Michigan chronic absenteeism inches down but remains higher than pre-pandemic

More than 1 in 4 students were chronically absent last school year
The absenteeism rate is more than twice as high for economically disadvantaged students than those who are not
Rates are lower than last year but remain higher than pre-pandemic

Nearly 28% of public school students in Michigan were chronically absent last school year, according to state numbers released this week.

Statewide, 27.9% of students missed 10% or more of last school year, demonstrating that chronic absenteeism remains stubbornly high in the state. If a school district has 180 school days, that’s at least 18 missed school days a year.

State law requires schools to provide at least 1,098 hours of instruction and 180 days of instruction per year, though some districts end up having fewer school days in a given year due to bad weather.

The absenteeism number has dropped slightly from the previous school year, where 29.5% of students were chronically absent.

Although rates for other states in 2024-25 aren’t available, Michigan has had one of the highest chronic absenteeism rates in recent years. In 2022-23, the latest year for state-by-state comparisons, Michigan’s 30.8% absenteeism rate was the ninth highest, according to data compiled by the Education Recovery Scorecard, a consortium of academic researchers.

Chronic absenteeism is yet another roadblock for a state that has struggled to recover from pandemic learning losses. As Bridge has reported in a series of stories this year, despite a large boost in state spending, Michigan children are lagging in reading compared to their peers in every other Midwest state.

“While we have made very substantial progress, our attendance has not returned to the levels before the pandemic, so it’s important for communities to continue to collaborate to emphasize the importance of good attendance and assist children who are missing school,” State Superintendent Michael Rice said in a statement.

Students who are economically disadvantaged are more likely to be chronically absent than those who are not economically disadvantaged. A Bridge Michigan analysis shows 38.6% of economically disadvantaged students are chronically absent compared to 15.8% of non-economically disadvantaged students. Both numbers are slightly lower than the year before.

Rice called the high likelihood of economically disadvantaged students being chronically absent “concerning.”

“That’s why it is important for schools and communities to continue to collaborate, to the absolute extent possible, to remove barriers to children going to school, such as lack of transportation, older children needing to care for younger siblings, health issues, homelessness or inconsistent housing, and clothing needs.”

He said MDE works with local districts to use research-based ways of helping students and provides a data monitoring tool aimed at helping “students get back on track for graduation and success.”

Chronic absenteeism is different from truancy.

“The data used for this report do not differentiate between excused and unexcused absences, and therefore do not reflect truancy rates,” according to the state website Mischooldata.org.

School leaders have tried several ways to encourage student attendance and to lower absenteeism rates during the 2024-2025 school year.

Redford Union Schools tried to capture students’ fear of missing out by announcing a mystery ‘Best School Day Ever,’ while Detroit Public Schools Community District distributed $200 gift cards for high school students who had perfect attendance in two-week cycles. The Lansing School District conducted home visits for students at risk of being chronically absent, tried to make school more engaging and offered gas cards for student transportation.

Related:

Roughly a third of Michigan school leaders said chronic absenteeism was one of their top three priorities for the 2024-2025 school year, according to a newly released survey from Wayne State University and the University of Michigan-Flint. Survey respondents reported several ways they address attendance.

“The most common practices centered on communication, social-emotional learning, and mental health support,” the report says. “Resource-intensive practices like home visits or arranging transportation were less common. The least common practices related to improving student experiences in school.”

The absenteeism rates vary by student demographics. For example, 57.4% of homeless students are chronically absent (compared to 27.2% for students who are not homeless) and 35.7% of migrant students are chronically absent (compared to 27.9% of non-migrant students).

High school seniors have the highest rate of chronic absenteeism across all K-12 grades. About 35.7% of 12th grade students are chronically absent while nearly 22% of fourth grade students are chronically absent.

Here is a breakdown of some districts across the state:

Alpena Public Schools: 44.1% during the 2024-2025 school year, down from 45.7%
Ann Arbor Public Schools: 35.8% during the 2024-2025 school year, down from 38.1%
Dearborn City Schools: 25.9% in 2024-25, down from 26.7%
Detroit Public Schools Community District: 60.9% during the 2024-2025 school year, down from 65.8%
Grand Rapids Public Schools: 41.4% during the 2024-2025 school year, slightly up from 41.2%
Kalamazoo Public Schools: 39.1% during the 2024-2025 school year, down from 43.5%
Lansing School District: 52.8% during the 2024-2025 school year, down from 58.9%
Marquette Area Public Schools: 25.7% during the 2024-2025 school year, compared to 25.6%
Midland Public Schools: 19.3% in 2024-25, up from 19.1% in the previous year
Rochester Community Schools: 18.6% in 2024-25, nearly identical to 18.5% in 2023-24
Traverse City Area Schools: 18.6% during the 2024-2025 school year, down from 20.9%
Utica Community Schools: 18.6% this past year, down from 19.6% in 2023-24

Join Bridge Michigan for a free Zoom discussion on Sept. 24 from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. focused on improving Michigan schools. You’ll be able to ask questions of state and national experts. Register here.