2025 Bills HB 399 Sub 1: Non-Criminal Absenteeism Solutions
To track the status of this bill, find it on our Legislation Tracker. Click here to contact the sponsor of the bill to share your thoughts, or click here to email your Senator and Representative about it.
Libertas Institute supports this bill
Staff review of this legislation finds that it aligns with
our principles and should therefore be passed into law.
Chronic absenteeism is on the rise in Utah’s public schools. In fact, one in four Utah students are missing 18 school days or more.
But for many, they want to criminalize students to address the rise in chronic absenteeism.
The first substitute of House Bill 399 from Representative Andrew Stoddard is the right move when it comes to addressing this problem.
The substitute of this bill removes the desire to criminalize students. Instead, the substitute provides the means to study why students are absent from school. Knowing why a student is missing school will lead to far better solutions to address the rising absenteeism problem.
