chronic absenteeism

Newly released California Department of Education data found that the rate of chronic absenteeism for California students in foster care rose for the third year in a row. During the 2018-2019 school year, 28 percent of all foster youth in the state were chronically absent – which refers to a student missing school for any reason for more than 10 percent of the days they were enrolled in a school.

Foster youth in California schools have a rate of chronic absenteeism far higher than the general student population, according to data available for the first time from the state’s Department of Education (DOE).

Although chronic absenteeism occurs in most school districts, just 4 percent of the nation’s school districts account for about half of the nation’s chronically absent students. A report released by Attendance Works and the Everyone Graduates Center highlighted disparities around chronic absenteeism thanks to data made available for the first time from the U.S.

Without Hedy Chang’s work on chronic absenteeism, it is unlikely that the issue would be as prominent in the education policy conversation as it is today. As Executive Director of Attendance Works, she fronts the non-profit’s national efforts to advance student success in school by reducing chronic absence.