In recognition of September as Attendance Awareness Month, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson is encouraging school districts and staff to remind families about the importance of daily attendance and help them overcome challenges that lead to chronic absenteeism.

“Interventions to reduce chronic absenteeism should be supportive and not punitive,” Torlakson said. “There are many students who miss school days due to issues beyond their control at the start of the school year like an illness or transportation problems. It is important to identify and link students and families to appropriate school and community resources when students miss the first days of school.”

Recently enacted legislation in California expanded the role of attendance supervisors to include tracking student attendance, promoting attendance and developing interventions to reduce chronic absenteeism. For the first time, the California Department of Education is collecting chronic absenteeism rates in the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS). The data is critical in helping school administrators and attendance supervisors identify where chronic absenteeism is concentrated in each school district, Torlakson said.

“Chronic absenteeism has been linked to high dropout rates, poor literacy skills and behavior issues that could lead students down a path away from school and toward the criminal justice system,” Torlakson added. “This new statewide data will tell us where we need to focus our attendance improvement efforts as a state and as a diverse set of educational communities.”

A student is considered chronically absent when 10 percent or more of enrolled days are missed.

To provide additional support to combat chronic absenteeism, the California Department of Education administers California Learning Communities for School Success grants. The program, established in 2016, awards funds to eligible districts and county offices of education to help with excessive truancy, reduce chronic absenteeism rates and keep children in school. The grants are awarded annually for three years. For information, visit cde.ca.gov.