The Ohio Attendance Taskforce — a group of school administrators, business leaders, juvenile court representatives and attendance/engagement experts — was founded because of concerns about chronic absenteeism in Ohio schools. The group, which included representatives from Beavercreek schools and the DECA charter schools, called absenteeism a crisis that began well before the COVID pandemic, but then got worse, and affects students’ learning outcomes.
A student is considered chronically absent when they miss 10% of school hours for any reason. In the last full school year before COVID (2018-19), Ohio’s chronic absenteeism rate was 16.7%. There’s no data for 2019-20, but in the three years since, the rate has been 24%, then a peak of 30.2% in 2021-22, and 26.8% last year.
The task force found that students who have never been chronically absent are nine times more likely to graduate from high school on time.
“We want our students to be in school every day because it’s vital to their personal success and well-being,” said Ohio Governor Mike DeWine.
Lt. Governor Jon Husted added that chronically absent students “are missing out on more than just reading and math, but also other support services and the life and job skills that come with attending school.”
Locally, chronic absenteeism rates vary widely by district, and schools with higher rates of poverty tend to have more chronically absent students, state data shows.
From the most recent state report card data, the chronic absenteeism rate for Dayton Public Schools is 46.9%, while Trotwood-Madison, Jefferson and Northridge schools are also over 40%. At the other end of the spectrum was the Springboro district, with 9.4% of students chronically absent, followed by Bellbrook-Sugarcreek, Tipp City and Oakwood all between 11-12%.
A sampling of school districts that fall in the middle includes Beavercreek at 13.8%, Kettering 15%, Centerville 15.8%, Lebanon 17.6%, Troy 22.2%, Huber Heights 28.9% and Xenia 32.8%.
The task force report said the first step is to prioritize prevention and early intervention as a response to missing school, as opposed to punitive consequences. This involves supporting the needs of students and families. A key listed step is to “position families as respected allies in student attendance and learning.”
Educators can build trust through strengthened communication between schools and families and by providing opportunities for student input on policies, the report said. It also emphasized making the connection between academics and real-world opportunities and careers, to increase engagement.
The report recommends schools and districts incorporate and regularly update data and resources within a curated “attendance toolkit,” aimed at guiding the use of attendance supports.
Overall, they call improving attendance “a team sport,” saying it is a shared responsibility among students, families, districts and the wider community.
“Together, we’re showing why school attendance is important for every student and how Ohio’s commitment to supporting these efforts reaches beyond the school walls,” said interim State Superintendent Chris Woolard. “We must examine barriers to attendance, strengthen outreach, adjust practices to prevent chronic absence and provide extra support when necessary.”
Miami Valley school districts have been seeking ways to address chronic absenteeism for years. As the pandemic changed the landscape of education, prompting schools to lean temporarily on virtual-only learning, many districts are still struggling to get kids back in class.
Some districts, like Springfield City Schools, have opted to hire truancy officers, who specialize in improving school attendance, in an attempt to bridge the gap.
Springfield schools’ chronic absenteeism rate nearly doubled from about 31% in 2018-19 to 58% in 2020-21. In the 2021-22 school year, the district added six truancy officers, bringing the total to nine. That year Springfield’s chronic absenteeism rate dropped to 47%, then it fell again last school year to 43%.
Ohio school chronic absenteeism
A student is considered chronically absent when they miss 10% of school hours for any reason.
2018-19 - 16.7% of students
2019-20 - no data (COVID)
2020-21 - 24.0% of students
2021-22 - 30.2% of students
2022-23 - 26.8% of students
Source: Ohio Attendance Taskforce
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