ATLANTA — The number of Georgia students skipping class in public schools shrunk for another year.
State officials said in addition to continuing a five-year trend of reduced absenteeism, meaning more kids staying in school, the 2025 school year hit a new post-pandemic low as well.
The organization said that 46% of schools report absentee levels between 20% to 29%, though some are even higher at 30% or more.
The past school year had a 17.7% chronic absentee rate, down from the previous 19.5% and the peak in 2021 of 23.9%.
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The Georgia Department of Education says the progress is part of the state commitment to the national 50% Challenge, meant to keep students in school and reduce chronic absenteeism by half over five years.
The challenge is led by Attendance Works. The organization’s CEO, Hedy Chang, said Georgia’s commitment to improvement, as well its transparency and accessible absentee data, was worth praise.
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“We applaud the Georgia Department of Education’s early release of end-of-the-year attendance data, which shows an impressive fifth consecutive year of decreased chronic absence,” Chang said in July. “Releasing this data now is essential to equipping districts and schools to put in place actions to further improve attendance in the subsequent school year. Georgia’s commitment to timely end-of-the-year data is a model for how states can make a difference.”
According to Attendance Works, most U.S. states promote data-informed and prevention-focused solutions to students regularly skipping school.
However, the organization said chronic absence, when a student misses 10% of school regardless of reason, is still elevated nationally.
Before the pandemic, one in six students were chronically absent.
The current rate is one in four students who are missing at least 10% of school throughout the year.
Attendance Works said Georgia was among several states that are focusing on prevention-oriented strategies, where legal action is a last resort.
The state reported that truancy, another term for missing school, in kindergarten to fifth grade also improved, with only 13.5% reported as chronically absent.
“We know students can’t succeed, in or out of the classroom, if they aren’t present and engaging in learning,” State School Superintendent Richard Woods said. “Seeing a fifth consecutive year of progress is evidence that Georgia’s educators, families, and communities are committed to this work. With that said, we certainly aren’t satisfied with or stopping at 17.7%. This is a marathon, not a sprint, and we remain committed to ensuring all students have the daily, consistent access to learning opportunities they deserve.”
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