H.B. 106 School Attendance Changes

What this bill does

H.B. 106 would direct the State Board of Education to gather and analyze data on chronic school absenteeism and then recommend actions to address it. The bill is aimed at finding out why students miss school, and it does not itself set new attendance rules.

Plain-English summary written by AI from the official description. Check the official text below.

Your legislators on this bill

Enter your address to see what your own representative and senator did on this bill.

Quotes come from the official recordings' automatic captions, which can mishear words. Speakers and summaries are identified by AI and can be wrong. Use the ▶ links to check the recording.

Take action

This bill's session is over, but your legislators still want to hear from you. Ideas that died often come back next year.

Enter your address to get your legislators' contact information and a ready-to-send message about this bill.

Every vote

• 14 yes, 0 no, 1 absentHouse Education Committee: vote, which it did not pass · Jan 27, 2026Who voted how

Hearings and debates

• Jan 27, 2026 House Education Committee▶ Watch
  Transcript (63 turns)

  1. Rep. R. Neil Walter (presiding)1:13:47

     Thank you Representative Welton. Thank you. Alright, the next item on the agenda is House Bill 1 0 6. School attendance changes. Uh, Representative Stoddard.

  2. Rep. Andrew Stoddard1:14:00

     Thank you Mr. Chair. And committee. Uh, this bill may seem familiar, it's because you heard it last year. Uh, this bill made it through the house and then died in the Senate at the end of the session. Um, oh my gosh. Can we, can we move some of these people on the end? Get some, I Don't if the chair has that prerogative Representative Stoddard security. I know in education it's common to have assigned seats, but I don't know that the chair has that prerogative under our rules. Yeah. Okay. Well, I appreciate you looking into it. Um, so this bill was actually a consensus bill last year. What we did is we got together all the groups who had an interest in chronic absenteeism. Uh, this is a huge problem for our students. What we know from the data is that kids who aren't in school aren't graduating. Kind of a logical nexus there. And so what we did is got all the people who might be interested in this issue. We got together, the state board, juvenile justice, parents rights groups, everyone to come together and craft some language. And what, what they all said is, we really need to figure out what is the cause of this chronic absenteeism. And until we understand what the cause is, we can't really do much about it because we're just going to be putting bandaids on and keep doing that forever. So, uh, this bill just tasks the state board with gathering data, analyzing it, and essentially providing recommendations as to what we should do. Um, I know there's a lot of people who have worked on this issue for a lot of years, and, um, happy to answer any questions, happy to any suggested changes. I just think this is an issue that we, we really need to get going on, and I think the first thing we need to do is figure out why it's happening.

  3. Rep. R. Neil Walter (presiding)1:15:32

     Okay. Does that conclude your presentation? It does. Alright, very good. We have a few questions. So we'll go to representative er Oh, now that she's on the phone. That's okay. I can come back to you. Yes, please.

  4. Rep. R. Neil Walter (presiding)1:15:43

     Uh, Representative MacPherson, You. Thank you, Mr.

  5. Rep. Matt MacPherson1:15:48

     Chair. And thank you for bringing this again. Um, I did have a question about the, um, board report, um, at the end of this. So it looks like that after they collect this data there to analyze it root cause come up with suggested solutions, is there any concern that some of the requirements listed here in the reporting collection and reporting back to the state is too prescriptive and doesn't give the state board enough flexibility on actually determining maybe all the options of maybe available?

  6. Rep. Andrew Stoddard1:16:22

     Um, I mean, like I said, this was language that was crafted by these groups. Uh, if there is something more they need, happy to include it. And I know there is some people from the board here if there is something they need. I'm, I'm not tied to this language, like I said Okay. Tied to the issue, but not the language. Uh,

  7. Rep. Matt MacPherson1:16:38

     Just as we're, uh, considering obviously with, uh, several different, um, committees and bills that to try to reduce the burden of reporting requirements on our LEAs and on the state board, I just wanna make sure that we're not saddling them down with additional requirements where perhaps, uh, just making a a loose recommendation might be a little bit more appropriate than a hyper specialized sort of report. And if that's the direction the committee wants to go, I'm fine with that. Thank you. Thank you.

