New Issue Brief: Chronic Absenteeism Is Rising in NYC Schools

NEW YORK, NY – Nearly five years ago students sat at home navigating virtual classrooms due to Covid-19 disruptions. Today, schools face the inverted challenge: getting kids to come to the classroom. A new Manhattan Institute issue brief by 50CAN’s William E. Simon Policy Fellow Danyela Souza Egorov warns that chronic absenteeism—defined as missing 10% or more of school days in a year—has reached alarming levels. New York City public schools entered the pandemic with a 26.5% chronic absentee rate, which increased to 34.8% at the end of the 2023–24 school year, exceeding the national average. 

Egorov notes absenteeism is increasing across all demographics in New York City, with particularly high rates among students in temporary housing (51.7%), low-income students (39.1%), black students (41.5%), Hispanic students (41.7%), and students with disabilities (44.8%).  

What’s behind these increases in absenteeism? Egorov finds that despite the strong relationship between student attendance and student success, parental considerations have shifted post-Covid. Now parents are more likely to let children stay home for minor illnesses. Remote work flexibility for parents has also made it easier to navigate childcare needs when a child stays home. Additionally, public officials have proven ineffective in intervening. New York State has recently removed chronic absenteeism as a school performance measure, which Egorov fears may further weaken efforts to address the crisis. 

To combat the growing issue of empty classrooms, Egorov points to successful strategies from charter schools and states like Rhode Island and Connecticut. Drawing from these positive examples, she recommends: a public awareness campaign on the importance of school attendance, timely data reporting, and school-level interventions targeting students with the highest absence rates. “Until we solve absenteeism, we can’t even start to address other problems in education like learning loss and literacy,” Egorov emphasizes. 

Click here to read the full issue brief.