With chronic absenteeism on the rise since 2020, school districts around the country are left wondering how to handle the nationwide crisis. We’re outlining what qualifies as chronic absenteeism, the root cause of the problem, and how it affects your school community at large. Keep reading for some evidence-based strategies to tackle the issue.

What is chronic absenteeism?

Chronic absenteeism is when a student is absent from school for 18 days or more, or at least 10% of the school year. In the 2021-2022 school year, there were nearly 15 million chronically absent students in the US. In 2023, 1 in 4 students were chronically absent.

Why are students missing so much school?

There’s a myriad of reasons students are missing school. As one can imagine, chronic absenteeism skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic, but it hasn’t recovered since. Sickness continues to be one of the main reasons students stay home, with families not wanting the illness to spread. However, there are other serious causes such as bullying, lack of engagement with their peers/school community, and mental conditions such as anxiety and depression. Additionally, students who miss school for these reasons may be struggling academically as a result and feel embarrassed about their performance, causing them to miss even more school.

Attendance Works has a worksheet to help teachers and district leaders determine the root causes of chronic absenteeism in each case.

What chronic absenteeism means for your students

It’s no mystery that chronic absenteeism negatively impacts the education of the student missing school––but did you know it’s also affecting their peers? The student who misses school frequently needs to be caught up, but if the teacher slows down class for that student, the others are also falling behind. However, if the teacher does not slow down to accommodate the frequently absent student, that student will fall behind even more. This disruption correlates with the lower test scores we’ve been seeing across the nation.

What about teachers?

Like stated above, chronic absenteeism puts teachers in a rough spot, diverting class time to accommodate students who have been absent when others are ready to move on. Also, Education Week reports that teachers tend to view chronically absent students less favorably, which can lead to further disengagement between the student and their teacher.

More resources

As you navigate chronic absenteeism in your district, use the evidence-based resources below:

Attendance Works

Attendance Playbook

The Chronic Absenteeism Toolkit

While each resource takes a different approach, they cover strategies that include home visits, student support outreach, adjusted deadlines for make-up work, etc.. The goal here is to ensure students are safe at home, mentally well, and feel empowered returning to school.