Attending school every day is critical to your student’s success. Whether excused or not, missing school can have a negative impact on your child’s education. Chronic absenteeism, defined as missing more than 10 percent of all school days, including both excused and unexcused absences, puts students at increased risk of falling behind academically and dropping out of school. According to Attendance Works, a national initiative that promotes attendance awareness:

• Students should miss no more than nine days of school each year to stay engaged, successful and on track for graduation.
• Absences can be a sign that a student is losing interest in school, struggling with school work, dealing with a bully or facing some other potentially serious difficulty.
• By sixth grade, absenteeism is one of three signs that a student may drop out of high school.
• By ninth grade, attendance is a better predictor of graduation rates than eighth grade test scores.
• Missing 10 percent, or about 18 days, of the school year can drastically affect a student’s academic success.
• Students can be chronically absent even if they only miss a day or two every few weeks.
• Attendance is an important life skill that will help your child graduate from college and keep a job.

Included in the Attendance and Truancy Resources for Parents attachment below are resources that include:

1. An explanation of the District’s laws and regulations related to absenteeism and truancy;
2. Information on what you can do as a parent or legal guardian to prevent truancy;
3. The common causes and consequences of truancy; and
4. Information for parents, legal guardians, and students that address the common causes of truancy and its prevention.

Related Content: Attendance and Truancy Resources for Schools