U.S. — At least six U.S. states enacted laws this year to address chronic student absenteeism. The laws define new monitoring systems, establish penalties for parents, mandate data reporting requirements, and create task forces aimed at improving school attendance.

Utah enacted a law in March creating a student attendance monitoring system. The law requires the identification of at-risk students, and parents of students in grades 1-6 receive a notice of violation after five truancies. Parents who do not meet with school officials to address truancy could face a class B misdemeanor.

Oregon enacted a law requiring every school district and public charter school to compile data on student attendance. The state's Department of Education will make this data publicly available. Vermont also enacted a law overhauling how the state defines and handles chronic absenteeism and truancy. Under the law, the state's attorney can fine parents up to $1,000 or file a court petition against them if a student is truant and school-based interventions have not improved attendance. By July 2027, Vermont's Agency of Education must develop a model policy on chronic absenteeism and truancy.

Tennessee enacted a law requiring that a student transferring during the school year have their number of unexcused absences reported to their next school. Future unexcused absences for transferring students are added to a cumulative record. The law also removes the five-hour limit on community service a judge may order for the parent or guardian of a student with five or more unexcused absences during a school year. Mississippi enacted a K-12 education legislative package this year requiring the state to fund one attendance officer per 4,000 compulsory-school-aged children. New Jersey enacted a law establishing a chronic absenteeism task force to develop recommendations on addressing the issue.

Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10% or more of school days in an academic year, which equates to approximately 18 days or two days per month. Under Vermont law, truancy is classified as 20 or more unexcused absences within a school year. FutureEd, a think tank at Georgetown University, reported that lawmakers filed more than 70 bills across 24 states during this legislative session regarding chronic absenteeism. Forty-four states and Washington, D.C. released 2024-25 attendance data, and FutureEd found that most showed improvement. However, Colorado, Oklahoma, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Washington, D.C. reported a rise in missed school days. FutureEd also stated that no state has fully returned to pre-pandemic attendance levels.

The U.S. Department of Education reported that the national rate of chronic absenteeism was approximately 31% in 2021-22. This rate fell to 28% in 2022-23.