Am. Sub. H.B. No. 410 - Summary

• Redefines habitual truancy from "5 or more consecutive school days" to "30 or more consecutive hours, 42 or more hours in one school month, or 72 or more hours in a school year" to measure absences in hours rather than days.

• Establishes absence intervention teams that must assess students and develop intervention plans before attendance officers file juvenile court complaints, with complaints filed 61 days after plan implementation if the student refuses to participate or fails to make satisfactory progress.

• Prohibits schools from suspending, expelling, or removing students solely based on absences without legitimate excuse as of July 1, 2017 (Section 3313.668).

• Creates a pilot program for multidisciplinary truancy teams (2017-2019) in geographically diverse school districts to identify underlying causes of truancy and develop targeted interventions before juvenile court involvement.

• Modifies the Ohio National Guard Scholarship Program to exempt scholarship recipients from repayment liability if their failure to complete enlistment is due to enlistment, warrant, commission, or appointment in the active duty component of the United States Armed Forces.