States / Idaho

Chronic absence in Idaho

Where things stand, what state rules ask of each role, and what is changing. For school and district leaders.

School year 2025-26

13.8%

of students were chronically absent¹

Chronically absent means absent 10% or more school days during the school year.²

U.S. rate: 22.6% (2024-25)¹¹

Five-year trend

Idaho, year by year

Idaho chronic absence by school year
School year	Chronically absent
2020-21	15.1%
2021-22	20.6%
2022-23	17.1%
2023-24	16.1%
2024-25	15%
2025-26	13.8%

Dashed bars mark years the state did not publish a rate.

Where things stand

The numbers

Idaho's report card shows 13.8% of students chronically absent statewide in 2025-26^1,4.
That was the lowest rate among the 18 states FutureEd tracked with 2025-26 data, all of which improved³.
By the state's data as reported by Idaho Education News, the rate was 15.1% in 2020-21, rose to 20.6% in 2021-22, then fell to 17.1% in 2022-23 and 16.1% in 2023-24^7,8,9.
That was about 52,500 chronically absent students in 2022-23 and nearly 46,000 in 2023-24^7,9.
Gaps are wide: in 2022-23, 35% of students who are homeless, 25.2% of students with disabilities and 25.1% of Native American or Alaskan Native students were chronically absent, compared with 15.5% of White students⁷.
In AEI's compilation of state-reported, district-level data, Idaho's rate was 15% in 2024-25, well below the 22.6% across reporting states that year^10,11.

Requirements by role

What state rules ask of each role

Teachers

For state reporting, students are considered absent when they miss more than 50% of a school day for any reason².
Under the state board's rule on days of attendance for grades 1-12, attendance will be reported in full or half-days²¹.

Attendance team

Districts and charter schools report whether each student is chronically absent through the state's data system, which flags a student who was enrolled in the school for at least 10 school days at any time during the school year and missed at least 10% of the school days enrolled there².
The measure covers grades K-12 and is reported when the student exits the school².
A public school pupil is an habitual truant when, in the judgment of the board of trustees or the board's designee, the pupil repeatedly has violated the attendance regulations the board set; a child whose parents or guardians have failed or refused to have the child instructed as the compulsory attendance law requires is also an habitual truant¹³.
An habitual truant comes under the juvenile corrections act if the child was within the age of compulsory attendance at the time of the violations¹³.
Districts and charter schools take official enrollment counts on the first day of October, December, February and April (or the previous school day if a date is not a school day), and shall not count as enrolled any student with unexcused absences totaling eleven or more consecutive school days immediately before and including the count date¹⁶.

Principals & districts

Idaho law requires the parent or guardian of a child who is at least seven at the start of school in the district, but not yet sixteen, to have the child instructed, either privately or by enrolling the child in a public, charter, private or parochial school for a period equal to the public school year, where the child must follow the attendance policies and regulations set by that school's board or governing body¹².
When a school board determines that a child enrolled in public school is an habitual truant, an authorized representative of the board shall notify the prosecuting attorney in the child's county of residence in writing; proceedings may be brought directly against a parent or guardian found to have knowingly allowed the pupil to become an habitual truant, and such a parent or guardian is guilty of a misdemeanor¹⁴.
A board of trustees may deny enrollment or attendance by expulsion to a pupil who is habitually truant, but only after written notice to the parent or guardian stating the grounds, the time and place to contest, and the pupil's rights to be represented by counsel, to produce witnesses and submit evidence, and to cross-examine any adult witnesses who may appear against the pupil¹⁵. The board must allow a reasonable period between the notice and the hearing so the pupil and parents or guardian can prepare, and within a reasonable period after the notice it must grant them a full and fair hearing¹⁵. Discipline of students with disabilities must follow IDEA part B and section 504¹⁵.
A pupil within the age of compulsory attendance who is expelled or denied enrollment comes under the juvenile corrections act, and an authorized representative of the board shall give written notice of the expulsion to the prosecuting attorney of the pupil's county of residence within five days¹⁵.
Each LEA must verify and assure the accuracy of the data it submits; data must be verified and corrected within 30 business days, based on the LEA's calendar, of receiving written notice of issues, a timeline that may be extended if LEA staff are actively working with state longitudinal data system staff to correct the issue²¹.

Recent changes

What changed lately

House Bill 846 was signed March 26, 2026 and took effect July 1, 2026; it amended the state's student enrollment count law^17,19.
As amended, a district or charter school shall not count as enrolled any student with unexcused absences for the first ten consecutive days of the school year; if the student attends later, the school may count the student as enrolled as of the date of attendance¹⁶.
The same law says a district or charter school shall not count as enrolled any student with unexcused absences totaling eleven or more consecutive school days immediately before and including an official count date^16,17.
House Bill 236 was signed March 31, 2025 and took effect July 1, 2025; it revised the law on denial of school attendance, which lets a board deny enrollment or attendance by expulsion to a habitually truant pupil after notice and a hearing^18,20,15.
School funding, based on enrollment during the pandemic, reverted to attendance-based funding in 2023-24, Idaho Education News reported^9,8.

