About 1 in 3 New York public-school students was chronically absent in 2022-2023, a state comptroller's report found, and the pandemic-era issue continues to cause educational disruptions.
The comptroller's report, " Missing school: NY's stubbornly high rates of chronic absenteeism ," generally mirrors a June 2024 analysis by the USA Today Network New York, " Why student absences have soared since the pandemic – and what schools are doing to help ."
Absences feed more absences, the comptroller's report warns. "Failure to attend school may lead to students falling further behind academically, which may then exacerbate absenteeism and limit the ability make up for historic pandemic-era learning losses."
Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing at least 10 percent of days in the school year – or about 18 days.
State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli focused on the importance of fixing the issue, but acknowledged the difficulties.
"Engaging students, families and communities is critical," DiNapoli said in the report, "and while the issue is widespread, it must be addressed one student at a time."
Missing school, missing support
The problem is most acute in "high needs" districts – that is, in schools with more economically disadvantaged families. Students with disabilities, Black and Latino students, English language learners and kids dealing with homelessness have among the highest rates of chronic absenteeism.
Missing school: Why student absences have soared since the pandemic - and what schools are doing to help
New York State Education Department data show a chronic absentee rate for all high schoolers at around 34% in 2022-23. But the rate was nearly 45% for students with disabilities, more than 46% for Black students and nearly 44% for Latino high schoolers.
Lower Hudson Valley school data for 2022-2023 mirror the pattern: The big-city district of Yonkers had the highest chronic absentee rate in the Lower Hudson Valley region, with 45% of students; East Ramapo, where the majority of students are considered English language learners, had the second-highest rate, at 40%.
Data from the 2023-24 school year was not yet available from the New York State Department of Education.
The problem can quickly become cyclical: A student who misses school consistently also misses getting services that can combat absenteeism — from educational help to nutrition from free meal programs.
How to fix it?
Chronic absenteeism has long been a key measuring stick of a school community's well-being. It is a major factor the state Education Department weights when considering school districts' performance and accountability.
The comptroller's Oct. 4 report includes methods New York districts and other states have used to help tamp down on chronic absenteeism. These can include home visits and other outreach to families.
Districts closer to home have developed methods to address the problem.
Yonkers, for example, has taken several approaches, including establishing "attendance teams," partnering with mental health professionals, setting up mentoring for students, according to a district spokesman.
Truancy enforcement, including taking families to court, should be a last resort, experts in the field say.
"Preventive efforts aimed at educating families about the importance of attendance and reaching out to students with real challenges to getting to school have proven more effective and less costly than legal action," according to Attendance Works , a national initiative focused on improving school attendance.
Staff writers Gary Stern and Diana Dombrowski contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Schools must tackle 'stubbornly high' chronic absentee rates, NY comptroller warns
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