ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) -- New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli examined the post-pandemic surge in chronic absenteeism among students in New York in a new report released October 5. It said that during the 2022 to 2023 school year, about 33% of students missed at least 10% of school days.

Ten percent of the 180 instructional days that the state requires of schools is 18, something like three and a half weeks of school. But that's just two days a month. Such low attendance causes learning loss, lower grades, and a higher risk of dropping out, per the comptroller report.

Poor attendance also means that kids miss more meals and lose access to health programs, DiNapoli's report said. And at a New York State Assembly hearing on child abuse on October 9, experts like Jess Dannhauser -- Commissioner of the New York City Administration for Children's Services -- specifically testified to the importance of children finding refuge at school when they face abuse at home.

Across all ages, the report -- "New York's Stubbornly High Rates of Chronic Absenteeism," which you can read at the bottom of this story -- clocked repeated truancy among almost one-third of all students, with the rate for high schoolers more common, just past 34%. In large cities like Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and Yonkers, chronic absenteeism topped 64%.

Although it spiked during COVID, rates during the 2022 to 2023 school year were still higher than before. Dinapoli theorized that for parents, "after the pandemic period of remote and hybrid instruction, perceptions of required attendance may have shifted." Because of worsening attendance post-pandemic, New York has backed away for the past two school years from a target of 5% less chronic absenteeism statewide.

"The pandemic taught us that in-person learning can never be replaced," said Melinda Person, president of the teacher's union NYSUT. "There are students who miss school because they don't have food, clean clothes, secure housing, menstrual products, or access to healthcare. We must address New York's child poverty problem -- one in five New York children live in poverty -- and enact policy changes like providing universal free school meals and investing in community schools."

Attendance gets worse whenever schools need more resources for students who are learning English (43.5% rate of chronic absenteeism), have disabilities (44.8%), or don't have enough money (43.9%). Across New York's large city districts, absenteeism for students with disabilities passed 71%.

Education advocates point out that high-need districts in the report, mostly serving poor Black and brown students, have faced years of underfunding. Full funding for Foundation Aid began in 2024, after years of delay and despite the state ignoring legal obligations, said Marina Marcou-O'Malley, Co-Executive Director of the Alliance for Quality Education.

"They were supposed to have this full funding in 2011," Marcou-O'Malley said. "Instead, they got it in 2024, after a pandemic that brought to sight all the chronic consequences of poverty, underinvestment, and trauma. So, it's not surprising that the school districts with the most need and the least resources have high absenteeism. What they need now is continuation of funding -- dare I say? -- increased funding."

The report explains that when they can't afford a vehicle, there's no public transportation, they're struggling with their health, or they have family obligations, students can't prioritize school. Chronic absenteeism is low across demographics in low-need schools that have the resources to keep students from falling through the cracks. But at high-need schools, Black or African American students had an absenteeism rate above 46%, while Hispanic or Latino students approached 44%.

"Of particular concern is data showing that 46% of Black high school students and 44% of Latinx high school students were chronically absent, compared to 25% of white students," said Jeff Smink, the Deputy Director of EdTrust-New York, where they're trying to reduce 50% of chronic absenteeism by 2030. "We urge state, district, and community leaders to act swiftly to tackle the root causes of chronic absence, which include health and transportation challenges, school climates that aren't welcoming to students of color, curriculum that isn't diverse and engaging, and a lack of authentic and culturally responsive family engagement."

The report said that efforts from schools to get kids back in class -- more communication with parents, more help for families, and rewards for good attendance -- should include meal programs and more before-school activities. It also recommends that schools and after-school programs should share data so that it's easier to identify which students need more help.

"We need to invest in instruction that's high-quality, culturally responsive, and engaging so that students feel what they're learning applies to the real world and their lived experience," said Marielys Divanne, the Executive Director of Educators for Excellence-New York. "We need investments like this to continue and be supplemented with other outreach strategies that support students that have disengaged."

The federal Every Student Succeeds Act makes chronic absenteeism a measure of school quality, so the New York State Education Department (NYSED) tracks chronic absenteeism, looking for yearly trends. A spokesperson from NYSED explained that the state will use a new Attendance Indicator to reduce absences starting in the 2025 to 2026 school year.

Because the widespread problem requires a personalized approach, the new way is supposed to help schools tailor plans for those at risk of chronic absence. It gives all students -- not just those who are chronically absent -- a performance level based on attendance. It offers a new formula:

You can check out a draft of the Attendance Indicator at the bottom of this story. It means to represent a more holistic approach to chronic absenteeism. Students must be enrolled for at least 30 days and attend at least one day to be counted, and schools would set performance levels every three years.

Here's information from NYSED about the incoming Attendance Indicator:

And here's the Missing School report from the Comptroller's Office: