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Chronic Absenteeism a Major Problem in U.S. Schools

December 26, 2018

By: Mike Maciag

Source: Governing

Desks in classrooms all across the country are routinely empty. It’s not due to a lack of funding or declining enrollment, but to the fact that students simply aren’t showing up.

The most recent federal data suggest more than 1 in 7 students are chronically absent from our public schools. It’s a widespread problem: At least a dozen schools in nearly every state report more than 20 percent of students are chronically absent.

Chronic absenteeism is a relatively new measure the federal government and states have started to track. Unlike truancy, it denotes missing school for any reason, excused or unexcused. But there is no universally agreed-upon threshold.

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