Chronic absenteeism spiked by more than 3% in the 2024-25 school year, according to a report from the Mississippi Department of Education.
The state released its chronic absenteeism report on Thursday, showing that 27.6%, or 120,408, of Mississippi’s public school students missed a significant amount of time in the classroom. The updated figure reflects an increase from the 2023-24 rate of 24.4% but did not surpass the record high of 28%, which occurred in 2021-22. The Mississippi Department of Education began reporting chronic absence data in 2016, with the lowest rate of 13% being achieved in 2018-19.
Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10% or more of the school year, or more than 18 days, for any reason, including excused and unexcused absences and suspensions. The most recent report shows that approximately one-third of all absences were excused, meaning the overwhelming majority of Mississippi students did not have a valid reason for missing school.
“When students are not in school, they are missing valuable instruction from their teachers and social interaction with their peers,” State Superintendent of Education Dr. Lance Evans said. “Missing 18 or more days of school has serious consequences for academic achievement and long-term success. We need families, educators, and community partners to join forces to combat chronic absenteeism.”
The report shows that chronic absenteeism rates declined in elementary and middle school from 2023-24 to 2024-25, but increased from 30% to 39% in high school. According to state officials, this suggests excessive absences among high school students have driven the statewide rise in chronic absenteeism.
The data also show variation across districts, with some communities experiencing higher rates than others. Port Gibson High School and the Harrison County Child Development Center had the highest rate of chronic absenteeism, with roughly 90% of pupils missing a substantial amount of class. Meanwhile, the Okolona School District had a state-best 10.3% absenteeism rate.
Education officials are looking to crack down on absences piling up by having school attendance officers working statewide to help families eliminate barriers to attendance. An attendance awareness toolkit with resources and materials to promote classroom presence is available for schools.
The state has also partnered with the National Dropout Prevention Center to provide professional development for districts and schools. Officials even held a statewide chronic absenteeism and dropout prevention conference to find solutions to what has become an annually recurring problem.
Mississippi Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, who has long sounded the alarm that youth are absent from the classroom far too often, plans to propose legislation that will tighten the state’s truancy laws. Hosemann, the state Senate’s presiding officer, believes drastic action may be necessary while suggesting that he is in favor of parents having to testify before a judge as to the reason for their child’s noticeable absence from school.
