STOCKTON, Calif. —A few weeks into the new school year, chronic absenteeism is up throughout several school districts. Chronic absenteeism means that a student has missed at least 10% of school days – roughly a week in school districts that started classes in August.
“These figures have been higher in the Latino community, they have been higher for English learners and they have been higher for our immigrant and refugee families, and this is because a lot of these families have parents that are essential workers,” said Manuel Buenrostro, a policy associate at Californians Together.