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One in three New York City public school students was chronically absent last school year, which is defined as missing at least 10% of school days, according to statistics released Wednesday.
That represents a slight dip from the 2023-24 school year, when 34.8% of students were chronically absent. But it is still considerably higher than pre-pandemic levels, when chronic absenteeism rates hovered closer to 1 in 4 children.
Attendance is considered a key metric for school performance for a commonsense reason: Missed school typically means missed learning.
Chronic absenteeism exploded to 40%, the highest level in decades, during the COVID pandemic when students returned full-time to their classrooms during the 2021-22 school year, following the city’s pivot to remote learning.
Though COVID-related illnesses drove up those numbers, with hundreds of thousands of students and staff testing positive that year, chronic absenteeism rates have remained stubbornly high even as the virus receded.
In New York City, schools that enroll a high number of students from low-income families are even more likely to have high rates of absenteeism. Some schools have leaned on peer-to-peer support to help coax students to school. But the problem continues to bedevil the nation’s largest school district as well as others across the country.
“The understanding of ‘kids go to school every day’ just shifted nationwide,” said Arlen Benjamin-Gomez, the executive director of EdTrust-New York, an advocacy group that focuses on equity issues in public education.
Much of the effort to improve attendance falls on individual schools and their relationship with families, she said. Instead, she wished for a more comprehensive approach.
“What I haven’t seen is a citywide campaign on the importance of being in school … and the impact of missing even just a couple days a year,” Benjamin-Gomez said.
As President Donald Trump ramps up immigration enforcement, some families have been more wary of bringing their children to school out of fear of being detained, which could affect rates of chronic absenteeism. Education Department officials have sought to reassure families by telling them that schools are safe, and federal law enforcement officers are not allowed in buildings without a judicial warrant.
“It’s impossible to know the extent to which that was a systemic factor,” said Sarah Part, a senior policy analyst at Advocates for Children, an organization that helps low-income families navigate the school system. “But the fear and anxiety sparked by the current political climate extend to immigrant communities broadly, not just to those who are themselves undocumented or have pending immigration cases.”
The latest statistics were released Wednesday in the Mayor’s Management Report, a compendium of performance data from city agencies.
After this story initially published, an Education Department spokesperson said schools are expected to call home when students are absent, regularly monitor attendance data, and deploy mentors to identify and address any barriers to attending school. Officials said they are in the process of launching a campaign to promote attendance.
“Throughout the latest school year, schools continued to conduct extensive outreach, collaborated with community partners, and followed up daily with students and families to increase attendance,” officials wrote in the report.
Teacher absences also spiked during the pandemic and remain slightly elevated. Roughly 16% of teachers missed 11 or more school days last year, about a percentage point lower than the previous year. Before the pandemic, closer to 13% of teachers missed that many days of school.
The total number of school days has also fallen in recent years as city officials have added holidays to the school calendar. The state typically requires 180 of instruction, though New York City students will only have 176 days this year. City officials are counting four staff development days, a move allowed by state rules.
This story has been updated with a response from the Education Department provided after initial publication.
Alex Zimmerman is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Alex atazimmerman@chalkbeat.org.