  8. Rep. R. Neil Walter (presiding)1:17:07

     Representative MacPherson, uh, will now go to Representative Thompson. Oh, all right. She says she's ready. Representative er. And then, uh, Representative Thompson, uh, has, He's abscond moved On. Alright. Sounds like he's dead. He's absent for our absenteeism discussion. Yeah, sounds a Too, too much fun here. Representative Stoddard,

  9. Rep. Jordan D. Teuscher1:17:29

     Um, Representative Stoddard, I Oh, I appreciate your interest in this. Um, as a committee over the last few years, we've held audits and done other studies, and so I'm wondering why we need to do another study when we've already spent the time to do a deep dive with an audit. Mm-hmm.

  10. Rep. Andrew Stoddard1:17:48

      I, I mean, and I think the audits are great. I think these are important issues, but I think until we're getting all the stakeholders together and coming up with actual solutions, like we can get all the data we want, but I think the main part of this bill is having the board come and say, here's what's actually going to work, and here's what is working in different schools. There's a lot of great programs out there. You know, I've spoken with a number of districts who have things that they're doing that are working, and those are great. We should expand those. But until we have the groups working on them to know what is working, uh, we're kind of stuck with just data.

  11. Rep. Jordan D. Teuscher1:18:20

      Okay. So, um, if you don't mind, chair, I have Yeah, go ahead. Question. So, uh, your bill is to do a study to get that data, but I feel like we already have the data, so maybe we're on to the next step of, okay, what do we do about it? And I do know that this is, um, a topic that is being discussed a lot. So I'm just wondering, do, do we really need this bill when I feel like we're already doing that, if that makes sense.

  12. Rep. Andrew Stoddard1:18:48

      And is that a rhetorical question or would you like a response? I would love a response actually, if, if you're aware of like the work we're doing in this committee and the attendance and stuff around it. Um, I know you're not on the committee, so I didn't know if you knew that this was something that we've done audits, we've done studies multiple years, et cetera. Um, and, and I know loosely I spoke with the chair of this committee last year, representative Pucci, um, we had these conversations and, and I mean, no disrespect, and I don't want to imply that, you know, you're not doing anything on this issue because I know you are. But I think what we need to do is get everyone on the same page. And I think that's what this bill does. And that's what I've tried to do by convening the stakeholders and say, Hey, all you people who have an interest in this, what can we do to get things actually moving? And this is what they came up with. Okay, so this isn't me saying we need more steps and let's make it more complicated than it is. This is all the people who had an interest saying, let's get all these people together, figure it out, and then make recommendations so we as policy makers can put those into place.

  13. Rep. Jordan D. Teuscher1:19:46

      I see. Okay. Thank you.

  14. Rep. R. Neil Walter (presiding)1:19:48

      Thank you, representative Boxier. We'll go to Representative Thompson.

