GIBSONTON, Fla. — Four students at East Bay High School in Gibsonton are pushing for state legislation to combat Florida's chronic absenteeism problem through an innovative alert system.
The students are participating in Hillsborough County Public Schools' "Ought to Be a Law" program, which allows high school students to propose legislation that could become actual state law.
WATCH: East Bay High students push for Florida law to combat chronic absenteeism with alert system
Tampa Bay 28's Blake Phillips has reported on two other high school groups, at Sumner and Freedom High School, and their proposals in the last 3 months.
But at East Bay, Seniors Jaelynn Hall and Joshua Noel, along with juniors Habibah Emiola and Heidy Encarnacion, were motivated to act after discovering alarming statistics about student attendance in Florida.
"We were looking at all the data, and we were really surprised because we saw like 34% of students in Florida are chronically absent, which is a crazy number," Hall said.
Their proposed legislation would create a new truancy alert system. When a student approaches 10 missed days of school within a 90-day period, an alert would be sent to a staff member to ensure a letter is sent home to parents.
"It's important to stay in school so you can get an education and not be absent so you won't get a zero in any of your assignments," Noel said.
The students say they feel they've found their place in school and don't want other students to miss out on similar opportunities.
"I feel like being in clubs and all the clubs that I have, I've made friends, and I've found the community that I feel comfortable in," Encarnacion said.
"We know what's out there. We know what school can provide, and students just not coming to school, they're missing out on all those opportunities, something that could boost them for the future," Emiola said.
The Florida Legislature is currently in session. State Senator Darryl Rouson has sponsored the bill for East Bay students, saying he believes listening to young people can bring fresh perspectives that adults might overlook.
"It's all about the children. And when children see ways of helping each other, we should honor that," Rouson said.
The East Bay students hope to travel to Tallahassee if their bill is debated on the floor, so they can be more involved in the legislative process.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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