Houston schools are facing a tough challenge with truancy as alarming new data reveals over 60,000 unexcused absences last year alone.

A bill filed by State Sen. Paul Bettencourt would help bring consistency to how truancy is handled by school districts across the state. After passing the Senate 30-1, Senate Bill 1630 was recently voted out of a House committee and is now headed to a vote in the House.

The Robb Elementary School shooter had hundreds of unexcused absences, and a House investigative report noted it was unclear whether any attempts were made by the school district to find out what was happening in the teen’s life before he was involuntarily withdrawn.

As investigators combed through the life of the Robb Elementary school shooter, they discovered he was absent from school for hundreds of days before being “involuntarily withdrawn” from the district.