When CPS students at Kilgour Elementary, Clark Montessori, and Withrow University High School start classes on Wednesday, August 19, their parents will be on a shorter clock than ever before. Under a new Ohio law, the district must contact families once a child misses roughly seven and a half school days for any reason.

Ohio House Bill 96, signed into law as part of the state's 2025–2027 budget, required every district to adopt a new attendance policy by Saturday, August 1. The law shifts Ohio's approach from punishing truancy (unexcused absences only) to intervening early on chronic absenteeism, which counts every absence: excused, unexcused, medical, and suspensions.

The stakes are steep for Cincinnati Public Schools.

The district's chronic absenteeism rate hit 45.6% in the 2024–25 school year, according to state report card data reported by the Cincinnati Enquirer. That's nearly double the statewide rate of 25% and the sixth-highest among Ohio's major urban districts. A student is considered chronically absent when they miss 10% or more of the school year.

The state wants to cut that 25% rate in half within three school years, according to WKRC.

Jessica Horowitz-Moore, chief of student and academic supports at the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce, told cleveland.com in October 2025 that the old system of sending letters after a set number of missed days had been in place for about a decade. "That really has not helped move the needle on chronic absence," she said.

Under HB 96, districts must form Absence Intervention Teams and develop tiered supports in consultation with their county juvenile court, parents, and community partners, according to guidance posted by the Franklin County juvenile court. The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce's attendance guide recommends schools review attendance data every other week and begin outreach to students missing two to three days per month, well before the legal 7.5-day notification floor.

What east-side families need to know

State data shows students who miss two to four days in September are five times more likely to be chronically absent by year's end. With the first day of school on August 19, every day counts from the start.

Open house dates for east-side schools: Clark Montessori High School holds its open house August 13, 4–6 p.m. Kilgour Elementary follows on August 17, 4:30–6:30 p.m. CPS's Back-to-School Fest is August 8, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Washington Park, with free backpacks, supplies, physicals, and vaccinations.

No open house date has been announced for Withrow University High School. CPS has not publicly detailed how it will implement the new attendance contact requirement at individual east-side schools given the reduced social-work staff.