At its July 27 regular meeting, the Katy ISD Board of Trustees heard an update on the district’s attendance plan, “Attend Today, Achieve Tomorrow: Attendance Incentive Initiative, highlighting three consecutive years of attendance growth and a nearly one percentage-point increase in attendance since the initiative launched in 2023.

While school districts across Texas and the country continue working to recover from post-pandemic declines in student attendance, Katy ISD is moving in the opposite direction. The gains are especially significant at a time when public education faces increased competition and families have more educational options than ever before.

"Families continue to choose Katy ISD because they value the exceptional educational experience our schools provide," said Assistant Superintendent for School Leadership and Support Emily Craig, who co-presented the information. "Our attendance gains reflect the strong partnership we have with our parents, our talented teachers and staff who create engaging learning environments every day and our shared belief that students achieve their greatest success when they're in the classroom."

Attendance remains one of the strongest predictors of student academic success, district officials said In the presentation to the board. Students who attend school consistently are more likely to achieve academically, remain engaged and graduate prepared for college, careers or military service.

The district’s attendance initiative takes a unique, locally developed approach by encouraging campuses to lead their own attendance efforts while providing real-time data and sharing financial rewards with schools that improve or maintain strong attendance. The program is entirely self-funded; with financial incentives paid when campus efforts result in more students attending school on a regular basis.

Since its launch, the initiative has produced measurable results:

· Districtwide attendance has increased by 0.9 percentage points, reversing much of the decline the district experienced following the COVID-19 pandemic.

· Every major student population has improved attendance, including economically disadvantaged students, students receiving special education services, emergent bilingual students and students experiencing homelessness.

· 53 of Katy ISD's campuses earned attendance incentives during the 2025-2026 school year.

· The district generated more than $5 million in additional annual state funding through improved attendance.


For the 2025-2026 school year alone, campuses earned $338,000 in attendance incentives.

Unlike many school attendance incentive programs, Katy ISD's model recognizes both improvement and sustained excellence. Campuses with consistently high attendance can earn additional awards incentives by maintaining or exceeding their previous year's attendance rate, ensuring every school has an opportunity to be recognized.

Half of each financial incentive is directed toward campus instructional budgets, while campuses determine how to invest the remaining funds to best meet the needs of their students and staff.

District leaders emphasized that while improved attendance also strengthens school funding, the initiative's primary purpose has always been student academic success.

"This initiative has never been about financial benefit alone," Craig said. "It's about ensuring more students are in attendance every day, learning from outstanding teachers and taking advantage of all academic and student program opportunities Katy ISD provides."

As the district enters the 2026-2027 school year, Katy ISD will continue building on three years of momentum by focusing additional attendance efforts during historically challenging periods of the school calendar while maintaining its commitment to rewarding increased attendance and academic excellence. Attendance typically dips during the last six-week grading period of each semester, officials said.