Louisiana battling chronic absenteeism
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Louisiana education officials are trying a new strategy to keep kids in school this year.
Why it matters: Truancy has been linked to lower test scores, negative impacts on social-emotional development, increased substance use, increased chances of trouble at home and higher likelihoods of criminal activity.
The latest: State education officials unveiled a new strategy this school year to battle absenteeism, including a dedicated team and standardized procedures to tackle the problem.
- But it'll take time to see if — and how well — it works.
How it works: Chronic absenteeism, as defined by the Louisiana Department of Education, is when a student who's enrolled for at least 10 days in a school year is absent for 10% or more days.
- That definition, which the U.S. Department of Education uses, too, includes both excused and unexcused absences, as well as suspensions and expulsions.
The big picture: Chronic absenteeism was a big problem for schools before the coronavirus pandemic, but it became much bigger because of it, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
- In 2018 and 2019, about 15% of K-12 students nationwide were chronically absent, according to the American Enterprise Institute, enough to already be termed a "crisis." It rose in 2021-2022 to a high of 28.5%.
- During the 2023-2024 school year, chronic absences still sit at about 23.5% nationally.
Zoom in: Louisiana's absenteeism rate rose slower than the national average during the pandemic, according to a Public Affairs Research Council analysis of the data, but has for four years remained above it.
- It peaked at 47.8% in 2017-2018, the data shows, and remained at 41.8% statewide in 2023-2024.
- Last school year in New Orleans, 30.9% of students were chronically absent, state data shows.
Threat level: Chronic absenteeism is more common among students who are learning English, students with disabilities and those with minority backgrounds, data shows.
Go deeper: Absentee task force head Misty Davis talked about the new strategy with WWNO.