Texas schools are grappling with a surge in chronic absenteeism, with nearly one in five students missing significant amounts of school in the 2022-23 academic year. Experts link the rise to lingering pandemic impacts, shifting parental attitudes towards school attendance, and socioeconomic factors disproportionately affecting low-income and special education students.
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Schools throughout the state have employed multiple strategies to better identify and aid chronically absent students, like partnering with nonprofits and community organizations. Still, school leaders are looking for the state’s help to create more awareness of the problem and curb absenteeism rates.
Students who are chronically absent for just one year between 8th grade and their senior year of high school areto drop out of school than those who are not, according to 2016 research from the U.S. Department of Education. Chronic absenteeism can also negatively impact a student’s access to mental health support, Vigil said.
Eduardo Hernández, superintendent of Edgewood Independent School District in San Antonio, said he has also seen recent high inflation impact his students’ attendance. His district had a chronic absenteeism rate of 53.6% for the 2022-23 school year, the highest in the state, according to performance reports from the state education agency.
“We’re planning for a full, high-quality experience for our students, but we are only getting paid for students that are able to actually attend school,” he said. Though Edinburg CISD’s chronic absenteeism rate sat around 28.1% for the 2022-23 school year — nearly eight points higher than the state average, according toTo encourage higher attendance, Salinas said he has asked extracurricular advisers in the district — like coaches and band directors — to not allow students to participate in post-school activities unless they attended school that day.
Nearly one-third of all students in Manor ISD were chronically absent during the 2022-23 academic year, more than double the rate for the 2018-19 academic year. To address the rise, Sormani said the district has also sought help from Communities In Schools of Central Texas to connect with chronically absent students.
CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM EDUCATION SCHOOL ATTENDANCE TEXAS PANDEMIC SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC FACTORS
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