In recent years, there’s been a greater light shed on truancy issues across the nation. Improved data collection has helped highlight the true extent of the problem, and new Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) regulations are forcing schools to take a closer look at tracking attendance data — chronic absenteeism rates are an accountability metric in many state ESSA plans. In addition, chronic absenteeism rates affect other factors that are under scrutiny from state and federal governments, including academic performance and graduation rates.
