$1,000 bonus among efforts by schools to counter chronic absenteeism
The rates of 'chronic' non-attendance - defined as students absent for 10 per cent or more of teaching per year - jumped 31 per cent year in the 2021-2022 academic year.
But rates remain stubbornly high even four years after the coronavirus crisis, the Department of Education (DoE) figures show.
Absenteeism has dropped to 19.3 per cent but student absences are 'more common' and 'more extreme' following the pandemic, a study by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) has found.
The latest data, which includes figures through March 2025, shows absenteeism rates still remain 50 per cent higher than before Covid.
Absenteeism declined 0.3 points since last year, but experts warn that at the current rate it will take at least two decades for student absence rates to return to pre-pandemic levels.
Educators are trying to incentivize students to come to school, with some districts even paying students for their attendance.
Others have encouraged teachers to have attendance count towards grades or limit the number of assignments that can be completed online, The Boston Globe reports.
Twenty states reported that more than 30 per cent of their students missed at least three weeks of school in 2022-23, according to latest figures from the DoE.
Absenteeism remains highest in Oregon, Hawaii, New Mexico and the District of Columbia, the report - published earlier this year - revealed.
Oregon recorded absenteeism levels of 44 per cent during the 2022-23 academic year, followed by Hawaii and New Mexico at 43 per cent.
Washington DC, however, recorded an absenteeism rate of 47 per cent - the highest in the country, according to the data.
The AEI report, which includes data from last year, found the highest rates of absenteeism are in Hawaii, which recorded a level of 34 per cent in 2024.
Connecticut followed at 30 per cent and DC came ranked third worst at 29 per cent, according to the AEI data.
Researchers say that absences derive from multiple - but often interconnected - factors including student disengagement, lack of access to student and family supports, and student and family health challenges.
They allege absenteeism is highest among 'high-needs populations,' including students who come from low-income households.
Students with disabilities are 36 per cent more likely to experience chronic absenteeism than students without disabilities, the DoE has found.
Absenteeism is also 20 per cent higher among students who are English language learners than those who are fluent or native speakers.
The DoE has called on states and school districts nationwide to address the factors driving absences and 'send a clear message' to students and families that children 'need to be in school.'
District officials in Detroit, Michigan and Oakland, California, have used money to motivate students to come to school.
Detroit spends up to $1,000 per student per year to encourage attendance, which experts allege increases attendance by as much as several days annually.
A Boston School Committee member has called on officials to launch a similar program in the Massachusetts city, the Globe reports.
Massachusetts recorded a statewide absenteeism level of 15 per cent last year, latest figures reveal.
Other experts have encouraged schools to create 'negative nudges' or punishments for students who fail to meet attendance requirements.
Robert Balfanz, of Johns Hopkins University School of Education, suggests that having attendance affect academic grades could get students who are on the verge of skipping to turn up to class.
Tim Daly, CEO of education nonprofit EdNavigator, has suggested that schools increase attendance rates by helping tackle students lacking sleep.
A survey conducted by the organization found that after sickness, 'not enough sleep' was the most common reason for student absences.
Daly suggested schools could 'help kids with their nighttime routines' by disabling capabilities on district-issued technology at certain times.
'Sometimes when kids stay up too late, they're using the devices to "do homework" but really they're using them to stream,' he said during AEI's chronic absenteeism symposium in May.
'Not only would [disabling them] prevent them that, [schools] can message to parents, when that goes off, it's time to go to sleep.'
Some school districts have even adjusted high school start times to better align with adolescent sleep cycles.
Mary Beth Miotto, a pediatrician and former president of the Massachusetts chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, has also urged medical professionals to treat school attendance like a 'vital sign.'
Miotto argued that high absenteeism negatively affects physical and mental health, such as increasing high school dropout rates and lowering life expectancy.
She said it is critical for doctors to encourage parents to get their children to school and have positive conversations about attendance without sparking fears about truancy.
The pediatrician believes that all primary care physicians, ER staff and urgent care doctors should be asking families about school attendance.
'We can pour all the money into schools and teachers, but if kids aren't showing up, it's not helping,' Miotto told the Globe.
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