High school attendance has increased in Austin ISD compared with this time last year, according to the most recent attendance monitoring report presented to the AISD board of trustees on Jan. 9. In the second six weeks of the 2016-17 school year, high school attendance rates came in at 94.1 percent, a 0.8 percent increase compared with this time last year. "It takes a lot to move attendance, so for it to increase is really significant," Debra Ready, executive director of AISD's Office of Accountability and Assessment, said. Middle school attendance remained the same, and the percentage of elementary students with five or more absences increased from 3.9 percent to 5.2 percent from 2015-16 to 2016-17. The number of discretionary removals during the second six weeks increased for African-American, economically disadvantaged, and special education student groups, but decreased for Hispanic students and English Language Learners. During the same meeting, the board discussed a potential ban on discretionary removals for children in grades pre-K to second grade, which if passed, is likely to decrease this phenomenon in the coming years.