Conn. schools see continued rise in chronic absenteeism

Although state education officials have trumpeted the success of a program targeting chronic absenteeism, the problem is still at critical levels, especially among students without high needs.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, chronic absenteeism has doubled in Connecticut, from 12.2 percent in 2019-20 (until midMarch, when nationwide lockdowns began) to over 25 percent at the beginning of the current academic year, according to state data.

That percentage translates to approximately 125,000 children (out of Connecticut’s 496,000 total students) who aren’t regularly showing up to school.

“Generally, where we are today is how we end up at the end of the year,” said Ajit Gopalakrishnan, the chief performance officer for the state Department of Education, at a Jan. 11 meeting of the State Board of Education. “But I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this year, actually, that trend is going to be different.”

Chronic absenteeism is defined as a student missing 10 percent of in-class instruction time, which is 18 days of a 180-day academic calendar. At this point in the 2022-23 school year, a student who has already missed around six days of school is considered chronically absent.

This academic year, chronic absenteeism has declined among most “high needs” students, data show — meaning that students who are English learners, students with disabilities, those who receive free lunches or those who are experiencing homelessness are coming back to the classroom, though nowhere near pre-pandemic percentages.

Gopalakrishnan said that 88,000 students with high needs were chronically absent last year; the number has since declined to 82,500.

However, absenteeism trends among students without high needs are continuing. Only 6 percent of students without high needs were deemed chronically absent in the 2019 school year, but that number has steadily increased to 7.2 percent, 12.4 percent and now 17.6 percent over the last three years.

Data from the first three months of this school year shows a jump from 29,000 to 41,000 chronically absent non-high-needs students.

Education officials say the trend can be attributed in part to a “triple threat health issue,” which includes COVID-19, the flu and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus).

“Students may be out for a few days in these initial months, and if you’re out for six days, as of now, you’d be deemed chronically absent,” Gopalakrishnan said. “With COVID now, it’s an up to five-calendarday quarantine, so with weekends, it’s possible it might really be two or three days a kid misses from school, so we’ll have to see how this plays out in the long run.”

Gopalakrishnan didn’t explain at the board meeting why students without high needs are the only category that’s rapidly increasing as other groups are seeing a slight decline.

To help combat the student chronic absenteeism crisis, the state launched a program called the Learner Engagement and Attendance Program (LEAP) in April 2021 for 15 Connecticut school districts, including Bridgeport, CREC, Danbury, East Hartford, Hartford, Manchester, Meriden, New Haven, New Britain, New London, Norwich, Stamford, Torrington, Waterbury and Windham.

The program, supported by $10.7 million of the state’s federal COVID-19 funds, asked school districts to identify its chronically absent students. With the help of school personnel or community organizations, at-home visits were staged with the children and their families.

Around 8,690 students received interventions.

“The LEAP approach is very different from what we’ve had in the past with truancy. It focuses on relationships first, before talking about grades, or your child’s behavior, or their attendance, or how they’re not coming to school. We want to create a connection with families of trust and relationships,” said Kari Sullivan Custer, an attendance and engagement consultant for the program.

“The LEAP home visits are targeted and are twotier supports for students and families who are disengaged from school,” Sullivan Custer continued, adding that the home visits usually last around 45 minutes and initial conversations begin with the families’ strengths and capabilities as well as the student’s aspirations.