With California struggling to lower student absences since the pandemic, state educational leaders have pledged to reduce chronic absenteeism by 50% over the next five years. California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, along with officials from across the state, unveiled new guidance to improve student attendance statewide—including providing early intervention, keeping families engaged and ensuring that students feel safe amid rising immigration enforcement activity. According to state data, the percentage of California students who were “chronically absent” — meaning they missed 10% or more of the academic year’s 180 school days — was a little over 12% for the 2018-19 school year, or about 756,000 students. Just a few years later, about 30% of California students were considered chronically absent for the 2021-22 school year — nearly 1.8 million students. Chronic absenteeism rates at Bay Area school districts varied. About 25% of students at San Jose Unified School District were considered chronically absent for the 2023-24 school year, according to state data. Palo Alto Unified School District had a little more than 9% of chronically absent students, East Side Union High School District had about 22% and Oakland Unified had about 35% of chronically absent students for the 2023-24 school year. Because of the way California schools are funded — based on attendance instead of enrollment — when students are not in the classroom, regardless of the reason, schools lose money. Statewide, school districts lose about $3.6 billion in annual funding due to absences, according to the California Department of Education. But students also risk falling behind and missing important academic benchmarks when they aren’t in school, Thurmond said, especially for young children who are learning to read. According to a 2025 report by non-partisan research center, the Policy Analysis for California Education, chronic absenteeism has a significant impact on early literacy development and students who are considered chronically absent are at a higher risk of struggling to learn to read by third grade. California has worked to reduce the number of chronically absent students in recent years. The state passed the California Community Schools Partnership Act in 2021, which provided funding and support to transform schools into community hubs with a variety of resources — including health, nutrition and social services — to support students, especially in higher-poverty areas. Though chronic absenteeism rates have dropped each year since 2022, student absences are still much higher than pre-pandemic. For the 2023-24 school year, the statewide chronic absenteeism rate dropped to 20.4% — about 1.2 million students — and down from 24.9% in 2022-23.