I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4220 
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to allow 
local educational agencies to use Federal funds for programs and activi-
ties that address chronic absenteeism. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
AUGUST 30, 2019 
Mr. RYAN (for himself and Ms. HERRERA BEUTLER) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 
A BILL 
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
of 1965 to allow local educational agencies to use Federal 
funds for programs and activities that address chronic 
absenteeism. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Chronic Absenteeism 
Reduction in Every School (CARES) Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
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(1) Students who are chronically absent— 
meaning they miss 10 percent or more of the school 
year—are more likely to fall behind academically, 
which can lead to hardships later in life. These stu-
dents are 68 percent less likely than their peers to 
graduate. This leaves them prone to living in pov-
erty, suffering from diminished health, and being in-
volved in the criminal justice system later in life. 
(2) The Department of Education’s Office of 
Civil Rights Data Collection found that over 
7,000,000 students were chronically absent during 
the 2015–2016 school year. This makes up 14 per-
cent of all students. 
(3) Students of color are disproportionately 
chronically absent compared to their White peers. 
Latino students are 17 percent more likely to be 
chronically absent, African-American students are 
40 percent more likely, and American Indian and 
Pacific Islander students are over 50 percent more 
likely, according to the Department of Education’s 
Office of Civil Rights Data Collection. 
(4) The Department of Education has found 
that chronic absenteeism is widespread, stemming 
from a wide range of often overlapping internal and 
external factors. External factors include homeless-
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ness, challenges within families, and transportation; 
while internal factors include health, fear of bullying, 
concern for safety, and not valuing daily school at-
tendance. Therefore, it is critical to have cross-sector 
collaborations and multifaceted strategies that incor-
porate parents (or guardians, as appropriate), pub-
lic-partner partnerships, and community partners. 
(5) Studies have shown that mentors can help 
reduce chronic absenteeism. Students who regularly 
meet with mentors are 52 percent less likely than 
their peers to skip a day of school and 37 percent 
less likely to skip a class. In one program, previously 
chronically absent students in 2012–2013 with 
‘‘Success Mentors’’ gained 51,562 additional days of 
school compared to previously chronically absent stu-
dents without mentors at comparison schools; and 
92,277 additional days compared to comparison 
school students without mentors during the 3-year 
initiative. A report on the impact of one mentoring 
program found that it reduced school absenteeism by 
half. In another study, youth showed a gain of more 
than a week of class attendance. 
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SEC. 3. INTERVENTIONS TO ADDRESS CHRONIC ABSENTEE-
ISM. 
Section 4108(5) of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7118(5)) is amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (H)(iii) by striking ‘‘or’’ at 
the end; 
(2) in subparagraph (I), by striking the period 
at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(J) interventions for students who miss 
10 percent or more of school days (as deter-
mined at any time during a school year), which 
may include— 
‘‘(i) implementing data collection sys-
tems that assist schools in collecting and 
tracking attendance data; 
‘‘(ii) creating data-sharing and con-
fidentiality agreements between schools, so-
cial service agencies, city and county gov-
ernments, and partner agencies or commu-
nity organizations working with students; 
‘‘(iii) partnering with local health, 
transportation, and service providers to 
target intervention efforts; 
‘‘(iv) training and integrating school 
personnel for mentoring; 
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‘‘(v) carrying out mentoring programs 
that— 
‘‘(I) are structured, managed, 
and appropriately match students 
with screened and well-trained adult 
volunteers for group and one-on-one 
mentoring relationships; 
‘‘(II) encourage mentors and stu-
dents to meet frequently; 
‘‘(III) emphasize the importance 
of regular school attendance; and 
‘‘(IV) provide and facilitate the 
necessary student support services; 
‘‘(vi) partnering with community orga-
nizations that offer mentoring services that 
consist of— 
‘‘(I) screening and training of 
adult volunteers; 
‘‘(II) matching students with the 
appropriate adult volunteer mentors; 
‘‘(III) support and oversight of 
the mentoring relationship; 
‘‘(IV) establishing goals and eval-
uation of outcomes for mentored stu-
dents; and 
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‘‘(V) planned and ongoing coordi-
nation between mentors and school 
personnel to identify individual stu-
dent challenges causing chronic absen-
teeism in an effort to connect mentees 
to appropriate intervention efforts; 
‘‘(vii) cross-age peer mentoring pro-
grams under which an older student serves 
a mentor for a younger student for the 
purpose of guiding and supporting the stu-
dent’s academic, social, and emotional de-
velopment; 
‘‘(viii) identifying issues that lead to 
school absences; 
‘‘(ix) meeting with students and par-
ents (or guardians, as appropriate) to en-
gage students and improve performance; 
‘‘(x) arranging for teacher home visits 
to develop relationships among students, 
parents (or guardians, as appropriate) and 
schools; 
‘‘(xi) connecting students to existing 
school resources and activities, including 
school counseling services and existing 
community-based organizations; 
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‘‘(xii) using mentors to serve as a 
bridge between students, parents (or 
guardians, as appropriate), and schools; 
‘‘(xiii) implementing evidence-based 
restorative justice strategies aimed at re-
ducing suspensions in order to keep stu-
dents in school; or 
‘‘(xiv) providing personnel training to 
build positive school climates and promote 
social-emotional learning.’’. 
Æ 
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