Missouri school districts reach all time high for chronically absent students

April 8, 2025

Shelby Brown,

MISSOURI(KBSI) – The number of Missouri students being chronically absent continues to rise according to data released by the Missouri Department of Secondary and Elementary Education (DESI).

Missouri school districts are at an all-time high for student absences and data analysts are saying parents and policy makers should be aware.

Chronic absenteeism has become a significant concern for Missouri school districts after DESI has released data showing that Missouri schools are at a 91% increase for absent students.

Dr. Courtney Vahle is the Director of Operations at the Prime Center at Saint Louis University, Prime stands for policy research in Missouri Education. She shares that chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10% of scheduled school days.

Vahle says that even though this is a statewide issue she believes the reasoning is district specific, not a one reason fits all cases.

“It really needs to be done on a school-by-school basis, analyze who’s missing, why they’re missing. I don’t think that reasoning is going to look the exact same in any school district” says Vahle. “Its happening in more than 91% of districts. It’s a statewide problem, 499 districts in the state have experienced a rise in absenteeism post covid.”

Data shows a higher increase in absenteeism for students who are in grades 9-12 and in kids who receive free and reduced lunches. Students were asked to take a poll stating the main reason they miss school, Vahle shares what that poll showed.

“The most common reason is sickness and Dr. appointments so perhaps COVID led to people being more cautious about whenever they are keeping their children home or if their older students maybe just staying home.”

According to Vahle it is unknown what impact record high absentee rates hold on Missouri’s Education System but there is a direct correlation between absenteeism and student outcomes, and although COVID did play a part in higher absentee rates, data shows Missouri schools saw a steady decline in attendance rates years before COVID.

“It’s difficult to predict such a large-scale impact. We do know that attendance and student outcomes are closely tied and that students who attend school more often tend to get better grades but there’s also a lot we don’t know” says Vahle. “We’ve never seen it this low of levels of attendance before.”