The rate was down nearly 2 percentage points from the previous school year and well below the 21% peak recorded in 2021-22. A student is considered chronically absent after missing about 18 days of school, whether those absences are excused or not.

High school students in grades 9 through 12 continued to have the highest chronic absenteeism rates among grade levels, though all grade levels improved for the fourth year in a row, Indiana Secretary of Education Katie Jenner said.

Jenner said many high school students reported that they did not see the relevance or value of attending and believed they could miss school and still succeed. State leaders have pointed to changes to Indiana’s high school diploma and expanded work-based learning as efforts to make high school more engaging and connected to students’ futures.

Most racial and ethnic student groups also had improved attendance for a fourth year, with American Indian and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander students as exceptions. Rates also improved among students receiving free or reduced-price meals and students learning English.

The state Department of Education identified consistent attendance tracking, student engagement and support for families as strategies that have helped schools address absences. Chronic absenteeism will also be among the factors used in Indiana’s A-F school accountability grades, which are due to be issued again later this year.

The increase in absenteeism after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic prompted Indiana to adopt attendance rules for schools and families. Schools must notify parents and hold an attendance conference when a student has at least five unexcused absences within a 10-week period. Students with 10 or more unexcused absences in a school year are considered habitually truant and must be reported to local prosecutors, who are not required to file charges and may instead pursue interventions such as family meetings, counseling or other services.