  15. Rep. Jordan D. Teuscher1:19:52

      Um, thank you, Mr. Chair. Um, Representative Stoddard, thank you for your work on this bill. Um, I quite frankly think you've nailed it on this bill. Um, and, um, I have a few concerns and I'll talk about what they are. Um, number one, we have done studies and we do have data surrounding chronic absenteeism. However, the data is crap, if I'm just being blunt, right. The data that we have is not good. Um, I'll talk to a superintendent and within their school district how someone at one school, um, measures absenteeism, um, or tardiness and things like, it varies from school to school, let alone having something uniform, um, in the district. So, and the auditors in the audits even call into question the accuracy of the data. What we do know is there's a problem, and what you point out in your bill is we need to define and we need to figure out how to track and actually get good data. Um, the, the, there's just a few things that are moving where I I think that those of us working in this space need to really come together. Um, one is Representative MacPherson working on a statewide information system, an SIS system. What I'm concerned with is getting the card out before the horse, with the state board saying, Hey, you have to go do this and do this and do this when we need to. We need to all be on the same page. If we're gonna move in one direction, let's move there and not, let's not be redundant in what we asked to do. Um, there is a bill, um, that, that I have with Senator Fillmore, Senate Bill 58, I believe, that addresses chronic absenteeism, which is doing very similar things to what you're doing here. And, um, but I do think that, um, I think that you're spot on with a lot of things in this bill. What I'd like to propose to do is, is, is, is to have you work with me and with Lincoln and a couple others in this space to really bring this thing full circle. Um, I think we're gonna make tremendous progress this session on a lease saying, Hey, we've gotta start looking at the data and we've gotta start, we, we've gotta be able to compare apples to apples. And we're not doing that very well with the data. Um, so I think the work that, that you're, that you're doing here is, is phenomenal. Um, I think there's a lot of things happening around all of us that are working in this space that, um, we, we just need to, we need to bring together into, into one conversation. And I'm committed to working with you to make sure that all aspects of this bill are included there. We're all row, we're all rowing in the same direction. Um, and I, I think we're gonna make tremendous progress there. But those would be my thoughts. I don't wanna, um, there's just all these other things working at one time and I, I would hate to say, Hey, state board, you've gotta do this. When we might change it very shortly to say, Hey, no, this is exactly how we're gonna quantify it. Um, those would be, those would be my concerns. But, um, we're, we're moving in the right direction and I'm super excited for, for your investment here and all the work that you've done. And I think that, um, um, combining some of the work efforts that we're doing are gonna make some really powerful piece of legislation to make a difference in this space. So, thank you, Mr. Chairman. May I respond?

  16. Rep. R. Neil Walter (presiding)1:23:03

      Yes, please do. Okay.

  17. Unknown speaker1:23:05speaker not certain

      I know there wasn't a question there, but that was, That was a Rhetorical Question with a hint of a question. That's right. This is the question portion. So go ahead. This is the laqua of a question, right? Lightly flavored.

  18. Rep. Andrew Stoddard1:23:16

      Um, no, and, and I'm totally open to that. And I, and I think the big difference between, uh, yours and Senator Fillmore's bill and this bill is, um, really the goal of this is to figure out what is causing this chronic absenteeism. And, and I love the approach in that bill, and I think it's great. And I, and I would love to see them combined. 'cause I think if we just keep trying things without understanding why it's happening, we're not going to actually solve the problem. You know, my wife's an educator and I talk to her about this a lot. You know, she has kids that don't show up to school because they're lazy. They don't want to show up. Parents don't make 'em. She has other kids that don't show up because their parents make 'em go to work. She has other kids that don't show up. 'cause they have to stay home and watch their little siblings. So both parents can go to work. There's so many problems on why our kids are not getting to school. And that's what I really hope with this bill, with this philosophy, whatever it is, is to figure out why that's happening.

  19. Rep. R. Neil Walter (presiding)1:24:06

      Thank you, Representative Stoddard. We're going to go to Representative Defay, vice Chair Defe.

  20. Rep. Ariel Defay1:24:11

      Thank you, Representative Stoddard. And thank you for bringing this, uh, important conversation to the forefront. I think you did it last year. Um, I think it's important that we're having these conversations. My question was, uh, Representative Thompson kind of touched on it. What kind of coordination are, are we all, uh, what kind of coordination are is happening between you and the other people in this space? Um, so that we're not duplicating efforts. Um, I just wanna make sure that we are unified as a committee and we are, because we're focused on absenteeism as a committee, are we producing a batch of bills that are all gonna work in conjunction with each other to address the root causes?

  21. Rep. Andrew Stoddard1:24:49

      Yeah. And, uh, so I discovered Representative Thompson and Senator Fillmore's bill this morning when Chair Walter texted me about it. And I know he's been working in this space. We've been having conversations for over a year about this. Uh, same with Representative Welton. Um, honestly, however, the committee chooses to proceed, I am fine. I will work with whoever I need to work with. And if, if the committee wants to go forward with the Fillmore Thompson bill, I'll work with them to ensure that whatever they approve of from this bill goes into it. Um, I, it doesn't have to be my bill. It's not my issue. It's not my bill. But what matters is that we get the policy right and that we're doing it in a way that's going to help students graduate and be successful.

