Research on the impact of attendance on student outcomes is abundant. Our students are facing an attendance crisis. Prior to the pandemic, 9% of Santa Clara County students were chronically absent (missing 10% or more of the school year). That number has more than doubled (19.3% for the 22-23 school year in Santa Clara County and 24.9% in the state of California). The adverse social, emotional and academic impact of missing too much school is highest among students and families most affected by educational inequities. Left unaddressed, chronic absence will dramatically increase the number of students struggling with reading, writing and math and escalate dropout rates.
Chronic absenteeism and tardiness, whether caused by excused or unexcused absences, may be an early warning sign of poor academic achievement and may put students at risk of dropping out. Therefore, chronic absenteeism as defined in EC Section 60901(c)(1) should be monitored to identify students at risk.