Across the country, more than 7 million students are missing so many days of school that they are academically at risk.  

Chronic absenteeism is widespread—about one out of every seven students missed three weeks or more of school in 2013-14. That translates to approximately 98 million school days lost. 

Background:

 In December 2016, the Ohio General Assembly passed HB410 to encourage and support a preventative approach to excessive absences and truancy. HB410's truancy provisions bring Ohio law in compliance with federal law and reduce the number of students referred for formal juvenile court processing for missing school.

HB410 emphasizes early intervention and provides opportunities to:

1) Eliminate schools from suspending or expelling students with truancy issues and

2) limit a youth's exposure to the juvenile justice system due to truant behavior. 

Impact: 

Frequent absences from school can be devastating to a child's future. The effects start early and spiral dramatically over time.

• A student is chronically absent if he or she missed as few as two days of school a month.
• Children who are chronically absent in preschool, kindergarten and first grade are much less likely to read on grade level by the third grade.
• Students who cannot read at grade level by the third grade are four times more likely to drop out of high school.
• By high school, attendance is a better dropout indicator than test scores.
• A student who is chronically absent in any year between the eighth and twelfth grade is seven times more likely to drop out of school. 

The ESC of Northeast Ohio can offer support and guidance around the implementation of HB410, including consultation and team participation to assess for underlying needs and explore services or supports. If you have any questions, please contact Denise Pietrzak at 216-525-2524 or [email protected].