attendance monitoring and intervention system designed to reduce chronic absenteeism. The Department of Public Instruction will select a vendor and school district to implement the system, which includes real-time attendance tracking, automated family communication, and intervention protocols, with $75,000 in state funding allocated for the 2026-2027 school year.

Arguments in Favor

• •Supporters argue that chronic absenteeism affects 25 percent of NC students and leads to academic underperformance, higher remediation costs, and lower graduation rates.
• •They contend that early intervention systems with real-time monitoring and family engagement have proven effective in other settings, and improving attendance would maximize the state's per-pupil education investment while reducing long-term costs associated with dropout recovery and remedial services.

Arguments Against

• •Opponents may raise concerns about data privacy and surveillance, questioning whether real-time monitoring of students and automated communications with families could infringe on privacy rights or create an invasive school environment.
• •They might also argue that the underlying causes of absenteeism—such as poverty, health issues, or family instability—require social services rather than technological monitoring, and that $75,000 may be insufficient for meaningful implementation or insufficient to address root causes of chronic absence.