About 35 percent of Younger Students ‘Chronically Absent’ in Public Schools, Study Finds

As the school bells rang to kick off the 2024 to 2025 school year — young New Yorkers are still exhibiting high absentee rates that have not abated in the three years since the COVID lockdowns ended, a new study found.

The recently released Mayor’s Management Report confirmed that close to 35 percent of public school children were considered “chronically absent” during the 2023 to 2024 school year. Another 49.1 percent of grade school children couldn’t meet the City’s standards in English Language Arts (ELA).

A statement from NYC Public Schools obtained by Straus News cited “chronic absenteeism trends” hitting their citywide attendance records.

The DOE does not detail how many students are from migrant families seeking asylum, but does track how many are living in temporary housing and shelters. Mayor Eric Adams has estimated that the 220,000 migrants who have descended on the city in the past two years has resulted in an influx of about 40,000 students into NYC public schools from those families.

But the number of students classified as English Language Learners takes in a greater number. The number of English Language Learners (ELLs) increased from approximately 160,000 in Fiscal 2023 to approximately 174,000 in Fiscal 2024, a nine percent increase, the report found.

“Providing professional development to districts, and supporting students in temporary housing by creating welcoming environments that promote academic, social, and emotional well-being” has greatly impacted their strategic plan to reverse current attendance rates, a spokesperson said.

On any given day, close to 10 percent of students were absent, the report said. In the latest year, the average daily attendance rate was just under 91 percent overall.

The Department of Education defines the term “chronically absent” as absent for more than 10 percent of the school year. The number of students under this umbrella did decrease slightly from last year’s report, but only by about one percent.

“Throughout Fiscal 2024, schools conducted extensive outreach, collaborated with community partners, and followed up daily with students and families to increase attendance,” the Mayor’s Management Report stated.

The Report cited attendance first, as the leading component of “Goal One A” to “Improve academic achievement” among NYC’s youth.

When the pandemic hit back in March 2020, public schools in NYC had to go to remote learning which lasted 18 months. Over million students were displaced from their school buildings, and were instead learning via screens. Despite the recent influx of asylum seekers, the report states that the school age population that was 1,132,000 in fiscal year 2020 was still down by more than 80,000 in fiscal 2024 when 1,058.1 students were enrolled.

The student generation arguably most affected by the lockdown, those in grades three through eight, dropped off in English Language Art Sores—marking less than half of NYC’s elementary school students meeting or exceeding grade level standards. The DOE has set 55 percent profiency rate for fiscal 2024 and a 57 percent proficiency rate for fiscal 2025.

In contrast, NYC students did surprisingly well in math, improving over four percentage points better: climbing from 49.9 percent to 53.4 exceeding grade level competency.

“New York City Public Schools has made great strides in reversing chronic absenteeism trends with evidence-based citywide strategies that encourage and support student attendance by providing a range of services and supports in and outside of school,” a spokesperson from NYC Public Schools said.