A new bill that would close the gap when Michigan students transfer from one school to another will soon make its way to the state House with bipartisan support.

"If we can do anything to try and prevent that kind of a lapse in our system, I think we need to do it," said state Rep. Tom Kuhn, R-Troy.

Oakland County legislators in the Michigan House and Senate are working on introducing a bill that would amend the school code and strengthen the procedures already in place when a student enrolls.

"It adds no unnecessary regulations, just common sense safeguards to ensure kids aren't disappearing from the system," said Kuhn.

Kuhn and Rep. Brenda Carter, D-Pontiac, co-sponsored the bill, which would require schools to verify student enrollment after transfer.

If no confirmation is given within 10 days, the school must then contact the child's parent or guardian. If no confirmation is received within 20 days, the school must notify an attendance officer.

"If we can close a loophole that would allow children to fall outside that safety net of the education system and the law enforcement system, we need to act quickly and get it accomplished," said Kuhn.

This comes after the recent child abuse and neglect case involving three Pontiac children who were allegedly abandoned by their mother and did not attend school for several years. The children's mother, 34-year-old Kelli Bryant, was charged with three counts of first-degree child abuse.

"There have to be lessons learned so that no other child in our state has to endure what these kids had to endure," said state Sen. Jeremy Moss, D-Southfield.

Moss plans to introduce the bill in his chamber at the same time and says this type of change is long overdue.

"If there is a situation that may play out in the future where other vulnerable children are subject to being lost in the system, we should figure out what can we do to resolve that," Moss said.

Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard issued the following statement:

"This wasn't a crack these children slipped through, but a deep cavern from which they did not emerge for years. We must find a process to ensure that any potential handoff between schools is verified with written confirmation to ensure no children are lost in the future. I greatly appreciate the bipartisan legislative effort to change the school code to prevent such a tragedy going forward. I appreciate how quickly this bipartisan group took my draft to begin working on legislation to better protect children in our state."

State leaders say the bill is expected to be introduced in both chambers in the next few days.