  22. Rep. Ariel Defay1:25:32

      Thanks. Thank you.

  23. Rep. R. Neil Walter (presiding)1:25:34

      Uh, vice Chair de Faye, we will go to rep Representative MacPherson.

  24. Rep. Matt MacPherson1:25:39

      Didn't he already talk? Thank you, Mr. Chair, for allowing me to take a second bite at this Apple. Um, so based Questions, So, uh, based on the conversation I've heard and what we were discussing earlier, I guess, uh, my question is, looking at your fiscal note and looking at the impact on here, I'm wondering if how you would feel about stripping the reporting requirements, um, and the ongoing costs that's related to this. Still allow the state board to establish the, um, the mechanisms to, uh, you know, the, the standardized reporting for the LEAs, putting those, those structures in place, but take out the requirements for the reporting aspect that may cut down on that fiscal note, knowing that we don't really have any ongoing money. I'd hate for you to go through all this whole process and end up throwing a bill at the state board that we can't actually give 'em any money to actually implement. Um, just curious what your thoughts would be on that.

  25. Rep. Andrew Stoddard1:26:35

      Yeah, and, and like I said, uh, I am not tied to the specific way to get there, but I think what is important is understanding why chronic absenteeism is happening.

  26. Rep. R. Neil Walter (presiding)1:26:45

      Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, representative. Uh, we'll go to Representative Welton.

  27. Rep. Doug Welton1:26:51

      Thank you, Mr. Chair. I, I, I'm speaking out of order here 'cause I just walked in. But, um, I guess the question I had to, the good representative to the left of me is, um, it's my understanding the state board is already going to look at this. So if we just put the parameters in, they're going to, I mean, maybe they can tell me yes or no, but I, I think this is a big enough issue that they're looking at attendance anyway, as long as we have the right parameters in place, Really putting the pressure on. Sorry, state board question. Guess the sponsor. That's a, Is that a question? Question I have for the sponsor or anyone who might text me? Can I phone a friend? Yeah. Mr. Chair.

  28. Rep. R. Neil Walter (presiding)1:27:39

      Um, during the, during the clarifying questions, or you can you, you can phone a friend. Would one of you like to join me up here? Yeah. Please state your name and, uh, who you represent.

  29. Dr. Amanda Bollinger, Utah State Board of Education1:27:56

      Dr. Amanda Bo. Oh, I'm sorry. Thank you. Thank you Chair. Dr. Amanda Bollinger, vice Chair State Board of Education. Can I have a repeat of the question, please? Representative?

  30. Rep. Doug Welton1:28:08

      Yeah. So the, the concern was stripping away some of the reporting requirements because it's a, it's a lean fiscal year.

  31. Dr. Amanda Bollinger, Utah State Board of Education1:28:16

      Um, and I guess my thought is I that's probably all right. 'cause it's my understanding that this is an issue that the state school board is going to be looking at anyway. And so, I don't know, like whether we fund this or not. You're going to be looking at it, correct? Yes. Thank, thank you for that question. If I may, through you chair, we, we are looking at, at this issue as far as the reporting requirements, that's not something that we've taken a stance on as a school board yet, so I can't speak to what our stance is as a board. We would be happy to have the representative come to our meeting this week and present the bill so we can get more information and more of a consensus. But at this point, I'm not prepared to speak for the whole board. That's Fair.

  32. Rep. Doug Welton1:28:57speaker not certain

      I can't speak for the board either. Surprise,

  33. Rep. R. Neil Walter (presiding)1:29:02

      Representative Welton, does that conclude your question or do you have additional questions? That's good. Okay. Thank you.

  34. Rep. Doug Welton1:29:09speaker not certain

      Chair. If I may just add one more? Yes, please. Go ahead. Motion. Just the superintendent, um, just mentioned as well, if there's not a fiscal note attached to it, we won't have the staff to, to be able to, to do what's required in it, as of it is now, if there's not a additional FTE attached to that in our current state. So, just wanted to mention that. And as I understand it, that was the, the fiscal note was having someone to specifically analyze that data.

  35. Rep. R. Neil Walter (presiding)1:29:35

      Alright, thank you. We'll go to Representative Val Peterson.

