Dear County and District Superintendents and Charter School Administrators:

New Guidance on Reducing Chronic Absenteeism

Engaging our students and families in consistent school attendance is one of the most important priorities we can set as school communities. When our students are at school every day, they have access to the instructional support that they need to succeed, and they build strong relationships with caring adults who support their healthy development and well-being.

California has made substantial progress to reduce chronic absenteeism since its concerning peak at 30 percent in the 2021–22 school year. Since that time, robust and sustained efforts to reengage families have significantly lowered that rate and have reduced chronic absenteeism to 20.4 percent in the 2023–24 school year.

I am pleased to share that our state has made a bold commitment to keep up this rapid reengagement of California families: We will reduce chronic absenteeism by 50 percent over five years. Together, we know that we can achieve this milestone for California students, and we won’t stop there.

To access the guidance, please visit the California Department of Education’s Attendance Guide web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/ai/ag/.

The guide compiles best practices and lessons learned about reducing chronic absenteeism. As we work together to scale and accelerate recent progress, the recommendations in this document may serve as models, exemplars, and reminders to support local decision-making.

I would like to express my gratitude to our key partners in this important work to reengage families and reduce chronic absence: the members of the California Chronic Absence Working Group and the many colleagues who shared their expertise.

I also want to thank all California educators who continue this complex and critical work on the ground. Thank you for everything that you do to make sure that our students and families are connected to the important resources provided by California’s public schools.

Sincerely,

Tony Thurmond
State Superintendent of Public Instruction