Posted on 09/16/2025 6:18:29 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
American children are skipping school in staggering numbers.
It’s early September, and children should be back at school, right?
Well, many aren’t. With data from 44 states and Washington, DC, the American Enterprise Institute’s (AEI) director of education policy, Nat Malkus, discloses that the chronic absenteeism rate—students missing more than 10% of school days each year—was an alarming 23.5% in 2024.
Malkus notes that the surge in absenteeism affects districts of all sizes, racial backgrounds, and income levels, but the data does reveal significant differences by race and ethnicity, with 39% of Black students, 36% of Hispanic students, 24% of white students, and 15% of Asian students chronically absent.
Additionally, while students from both low- and high-income families often miss school, the highest rates occur in low-income districts, where 30% of students are chronically absent. Still, the rate has gone up even in low-poverty areas, increasing from about 10% to over 15%.
High-achieving districts have also been affected by the new normal. Over 15% of students in the top third at those schools are chronically absent, compared to 10% before the pandemic.
States vary significantly in the number of student absences. While Alabama, New Jersey, and Virginia have a 15% rate, Alaska’s is 43%, Oregon’s is 34%, and Michigan’s is 30%.
The problem is particularly egregious in our big cities. According to a recent report, in Los Angeles, where over 32% of students were chronically absent in the 2023-2024 school year, 34 elementary schools have fewer than 200 students, and 29 use less than half of the building.
Even worse, in Chicago, the chronic absentee rate is 41%. The city’s dwindling enrollment has left about 150 schools half-empty, while 47...
(Excerpt) Read more at amgreatness.com ...
Why achieve anything when you can be satisfied with living on the dole, doing whatever whenever.
I don’t know if this is a good or bad thing.
Agreed. It depends on what they are doing when not in school. Some older kids may already be working. Some may be homeschooling and just not registered as such.
Of course, plenty are out getting a head start on racking up their criminal records in hopes of being the family felony record.
Based on what I see of education and the school system, how much worse off can they be?
It’s not like they learn anything normal, educational or useful in the government warehouses anyway.
Why bother? Public schools have basically eliminated requirements to graduate. Because of racism of course. Here in Oregon black kids and illegal immigrant kids weren’t graduating so the gov just got rid of the standards. And NOw. Tuh duh. Record graduation rates.
no mention of illegals and fear of potential ICE raids?
Kamala fixed truancy. She told me.
California repealing Kamala’s truancy law.
“I also suspect a lot of this “chronic absenteeism” actually involves non-existent students:”
Whatever happened with the hundreds of school kids missing after the Lanai fire?
...with 39% of Black students, 36% of Hispanic students, 24% of white students, and 15% of Asian students chronically absent.
I'm *sure* it has nothing to do with the open season on white people and the embrace of grooming by education professionals.
Maybe the kids are just exhausted from all of the sex with teachers.
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