Despite recent improvements in attendance, chronic absenteeism rates remain stubbornly high throughout the state, according to a March fact sheet released by the Public Policy Institute of California.
Absenteeism peaked in 2021–22 when nearly 1.8 million California TK–12 students (30 percent) were considered chronically absent. Although the rate has steadily declined to 20 percent, it remains well above the 2018–19 rate of 12 percent.
Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing at least 10 percent of the school year (or 18 days). On average, students with any absences missed 17 days in 2021–22 — a number that has fallen to 13 days in 2023–24, but is still more than the pre-pandemic average of 10 days. The average chronically absent student missed 33 days in 2023–24, far exceeding the 18-day threshold.
Meaningfully reducing absenteeism rates will require evidence-based strategies, researchers noted.
“Students face multiple, often overlapping challenges that contribute to absenteeism, including issues related to health, family obligations, transportation, housing, lack of student engagement, and a devaluing of regular school attendance in the wake of remote learning,” according to the fact sheet. “Districts will need to identify and target their specific, local barriers. Strategies like mentorship programs, on-site case management, and home visits can be costly and need more research to evaluate their effectiveness. Real-time messaging to families about attendance is a promising, cost-effective approach.”
School absences have long-term impacts on outcomes for all students. Missing significant amounts of class time in early grades can be the start of a pattern leading to negative academic effects accumulating over time. Frequent absences are associated with lower academic achievement, delayed socioemotional development and higher dropout rates. And even when students have few absences themselves, high rates of chronic absenteeism among peers can hurt their academic performance by disrupting teaching practices and classroom dynamics.
And because California funds schools based on attendance, chronic absenteeism can also affect district resources and students’ access to school services. For example, researchers noted that high absence rates are “partly responsible for a drop in school meal take-up among low-income students from fall 2019 to fall 2023.”
The fact sheet highlights that Senate Bill 98, signed last year by Gov. Gavin Newsom, “calls for an evaluation of enrollment-based funding as an alternative that may support districts struggling with chronic absenteeism — especially those serving large high-need populations, who tend to have more absences.”
Key findings
Researchers found that chronic absenteeism varies widely across student groups. For instance:
- Nearly a third of Native American, Black and Pacific Islander students were chronically absent in 2023–24, with the average student missing 17–19 days, whereas rates for Asian and Filipino students were less than half the statewide average.
- Male and female students had similar absenteeism rates (20 percent) and number of absences (13 days), but absenteeism was much higher for non-binary students — one third of whom were chronically absent with 20 days of school missed on average.
- Foster youth and students experiencing homelessness saw the highest rates of chronic absenteeism in 2023–24 (with between 36–37 percent and 19–20 days missed). Students with disabilities and low-income students also had above average rates.
- Chronic absenteeism rates rose most sharply among kindergarten and transitional kindergarten students who had the highest among all grades in 2023–24, at 26 percent. Students in grades 9–12 had the second highest rate (24 percent) but missed more days (16) on average.
CSBA resources
CSBA has a suite of resources to support local educational agencies working to address chronic absences, including:
- CSBA briefs, fact sheets and additional resources
- “Connecting to curb chronic absenteeism: How relationship-building and supports are replacing an outdated punitive approach,” a feature article from the spring 2023 issue of California Schools
