\t\t\t\t\tWhat’s at stake?<\/p>\n
Fresno Unified\u2019s chronic absenteeism rate got slightly lower in 2025, but it\u2019s still much higher than pre-pandemic levels \u2014 an issue seen inside public schools across the country. Chronic absenteeism refers to students who miss at least 10% of all school days in a year.<\/p>\n
Chronic absenteeism at Fresno Unified dropped slightly, but remains almost double pre-pandemic levels, according to new state data.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the 2024-25 school year, 29.4% of Fresno Unified students in kindergarten through eighth grade were chronically absent \u2014 meaning students missed at least 10% of all school days in a year. Out of the 50,568 students, 14,866 were identified as chronically absent, representing an improvement of 0.9% from the previous year.<\/p>\n
Go Public Schools<\/a>, a nonprofit education advocacy organization, says that while the steady decline in chronic absenteeism is encouraging, a long term solution is required to tackle the district\u2019s absenteeism.<\/p>\n \u201cChronic absenteeism is still nearly double pre-pandemic levels and well above the state average,\u201d said Lexi Crothers, director of advocacy and communications. \u201cWhat\u2019s promising is that the district is not treating this as a one-year issue.\u201d<\/p>\n Recorded by the California Department of Education, the new data was published in the California School Dashboard<\/a>, an online tool that measures the performance of K-12 schools \u2014 and students \u2014 across the state using several local and state indicators<\/a>.<\/p>\n Back in 2019, Fresno Unified\u2019s chronic absenteeism rate for students K-8 was 15.8%. The state stopped measuring the statistic in 2020 and 2021, as pandemic-era remote and hybrid learning models made the data unreliable<\/a>. They restarted measuring the statistic in 2022, showing a sharp COVID-era rise in chronic absenteeism.<\/p>\n While Fresno Unified has struggled for many years \u2014 even before the pandemic \u2014 with some of the worst chronic absenteeism in the state<\/a>, California\u2019s third-largest school district is far from alone in getting kids to school consistently.\u00a0 Chronic absenteeism rates have reached record highs<\/a> at K-12 public schools across the country since the pandemic, peaking in 2022. In California at the time average chronic absenteeism rate grew as high as 30%. In Fresno Unified, that number peaked above 50%<\/a>.<\/p>\n This year, Fresno Unified\u2019s chronic absenteeism nearly 30% rate remains close to double California\u2019s 17.1% statewide average.\u00a0<\/p>\n State education leaders have made it a goal to decrease COVID-era chronic absenteeism rates: they want to cut it in half by 2030<\/a>. In August, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond announced a guide<\/a> to help districts meet the state\u2019s goal.<\/p>\n Fresno Unified Chief Academic Officer Carlos Castillo said the district has implemented multiple interventions to tackle chronic absenteeism, including technology to help track student attendance.<\/p>\n