Most school districts have policies in
place to systematically address student absenteeism, which remains
a considerable problem across grade levels in many parts of the
country. Typical attendance practices include parent notification
by letters, phone calls, parent meetings, home visitation, and, for
students with significant numbers of absences, referrals to truancy
programs and family courts. Such practices can be costly. Text
messaging interventions are becoming increasingly popular -- in
fields such as public health and prevention -- due to their low
cost, scalability, and evidence of impact. School districts have
increasing capacity to use technology to implement messaging
interventions. Thus, an evaluation to determine whether a text
messaging intervention can improve student attendance in a cost
effective manner is warranted. To our knowledge, this project is
the first multidistrict random assignment study of the impact of a
text messaging intervention for parents on student attendance and
achievement. In addition, consistent with the Consolidated and
Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 (PL 113-235), which
provides the legislative authority to conduct this study, this
study will focus on low-performing schools with high levels of
poverty and student absenteeism.
PL:
Pub.L. 113 - 235 0000 Name of Law: Consolidated and Further
Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015
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