President Biden Reopened America’s Schools. Now He Has a Plan to Reduce Absenteeism

Governors, school leaders, teachers, and parents will come together at the White House on Wednesday to tackle a national challenge: too many kids who are not in school each day.

Since the pandemic, the problem has cut across all 50 states—communities urban and suburban, red and blue—and undermines our nation’s competitiveness.

Last year, about a quarter of students missed at least 10 percent or more of the school year. Absenteeism was responsible for more than one-quarter of the test score declines in math and almost half the declines in reading from the pandemic.

But it’s not just academics. Research shows that students who miss a lot of school in one year have elevated levels of depression and behavioral challenges the next. Relationships with friends and classmates are also critical to addressing the epidemic of loneliness and isolation that Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy has identified, particularly among young people.

So, how do we turn these trends around?

Earlier this year, the Biden-Harris administration announced its plan for student success that tackles absenteeism head on. It’s built on commonsense values and evidence on what is already working in districts nationwide.

We need to start by setting clear expectations. Schools and communities cannot normalize absences that aren’t essential. Working at home or online is no substitute for in-person class—academically, socially, or emotionally. And missing school for family ski trips, as in one recent news story, sure isn’t a good excuse.

Kids should stay home when there is a valid health and safety reason. And that’s it. This week, at our Every Day Counts Summit, we’ll be calling on state, district, and school leaders from across the political spectrum to join us in sending that message loud and clear.

Communications is key, but not always enough. Schools also need to integrate practices that are proven effective in getting kids back into schools. Some give parents new tools to support their kids and overcome obstacles in the way of attendance. Other approaches make sure school is a place that students really want to be.

First, schools can send text messages and letters to parents about their children’s attendance. Many parents underestimate their kids’ own level of absences, and why they matter. Text messages can provide that information clearly. Cities like Philadelphia have used this strategy to lower absenteeism by more than 10 percent.

Second, schools can send teams to visit families at home to talk about challenges and solutions. In Hartford, Conn., under the state’s Learner Engagement and Attendance Program, school staff and community members visit families to talk about why kids were not in school. Sometimes transportation was an issue; other times, children needed help with anxiety. Attendance recovered by nearly 30 percentage points in the six months following the home visits.

Third, schools can restructure instruction to make it more relevant to young people. For older students, career and technical education is proven to increase high school graduation rates and student engagement. Our administration is seeking to fund every state to offer 12 credits of high-quality career and technical education at every high school that is interested.

Finally, schools can deliver more services that families want their children to receive. For example, Full-Service Community Schools connect families to supports such as health care, housing, and child care. These schools increase student attendance too. We’ve increased investment in community schools five-fold and are looking to do more this year.

The Department of Education is targeting its work to increase student engagement. It is targeting federal grants and has shared detailed strategies and resources for raising attendance. Our Fiscal Year 2025 budget proposal would provide additional resources to schools to increase student attendance and engagement.

In the end, the challenge of getting children back into the classroom will take all of us. If we set clear expectations for ourselves and our children and implement the strategies that we know work, then soon, we can be back to pre-pandemic attendance levels—or better.

If chronic absenteeism affected only students, that would be enough reason to tackle this problem. But our future as a country depends on an educated workforce that can win in the 21st century. And it’s why our administration is committed to defeating absenteeism in every corner of the country.

Neera Tanden is a White House domestic policy advisor.

Miguel Cardona is secretary of Education.

The views expressed in this article are the writers’ own.