MINNEAPOLIS, MN – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar today released the following statement on the president's announcement on the nation’s record-breaking high school graduation rate of 83.2 percent for the 2014-2015 school year.

“We know that kids can’t learn if they aren’t in school. As a former prosecutor, I saw firsthand how skipping school was often the first step toward bigger problems, like dropping out,” said Klobuchar. “When we provide kids with the support they need to come to school, they’re less likely to drop out and more likely to graduate. This record-breaking high school graduation rate reflects the hard work of educators, parents, and lawmakers toward keeping kids in school and helping them achieve their dreams.”

During her time in the Senate, Klobuchar has been a leader on school attendance issues. She has previously introduced comprehensive legislation to address truancy issues, and last year, Klobuchar’s provisions to help ensure that all students receive a quality education were included in the Every Student Succeeds Act, which updated the No Child Left Behind federal education law. Klobuchar authored a provision to address chronic absenteeism, defined as missing at least ten percent of school days, for any reason. Her provision adds absenteeism as an acceptable use of professional development funds for teachers and principals, giving school professionals the tools and training they need to address chronic absenteeism and intervene with at-risk students as early as kindergarten. As Hennepin County Attorney, Klobuchar started a major anti-truancy initiative to keep kids in the classroom and out of the courtroom. Her office worked closely with local schools on a faster, more effective response to truancy problems.

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