  36. Rep. Val L. Peterson1:29:39

      Mr. Chair. Oh, sorry. There you go. Thank you, Mr. Chair. So we already know we have an attendance problem. We already pretty much know how much it is in each district. 'cause the districts can tell us, right? 25%, 30%, somewhere in that neighborhood, right? So what are you expecting to get out of this that we don't already know? And why aren't we just moving towards solutions? Because this has been a problem since COVID-19.

  37. Rep. Andrew Stoddard1:30:07

      No, and thank you. I think that's a great question. Um, we know it's happening. We know the numbers, but I don't think we really know why. And I think that varies based on, not even by demographic, not in by LEA, um, by, but by individual. But it's just like you said, the why is the very things that you pointed out to us just from your spouse, you said, I have a variety of reasons. Everything from babysitting their brothers and sisters to working to, I just didn't feel like going to school today. Are you expecting something different than that? I, I mean, I don't like to go off of anecdotal evidence. I didn't. Okay. I know you don't and I think there's gonna be a lot more reasons, but if we can figure out the why, talk to people, figure out what's working in different districts. I mean, it's not gonna help us to just keep gathering all these, this data. We know the numbers, we don't know the why, and we don't know what to do about it. And that's what I'm hoping to do with this Bill.

  38. Rep. R. Neil Walter (presiding)1:31:05

      Thank you. Thank you, Representative Peterson. Um, I don't see any other questions from our committee members. Are there any, uh, members of the public that'd like to speak to this bill? All right. Seeing none. One line. Uh, Jennifer, uh, please make sure you, uh, introduce yourself, uh, tell who you represent and make sure your, um, uh, video camera's on.

  39. Jennifer Stout, Voices for Utah Children1:31:32

      Hi, can you hear me? It's very quiet, so if you could speak up, that would be helpful. Um, gimme one second. Okay. Can you hear me a little bit Better? Much better. Thank you. Yep.

  40. Rep. R. Neil Walter (presiding)1:31:55

      So go ahead, Jennifer, why don't you introduce yourself, uh, tell you represent if anyone, and, uh, then your w would love to hear your public comment.

  41. Jennifer Stout, Voices for Utah Children1:32:03

      Yes. My name's Jennifer Stell. I'm with Voices for Utah Children. I am a early childhood education policy analyst. Um, I want to support this bill. I think it's crucial that in order to better kids' lives, we have data. My job re revolves around data in order to better those lives. And I think, like the sponsor said, in order to understand the why that data needs to be collected and solutions come from truth and from data. And that's what I've seen in my work is we can't find solutions without proper data. Thank you.

  42. Rep. R. Neil Walter (presiding)1:32:49

      Thank you, Jennifer. Jennifer, we appreciate your comment. All right. Uh, seeing no further public comment, that concludes our, uh, public comment section. We'll, we'll now move to action items from, uh, members of the committee. Alright. Uh, Representative Eliason,

  43. Rep. Steve Eliason1:33:06

      Can I reserve the right to make a motion?

  44. Rep. R. Neil Walter (presiding)1:33:08

      You may, I'd like

  45. Rep. Steve Eliason1:33:09

      to ask the sponsor a question if I may. Go ahead. Um, would you consider holding this for a moment? Let you coordinate with the senator, with the other two representatives that are working on absenteeism and let you guys kinda get together and then we can make a motion to bring it right back to committee. Once you guys have kind of had a chance to talk and get together, would you consider that? And would that be a good idea Right now?

  46. Rep. Andrew Stoddard1:33:33

      I think that's a great idea.

  47. Rep. R. Neil Walter (presiding)1:33:36

      All right. Representative Eliason, you wanna make a motion?

  48. Rep. Steve Eliason1:33:38

      I would, I'd like to make a motion that we hold this bill in this committee right now.

  49. Rep. R. Neil Walter (presiding)1:33:43

      All right. I have a, I have a motion from Representative Eliason, uh, to hold HB 1 0 6, uh, school attendance changes. Would you like to speak to that?

