Forty-seven percent of Camden City School District students are chronically absent, missing at least 18 days of school per year. In Trenton City it’s 34% of students.* An unintended consequence from Covid school closures, when we normalized not showing up for school? Sure, but we’re still left with the fact that when kids miss school, as the Overdeck Foundation notes, they have higher rates of illiteracy and higher drop-out rates. This is borne out by New Jersey’s state assessments: In Camden, 12.6% of students meet expectation in reading and 0% do in math. In Trenton, 0% of kids meet expectations in reading and math. And it’s not just urban low-income districts: chronic absenteeism affects students in some of our best suburban schools.

In response, a new law(see below) sponsored by NJ Sen. Shirley Turner establishes the “Chronic Absenteeism Task Force” to “turn research into results, crafting smart policies that address real challenges and deliver real change.”

It’s great to draw attention to the impact of missing multiple days of school, but a task force and a OMNY card will get you a ride on the subway.

Here is a better idea: Let’s look at other low-income school districts where students do show up. You don’t have to go very far to find schools with high attendance rates despite similar or greater disadvantages. For example, at Mastery Schools of Camden (a charter/renaissance hybrid) the chronic absenteeism rate is 22% compared to the district’s 47%, still too high but moving in the right direction. That’s even with a tougher population: In Camden City schools, 54% of students are economically-disadvantaged compared to 97% at Mastery. In the traditional district 15.7% of students are multilingual learners and 16% have disabilities; at Mastery 25% are multilingual learners and 19.7% have disabilities. Yet twice as many Mastery students reach proficiency in reading and math than Camden district students.

Trenton district schools, with their 34% chronic absenteeism rate, could learn something from the city’s Achievers Early College Prep Charter School, which has a chronic absenteeism rate of 9.5% despite a far higher number of economically-disadvantaged students who, nonetheless, have reading proficiency rates of 47.5%, just missing the state average.**

Correlation is not causation but success in any endeavor usually involves showing up. What is Mastery doing right that Camden City could emulate? What are some common sense interventions school leaders could borrow from Achievers Early and implement right now instead of waiting for a Task Force to issue banalities?

In this write-up Tim Daly lists ways that schools enable chronic absenteeism (allowing students to show up for extracurriculars regardless of whether they show up for classes, unlimited retakes of tests and homework, supporting mental health days, pressuring parents to keep kids home for minor colds) and “practical things schools can do right” (many parent-driven like telling parents how much school their child has missed, emphasizing the importance of attendance, making sure kids get enough sleep).

Chronic absenteeism is part of a larger problem: We’ve lowered standards for school attendance, just like we’ve lowered standards for academic proficiency. High-flying students will continue to sail but those with less support at home will flounder. Getting kids to show up won’t happen with a task force. We need the state Education Department to improve their data collection (side note: the DOE has stopped reporting staff absenteeism rates, a related item) and we need school leaders to instill a culture where attendance matters. As Kevin Huffman says, regarding districts where chronic absenteeism rates are down, “accountability works, and you have to measure and manage what you want to see. The states that pledged to take this on were the ones most likely to collect and manage the data, talk about this with district leaders, share best practices, and push on laggards.”

* It’s worth noting that the DOE counts on districts to honestly report chronic absenteeism rates. This works unless it doesn’t. For instance, during the pandemic closures Newark superintendent Roger Leon claimed 99.8% of Newark students were present for each day of remote learning. Chalkbeat discovered this superlative statistic resulted from the the state’s policy that teachers must mark students present unless he or she “knowingly determines a student was not participating,” a get-out-of-jail free card that the district used liberally.

**Tip to Governor Mikie Sherrill: If you really care about student achievement, think about departing from your predecessor’s disdain for public charter schools and expanding those with stellar track records.

Legislation sponsored by Senator Shirley K. Turner and Senator Angela V. McKnight to create Chronic Absenteeism Task Force to examine the causes of persistent student absences and develop strategies to improve attendance across New Jersey’s public schools was signed into law by Acting Governor Tahesha Way.

The 18-member task force will include education professionals, school leaders, and parent advocates appointed by the Governor, legislative leadership, and the Commissioner of Education. Public members appointed by the Governor will include representatives recommended by the Jobs for America’s Graduates New Jersey and the Princeton Area Community Foundation.

The task force will study trends in chronic absenteeism, with particular attention to the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on student engagement.

“Chronic absenteeism is one of the most serious challenges facing our schools today, particularly in urban communities where students often face barriers far beyond the classroom,” said Senator Turner (D-Mercer/Hunterdon). “When students are not in school consistently, they miss critical learning opportunities and fall further behind. This law is about understanding the root causes of absenteeism and putting real, practical solutions in place so every child has the support they need to be present, engaged, and successful.”

Under the new law, the task force will compare current absenteeism rates with pre-pandemic data. It will conduct a root cause analysis of absences, examining issues such as barriers to attendance, aversion to and disengagement from school, the role of health issues and mental health, school climate, and family and financial struggles. The task force will also review discipline policies and assess how exposure to COVID-19 has affected attendance patterns. It will identify national best practices that can be implemented statewide and develop strategies to strengthen family engagement and promote consistent school attendance.

“Attendance is more than a statistic. It reflects whether students feel connected, supported, and safe in their schools,” said Senator McKnight (D-Hudson). “This task force will turn research into results, crafting smart policies that address real challenges and deliver real change.”

Members of the task force will serve without compensation and may request assistance from the New Jersey Department of Education. The task force will submit a final report with findings and legislative recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature within one year after its organization.

Chronic absenteeism, defined as missing ten percent or more of the school year, has surged nationwide since the pandemic.  In New Jersey, the rate peaked at 18.1 percent in the 2021–2022 school year and declined to 14.9 percent in the 2023–2024 school year. However, it remains significantly higher in urban districts hovering near or about 40 percent in districts like Trenton, Camden, and Paterson.