Nearly 56% of New York City 12th-graders missed at least 18 days of school
last year, an alarming new post-pandemic study has found.

And despite the full opening of city schools after the COVID-19 crisis,
nearly 50% of black and Hispanic students were chronically absent.

By borough, Bronx kids missed the most classes, 48%, data show.

�Student absenteeism has become significantly worse in the wake of the
COVID-19 pandemic,� says the study issued Friday by the government
watchdog Empire Center for Public Policy. �Students simply aren�t coming
to school with the same regularity as they did before the pandemic.�

Kids fail to show for various reasons � including jobs, caring for younger
siblings or feeling disengaged from school. In some ways, COVID lockdowns
and remote classes �normalized the idea of not attending,� the report
says.

The citywide rate of chronic absenteeism � when students miss 10% or more
of the academic year, or at least 18 days � hit 40% in 2021-22, as first
reported by The Post, up from 27% pre-pandemic.

The new report � titled �School�s Out Forever,� after the Alice Cooper
song � gives a demographic breakdown showing the problem is especially
severe among kids of color and students with special needs, as well as
high-school seniors.

Using city Department of Education data, researcher Ian Kingsbury compared
absenteeism in 2018-19, before the COVID crisis, to 2021-22, after DOE
schools fully reopened. Among his findings:

By grade level, 12th-graders had the worst chronic absenteeism last year �
55.9%, up from 43.7% pre-pandemic. �It�s a number that�s difficult to
fathom, and policymakers should be treating this as an emergency,�
Kingsbury told The Post.

By race in all grades, black students had the highest rate of chronic
absenteeism � 49.8%, compared to 34.3% pre-pandemic; followed by Hispanic
kids, 47.2% (up from 31.8%); white kids, 30.2% (up from 17.1%), and Asian-
American students, 23.1% (up from 13.3%).
After the Bronx, absenteeism by borough was worst in Manhattan, 42% (up
from 27%); Brooklyn, 40% (up from 26%); Staten Island, 39% (up from 24%),
and Queens, 36% (up from 22%).
Among students with disabilities, a staggering 51.9% were chronically
absent compared to 31.7% pre-pandemic. English learners: 41% (up from
28%). Kids in poverty: 45% (up from 30.4%).

�Absenteeism in New York City was worse than the national average before
the pandemic, but the pandemic significantly exacerbated the issue,�
Kingsbury found. �Only 96 of 1,518 schools kept their average daily
attendance rates steady or boosted them from 2018-19 to 2021-22.�

The missed days contribute to learning loss, and put kids at risk of
dropping out, delinquency and substance abuse, experts warn.

But in New York, kids don�t have go to class to pass. They can still
graduate. Under DOE rules, students cannot be denied credit or promotion
�based on lack of seat time alone.�

https://nypost.com/2023/05/20/55-of-nyc-12th-graders-chronically-absent-
post-covid/