On March 22, 2024, U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona sent a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) informing schools that “there is still more work to do” to address chronic student absenteeism as the 2024-25 approaches.
Thus far, many school districts have increased home visits and utilized dashboards to effectively track attendance.
In his letter, Sec. Cardona urged schools to use accountability systems to measure chronic absenteeism to identify schools for support and improvement. He also enjoined each state to commit to helping students attend and engage in school daily, ensure more students attend regularly for the rest of the 2023-24 school year, and to lay a foundation now for more progress in the 2024-25 school year.
Click here to access the DCL.