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The share of Colorado students who were chronically absent last school year declined from the year before, although the percentage remained above pre-pandemic levels, according to data released Thursday by the Colorado Department of Education.
A student is chronically absent if they miss 10% or more of their school days. The more school days students miss, the more likely they are to fall behind academically. Chronic absenteeism has been an acute concern nationwide since the pandemic.
More than a quarter of Colorado students — 27.5% — were chronically absent in 2025-26, state data shows. That’s down from 28.4% in 2024-25 and about the same as in 2023-24.
Before the pandemic, in 2019-20, the chronic absenteeism rate was 22.6%. The Colorado Department of Education set a goal to cut chronic absenteeism to 15% by 2027-28.
“We’ve made progress, but we still have significant work ahead of us,” Education Commissioner Susana Córdova said at a press conference.
The department launched a campaign in 2024 aimed at boosting attendance called “Every School Day Matters!” State officials hoped 80% of Colorado school districts would participate. Fewer than half have so far, according to the department.
More than 230,000 Colorado students missed 10% or more of their school days in 2025-26. Big gaps remain in terms of which groups of students were more likely to be chronically absent.
High school seniors had the highest rate of any grade. Students with disabilities, English language learners, and students from low-income families had higher than average rates.
There were also major differences by student race. About 33% of Black students and 37% of Latino students were chronically absent last year, compared with 20% of white students. All three rates were lower than the year before, with the rate for Black students dropping the most.
The rate for Hawaiian and Pacific Islander students ticked up from 51.1% to 52.1%. That group of students is small, with just about 3,200 students statewide.
The chronic absenteeism rate went down in 109 of Colorado’s 182 school districts and boards of cooperative education services, or BOCES, and stayed the same or increased in the others.
The rate in the state’s largest district, Denver Public Schools, fell from 38.1% to 36.6%. The rate in Jeffco Public Schools, the state’s second-largest district, dropped slightly from 26.6% to 26.2%.
The rate in the tiny Sheridan School District south of Denver skyrocketed from 34.6% to 66.2%, likely because student attendance plummeted during a teachers strike this past spring. The Sheridan teachers union went on strike for more than three weeks in April.
The statewide attendance rate for 2025-26 held steady at 91.5%.
State officials highlighted the 4,600-student Garfield Re-2 School District in Rifle for slashing its chronic absenteeism rate from about 40% in the 2021-22 school year to a little under 18% in 2025-26.
Garfield Superintendent Kirk Banghart said the district invested in family liaisons who troubleshoot attendance issues with its largely Latino population, including in families’ home languages.
Garfield also started an online middle and high school last year that Banghart said currently serves 67 students. Staff monitor the students to make sure they’re completing their schoolwork, he said.
This story has been updated with information and quotes from a press conference.
Melanie Asmar is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Colorado. Contact Melanie at masmar@chalkbeat.org.
