Empty Desks, Empty Futures: Why We Should Be Taking Chronic Absenteeism More Seriously

Millions of students across the United States are increasingly missing school at rates that threaten long-term educational outcomes. Chronic absenteeism, defined as students missing at least 10% of their school year, has evolved over the last five years from a simple measure of attendance to a predictor of academic struggles, diminished social development, and reduced career opportunities. Intriguingly, efforts to curb absenteeism transcend party lines, with Republican-led states like Florida proposing statewide attendance mandates and increased accountability specifically for elementary and middle school parents. Democratic-led states like New York are also advancing public awareness campaigns and expanded absentee data transparency. While the goal remains shared, state approaches vary considerably.

Attendance has long been central to education policy, but the issue has gained renewed urgency since the COVID-19 pandemic. Pandemic-related disruptions left many students behind academically and contributed to declining motivation and morale. Students report that school expectations seem lower than before the pandemic, and that remote learning has made absences feel less consequential. With assignments and materials available online, students often believe they can keep up without attending class. As a student who enrolled at Cornell after the height of the pandemic, I still feel its effects, whether that means struggling to make it to a morning class or using Zoom instead of having in-person conversations with professors. Research from the US Department of Education shows that the national chronic absenteeism rate reached about 31% in 2021–2022. The following school year, 20 states reported that over 30% of their students missed at least three weeks of school. This trend marks the most notable rise in absenteeism in recent history, signaling a need for schools and policymakers to shift from reactive to proactive measures to restore consistent attendance and learning stability. While the pandemic triggered a sharp rise in absenteeism, the issue remains prominent, with many states still hovering around 20% for chronic absenteeism in the 2024–2025 school year. Chronic absenteeism is no longer a short-term crisis but a persistent challenge that policy must urgently address. 

Reestablishing attendance is only part of the solution; helping students develop the habits and resilience to stay engaged is equally important. This dynamic prompts the question: What strategies can improve attendance while helping students sustain their long-term engagement?

It is easy to blame families or label students as “unmotivated,” but structural barriers often drive continued student absences. Families may face transportation issues, conflicting work schedules, housing instability, or health concerns. In turn, punitive measures like fines or suspensions can exacerbate the situation by pushing already vulnerable students further away from educational opportunities. 

To combat these issues, policymakers must balance accountability with support. In Florida, for instance, proposed mandates and parental accountability laws imply that attendance can be enforced through discipline. Meanwhile, New York instead focuses on community-driven solutions. Neither model is sufficient on its own. Struggling students and families cannot simply “comply” their way into better attendance, and schools cannot data-track their way into student engagement. States must recognize the realities students face beyond the classroom. 

Some districts are already testing more comprehensive solutions. In New Haven, Connecticut, where over 58% of students were chronically absent in 2021, Superintendent Madeline Negrón reports that the rate dropped to around 31.4% for the 2024–2025 school year. This improvement did not happen by chance; it came from intentional outreach, including working directly with chronically absent students and conducting over 7,000 home visits to develop attendance plans with families. 

Imposing absenteeism policies without meaningful support risks sounding tone-deaf to student realities. In higher education, the same concern applies. At Cornell, while we may not use the term “chronic absenteeism,” we still face challenges with emptier lecture halls and inconsistent attendance. A 2025 Cornell Chronicle article, though focused on rural New York State schools, offers a potential comparison and explanation: schools with on-site health clinics had students 15% less likely to become chronically absent compared to those without. Applying this insight to Cornell does not have to be far-fetched. Immediate access to healthcare, mental or physical, can determine whether a student misses a full day or quickly returns to class. Essentially, fostering a culture of care, rather than mere compliance, recognizes that poor attendance is often rooted not in apathy, but in a deeper sense of disconnection. 

The rise in chronic absenteeism is not just an education issue; it is a civic one. Students who fall behind today are less likely to participate in civic life. Empty desks today lead to weaker communities in the future. If schools and states can prioritize both structure and support, chronic absenteeism can become not just a problem of the past, but an opportunity to help students thrive in the long term. 

Photo Credit

Motown31, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons