SB58 directs local education agencies to conduct "enhanced attendance tracking" of school-aged children and "identify students at risk of chronic absenteeism" who miss 10% or more days of instruction, whether or not "the absence was excused."
The House passed SB58 on March 4, 2026, by a vote of 48 to 22. We have assigned pluses to the nays because education is not the role of government—it is the responsibility of a child's parents or family. Parents have a fundamental right to educate their children freely, and schools can and should be privatized, without relying on public funds. If not dismantled, the government's monopoly on pre-K-12 education will continue to displace traditional private schools and homeschooling in favor of universal state-sponsored schooling. The best "school choice," by far, is for parents to choose not to place their child's education in the hands of the state. Educational and economic freedom cannot be achieved by forcing other citizens to give up their hard-earned tax dollars for all that now entails a compulsory, failing, and government-run school system.
