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Colorado education officials relayed some bad news Wednesday: The percentage of students who were chronically absent last school year increased, while attendance stayed nearly flat.
A student is chronically absent if they miss 10% or more of their school days. The more school students miss, the more likely they are to fall behind in their academics.
More than 1 in 4 Colorado students, or 28.4%, were chronically absent in the 2024-25 school year, according to data released Wednesday by the Colorado Department of Education. That’s up from 27.7% in 2023-24. Chronic absenteeism rates had been falling since a pandemic-era high of 34.5%, but last year’s rate reverses that trend.
“While we did see some promising gains at the local level, our overall statewide results for average daily attendance and chronic absenteeism, unfortunately, are moving in the wrong direction of what we had hoped to see,” state Education Commissioner Susana Córdova said.
The statewide attendance rate last school year was 91.4%, a slight dip from 91.5% in 2023-24.
Even though the statewide rates are trending in the wrong direction, most individual school districts saw improvements. The chronic absenteeism rates in 105 of Colorado’s 178 districts went down in 2024-25, meaning fewer students missed a lot of school.
But in the state’s two largest districts, Denver Public Schools and Jeffco Public Schools, chronic absenteeism rates went up. Jeffco’s rate increased from 25.3% in 2023-24 to 26.6% in 2024-25. Denver’s rate went from 37.1% to 38.1%.
In a statement, DPS said it was a challenging year for attendance.
“Between the necessary school closing process that we faced last fall and the Presidential Executive Orders and ICE activity in our community in the spring, students and families have understandably felt frustrated and even vulnerable at school,” the statement said.
The Denver school board voted in November to close seven schools with low enrollment and partially close three more, a contentious decision that was unpopular with many families and teachers. Those schools shuttered in June.
In February, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents raided apartment buildings in Denver and Aurora, causing fear among families and prompting protests from students.
DPS pointed out that despite the overall trend, 82 of Denver’s nearly 200 schools reported improvements in attendance and reductions in chronic absenteeism.
Colorado is one of several states that signed on to a nationwide challenge last year to cut chronic absenteeism by half over a five-year period. The Colorado Department of Education’s goals calls for the chronic absenteeism rate to hit a low of 15% by the 2027-28 school year.
Hispanic students had biggest increase in absenteeism
Big gaps remain in which students are chronically absent most often. Colorado’s youngest and oldest students have the highest rates of absenteeism, although the rates among kindergarten, first, and second graders were down, which state officials said was “welcome news.”
Students of color are more likely to be chronically absent than white students. English language learners and students who receive special education also have high rates of absenteeism.
Statewide, Hispanic students had the biggest increase in chronic absenteeism last year, with their rate jumping from 37.1% to 38.4%. Black and white students also had small increases, but their rates remained below those of Hispanic students.
In raw numbers, nearly 121,000 Hispanic students missed 10% or more of their school days last year. Nearly 89,000 white students and about 13,800 Black students also missed that much.
Students learning English as a second language also had an increase in chronic absenteeism rates. This group of students scored lower on state literacy and math test scores last year than in previous years, a trend Córdova said may be due to lagging attendance.
Increased immigration enforcement by the Trump administration in the second semester of last school year may have kept some students out of school, state officials said. Families were fearful after the administration abolished a decades-old federal policy that treated schools as sensitive locations for the purposes of immigration enforcement.
Denver Public Schools sued the Trump administration over its abolishment of the so-called sensitive locations policy, arguing that the move had caused drops in attendance. But a judge sided with the Trump administration, and DPS eventually dropped its lawsuit.
Some schools are bucking the trend
Amid the disappointing news, state officials highlighted some bright spots. York International School in the Mapleton Public Schools district north of Denver cut its chronic absenteeism rate over the past several years to the lowest in the district.
One of the strategies the K-12 school uses is called “attendance refocus,” said Assistant Principal Ben Schneider. High school students who have one unexcused absence or four unexcused tardies in a week are required to attend a lunchtime session where they take a survey about the reasons they missed school or were late to class. The school then groups students based on those reasons and provides them targeted help.
For instance, Schneider said, several students were struggling to wake up early enough to make it to their first class. So Schneider had the students gather together to set wake-up alarms on their phones. He also sent messages home to their parents.
Other barriers, like a lack of transportation, are harder to overcome. For one family with children at three different schools, Schneider said he suggested they enroll all of their children at the same school to ensure a single morning drop-off time.
While effective, attendance refocus is a big lift, Schneieder said. He said he spends about 15 hours per week meeting with students and connecting them with resources to boost their attendance, including mental health counseling and academic tutoring.
“The takeaway I’ve had from tackling attendance for the last couple of years is that it takes an immense amount of time and precious resources on the school level to tackle this,” Schneider said. “And, you know, time is our most precious resource.”
Melanie Asmar is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Colorado. Contact Melanie at masmar@chalkbeat.org.
