Soaring chronic absenteeism in California schools is at ‘pivotal moment’

As a new school year gets underway in California, districts are desperately trying to lure thousands of missing, tardy and truant students back to the classroom in what many view as a pivotal moment for education in California.

In 2021-22, 30% of students in California’s public schools were chronically absent, an all-time high and more than three times the pre-pandemic rate. Advocates fear that unless schools can reverse the trend, so many students will fall behind that they may never catch up.

“This is a crisis, and it’s not going to change until we do everything we can to get kids back in school 100%,” said Heather Hough, a Stanford professor and director of Policy Analysis for California Education. “What we all fear is that this will become the new normal.… It is hard to overstate the importance of this issue, and it is absolutely a pivotal moment.”

Before the pandemic, about 10% of students in California’s public schools missed at least 10% (or 18 days) in a school year, which the state defines as chronically absent. But COVID-related school closures, remote learning and quarantines have created a new habit for millions of families: optional, not mandatory, daily school attendance.

Please help put parents in charge of their child’s education by forwarding this article to other parents, family, friends and voters.

Other Articles

California's public charter schools — and their students — deserve equitable funding
In times of crisis, we should be looking for ways to help, not hinder. But in California, the inequities in public school education funding are only deepening the crisis for too many students.
Read More
Inflation exacerbates the ‘teacher pay penalty,’ report suggests
The “teacher pay penalty” — the gap between the wages of teachers and similarly educated professionals — hit a record high of 26.4% in 2022, according to an Economic Policy Institute report released Friday, as K-12 Dive reported.
Read More
New California Laws Require High School Classes on Drug Education, Financial Literacy and Ethnic Studies
Last week, California became the 26th state to require high school seniors to pass courses focused on finance literacy, coming behind recently added ethnic studies prerequisite and a health class requirement focused on the dangers of fentanyl use.
Read More
A New California Law Will Soon Block Schools From Banning LGBTQ+ Books
“All students deserve the freedom to read and learn about the truth, the world, and themselves," Gov. Newsom said in announcing the law.
Read More
California leaders should focus on getting our money's worth from public schools
After years of promoting “local control” in education, the latest news is full of stories on state intervention in decisions being made by local school boards.
Read More
Why Congress Should Extend Social Security to All Teachers
Did you know that 40% of public school teachers and other education employees aren’t covered by Social Security? That is bad for the affected workers, who miss out on potential benefits. But it also complicates the program for the rest of us.
Read More

Get latest news delivered daily!

We will send you breaking news right to your inbox

© 2024 educationopportunity.org, Privacy Policy | FPPC #1460602