Overview

• A new study reveals that 34.8% of NYC public school students were chronically absent in the 2023-24 school year, up from 26.5% pre-pandemic in 2018-19.
• Chronic absenteeism is most prevalent among students in temporary housing, low-income communities, and certain racial and ethnic groups, including Black and Hispanic students.
• The New York State Education Department has removed chronic absenteeism as a metric for evaluating school performance, raising concerns about accountability.
• Despite the state allocating $89 billion annually to education, New York students' math and reading scores remain below pre-pandemic levels, with absenteeism cited as a key factor.
• Some schools and states, such as Connecticut and Rhode Island, have implemented targeted strategies to reduce absenteeism, offering potential models for improvement in New York.