Phoenix, AZ — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne is urging local school districts and charter schools to implement stricter attendance policies in response to rising rates of chronic absenteeism among public school students.
Horne described the situation as a “real catastrophe” and emphasized the need for “radical efforts” to address the issue.
Horne is advocating for policies that would result in a student failing a course after nine unexcused absences, with five tardies counting as an absence. He stated that such measures would help motivate parents to ensure their children attend school regularly.
“The idea that a third of our students are missing 18 days of school or more is a real catastrophe and an emergency for our state,” Horne said. “We need radical efforts to solve this problem. We have to create a motivation for parents to be sure their children go to school. Parents don’t want their kids to fail courses or to miss out on graduating on time, and if schools would adopt those kinds of policies, we would see the parents motivated and a radical drop in absenteeism. As a result of that, we would see better academic results.”
Horne’s remarks followed a presentation by the Phoenix-based Helios Foundation at a State Board of Education meeting. Data presented by Helios indicated that chronic absenteeism rates increased significantly during the 2022-23 school year compared to pre-pandemic levels. According to the data, absenteeism rates were approximately nine percent during the 2019-20 school year, rising to 30 percent in the 2022-23 school year.
“90 percent of my time and energy and that of the department is geared toward students getting better academic results and raising proficiency rates. You can’t do that for kids who don’t show up in school; you can’t teach a student who is not there,” Horne added.
Arizona defines chronic absenteeism as missing 10 percent or more of the school year for any reason. In a standard 180-day school year, this equates to 18 days missed, assuming the student remains enrolled at the same school.
