LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Nearly one in every three Kentucky students were considered chronically absent last school year. Now the state is actively trying to improve that with campaigns and updating its law regarding truancy.
Students missing too much class time, has grown exponentially since the pandemic.
According to the Kentucky Department of Education, 5% of school districts were considered to have high or extreme levels of chronic absenteeism in 2018. In 2023, the percentage was 77%.
KDE defines a student chronically absent, "if they are present 90% or less of full-time equivalency, meaning the student has missed more than 10% of the enrolled time in school. This includes both excused and unexcused absences."
KDE Chronic Absenteeism Campaign
In response, the state department of education has launched a campaign addressing chronic absenteeism, as part of its "Every Student Counts!" initiative.
"Solving this challenge will take all of us working together to get our children back to school. Engaging with families early and often is essential," KDE Commissioner Robbie Fletcher said in a pre-recorded message. "Sharing attendance data can raise awareness and help spur action plans to address barriers students may be facing.”
The campaign includes billboards, dozens across Louisville, going up statewide this month.
The billboards feature a picture of students engaging in an activity and reads, "We miss you in..." and inserts activity name.
"Schools with high absentee rates often face lower academic performance, which can affect the broader community and economic growth day to day," Fletcher said. "Classroom activities and lessons build on each other like pieces of a puzzle. Even if your student can turn in assignments after an absence, missing class makes it harder for them to keep up with their classmates."
State lawmakers have also updated its law related to truancy.
Truancy is when a student is unexcused 15 or more days in a school year.
House Bill 611, passed into law this past legislative session, now states school district's are required to report when a student has 15 unexcused absences to the county attorney.
"Any student that misses 15 unexcused days of school will have to go before a judge. But if they're in grades kindergarten through fifth grade it will have to be the parent that goes before the judge so we can understand why this child isn't in school and how can we get them in the classroom," said State Rep. Jared Bauman (R - Louisville). "Incarceration is absolutely not intended here at all."
If the student is in grades sixth through 12, the student must appear before a judge.
"The robe effect you know causes that student to stand a little bit straighter and understand the importance of being in school, attending class everyday," Bauman said. "This is the future of our state, this is the next generation of Kentucky citizens... they need to be in the classroom everyday of the school year socializing, learning."
Before the first day of school, Jefferson County Public Schools' Chief of Staff Katy Deferrari commented on the state's new truancy law.
"Referring families for truancy was the very last thing we did because we know the most success we had is offering support to families and removing barriers to students missing school and usually there’s a reason and we try to unpack that with he family," Deferrari said. "This (law) is going to require us to obviously continue provide support services, but we are required to turn that information over immediately and they will be dealing with it from there."
Breaking the numbers down, chronic absenteeism in Jefferson County Public Schools was 38% during the 2022-2023 school year.
The state average is 30%.
Chronic absenteeism in Fayette Co. Schools, Kentucky's second largest school district, was 29.5%.
Students most likely to be chronically absent are those experiencing homelessness or economically disadvantaged.
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