  50. Unknown speaker1:33:52speaker not certain

      I, I agree. This is a critical, um, topic and I love that everybody's concerned in trying to find solutions. I I just feel like we need to make sure we're all on the same page so that we can move forward with a good solid policy that everybody's ideas are all being included, including, you know, all your stakeholders that you've talked to, just so we can move forward in the right direction as a committee.

  51. Rep. R. Neil Walter (presiding)1:34:13

      Alright. Thank you. Representative Edelson to the sponsor.

  52. Rep. Andrew Stoddard1:34:17speaker not certain

      Yeah, I think that's a great idea. I would, I would hope that we'd all be working together because I think at, at, at our core, we all want these kids to succeed. Um, you heard Representative Thompson put it on the record, so if he fails to live up to what he's promised you do with him what you want, it's your committee. Um, but I think it's great and I am happy to work with everyone, so thank you.

  53. Rep. R. Neil Walter (presiding)1:34:38

      Alright. Uh, thank you, uh, to members of the committee. First Representative Miller.

  54. Rep. Tracy Miller1:34:44

      Thank you. Um, I, I support, um, putting this on hold and, and working together. I just wanna make sure that, that a lot of our, to make sure our stakeholders are included in the discussion. I know many schools, just individual schools at the local level that are tracking data, that are trying to find out what the root cause is or trying to do things about it. There's been several initiatives to approve, approve, improve attendance, and several of our schools. Um, and so I think, you know, those closest to the level are dealing with the problem and are experts and have a lot of great ideas.

  55. Rep. R. Neil Walter (presiding)1:35:20

      Alright. Thank you Representative Miller Millard, I'm gonna go to Representative Welton.

  56. Rep. Doug Welton1:35:25

      Yes. Thank you Mr. Chair. Um, yeah, this is an important issue and it's one that if we, if we had the silver bullet, then Representative Thompson and I would have a bill that would be perfect, that you would all vote for. But we're still trying to work our way through that and it's a difficult process. And so I I would am happy to work with, uh, the bill sponsor and Representative Thompson to, to see if we can get this right.

  57. Rep. R. Neil Walter (presiding)1:35:49

      Thank you. Representative Welton. Uh, to Representative Thompson.

  58. Rep. Jordan D. Teuscher1:35:53

      Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um, it is a, an extraordinarily complex issue and, um, I do give you my word that, um, that, that I'll work with you on this. You know, attendance work says there's 27 different reasons statistically why kids aren't going to school. And the truth is, is it's so complex because if you try and treat chronic absenteeism as a whole and you're not focusing in specific areas, you're, you're gonna, you're gonna miss the whole thing. And I think we're at the point now where we've got, we've got data. Even though some of the data we've got's not great, we've got enough data that tells us, hey, the trend trends are not great. Right? And, um, um, I think there's enough concern and enough momentum here on the hill that, um, we we're gonna get somewhere great. And, and I want you to be a part of that and I'm excited to be able to work with you on it. So thank you Mr. Chair.

  59. Rep. R. Neil Walter (presiding)1:36:43

      Thank you Representative Thompson. Uh, back to the maker of the motion To sum,

  60. Rep. Steve Eliason1:36:48

      I think it's been said, I'll waive. Alright.

  61. Rep. R. Neil Walter (presiding)1:36:50

      So the motion before us is to hold house Bill 1 0 6, school attendance changes. We'll do a roll call, vote. Sorry. I need to give you six. There you go. Thank you. Representatives. Er Yes. Eliason. Yes. Hayes? Yes. Liz B. Yes. McPherson? Yes. Millard? Yes. Moss? Yes. Corinne Peterson. Yes. Val Peterson. Yes. Pucci? Yes. Thompson? Yes. Welton? Yes. Vice Chair. Defay. Yes. Chair Walter? Yes. All right. That carries, uh, unanimously.

  62. Rep. R. Neil Walter (presiding)1:37:34

      Thank you, Representative Stoddard. We look forward to having you work with Representative Welton, uh, Representative Thompson and others and we'll continue our discussion on attendance. Thank you

  63. Rep. Andrew Stoddard1:37:43

      Chair Committee. Thank you.