The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) has released a new report showing chronic absenteeism is on the rise amid efforts by state lawmakers to keep pupils in the classroom.
During the 2023-24 school year, the state chronic absenteeism rate was 24.4%, a slight increase compared to 23.9% in the prior academic year. Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10%, or 18 days, of the school year for any reason, which includes excused and unexcused absences and suspensions.
Per a report from State Auditor Shad White, chronically absent students have an increased chance of dropping out of school, which he contends leads to a higher likelihood of getting arrested or relying on social services later in life — placing an additional cost on taxpayers.
“MDE remains committed to providing support and training for schools and districts to combat chronic absenteeism and prevent students from dropping out,” newly confirmed State Superintendent of Education Dr. Lance Evans said. “We also implore families and community leaders to join in these efforts.”
To combat rising numbers of students missing excessive amounts of time in class, Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann plans to introduce a list of proposals to curb chronic absenteeism to the state legislature come January.
Some of these proposals include:
- Restricting the use of cell phones in public schools
- Moving school attendance officers from the Mississippi Department of Education to district-level supervision
- Increasing school attendance officer salaries
- Encouraging low-performing schools, which often have high chronic absenteeism rates, to consider moving to a modified calendar
MDE began reporting chronic absence data in 2016. The lowest rate of 13% was recorded in 2018-19. The COVID-19 pandemic is believed to be the major factor that led to higher state and national rates in 2021-22 when Mississippi’s was 28%.
The state department plans to utilize the month of September, which is recognized nationally as Attendance Awareness Month, to boost campaigns that aim to highlight the benefits of regular school attendance and emphasize ways to prevent students from being chronically absent.