Accountability

How the state holds schools to it

Idaho publicly reports chronic absenteeism on its school report card, as its ESEA state plan waiver approved in June 2021 requires².
The state board's accountability rule lists chronic absenteeism as a school quality measure for K-8 schools, high schools and alternative high schools⁶.
The consolidated state plan posted by the department, dated March 23, 2024, uses chronic absenteeism rates for grades K-8 as the school quality indicator for K-8 schools in school identification, while high schools use college and career readiness⁵.
When identifying schools for comprehensive and targeted support and improvement, the school quality indicator is weighted at 10% for all schools⁵.
The department's 2026 business rules set long-term goals and interim targets for test proficiency and English learner growth; chronic absenteeism is not on that list².
In 2024, Idaho Education News reported that some districts' chronic absence data looked questionable, and that the department was hiring an auditor, a new position funded by the 2024 Legislature, which a department spokesperson said could be used to check chronic absenteeism numbers⁸.

What’s working

Efforts with results

At Fort Hall Elementary in the Blackfoot School District, the share of students chronically absent dropped from 56% in 2022 to 16.7% in the previous school year, according to state data reported by Idaho Education News in December 2024²².
The school rewards students who are on time and in class with raffle tickets, certificates and public recognition, and staff partnered with parents and the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes; by last spring, nearly half of its K-3 students were reading at grade level, up from about a quarter the year before²².

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Sources

Idaho Department of Education. Idaho Report Card, State of Idaho, Success Indicators: Chronic Absenteeism (state figure, 2025-2026) (opens in a new tab) (2026-10-13)
Idaho Department of Education. 2026 Accountability and Reporting Business Rules (updated 08/19/2026), Chronic Absenteeism (opens in a new tab) (2026-08-19)
FutureEd (Georgetown University), reporting state data. Tracking State Trends in Chronic Absenteeism (updated 10/6/2026) (opens in a new tab) (2026-10-06)
Idaho Department of Education. Idaho Report Card Data Release Calendar (updated 08/15/2026) (opens in a new tab) (2026-08-15)
Idaho Department of Education. Idaho's Consolidated State Plan (ESSA), posted by the department; cover dated March 23, 2024, Amended (opens in a new tab) (2024-03-23)
Idaho State Board of Education (Idaho Administrative Code). IDAPA 08.02.03.112, Rules Governing Thoroughness, Accountability: School Quality Measures by School Category (opens in a new tab) (2026-10-13)
Idaho Education News. Chronic absenteeism is declining — but nearly 53K Idaho students are habitually absent (11/24/2023), reporting state data; table 'Statewide Chronic Absenteeism' rows 22-23 = 2022-23, 21-22 = 2021-22, 20-21 = 2020-21 (opens in a new tab) (2023-11-24)
Idaho Education News. Idaho’s low chronic absenteeism rates may not be accurate (08/29/2024) (opens in a new tab) (2024-08-29)
Idaho Education News. Critchfield: Thanks to in-person learning during the pandemic, today’s students are less likely to be chronically absent (08/29/2024), reporting Idaho Department of Education data for the prior school year; the article links to the 2023-24 rates (opens in a new tab) (2024-08-29)
American Enterprise Institute (Nat Malkus). From Attendance Crisis to Chronic Condition? Tracking Post-Pandemic Chronic Absenteeism into 2025, Table A3. State-Reported Chronic Absenteeism Data, by State, School Years 2017-25, Idaho row (spring-year columns 2017 to 2025; 2025 = the 2024-25 school year; rates rounded to whole percent) (opens in a new tab) (2026-06-30)
American Enterprise Institute (Nat Malkus). From Attendance Crisis to Chronic Condition? Tracking Post-Pandemic Chronic Absenteeism into 2025 (2025 = the 2024-25 school year) (opens in a new tab) (2026-06-30)
Idaho Legislature. Idaho Code § 33-202, School attendance compulsory (opens in a new tab) (2026-10-13)
Idaho Legislature. Idaho Code § 33-206, Habitual truant defined (opens in a new tab) (2026-10-13)
Idaho Legislature. Idaho Code § 33-207, Proceedings against parents or guardians (opens in a new tab) (2026-10-13)
Idaho Legislature. Idaho Code § 33-205, Denial of school attendance (as amended 2025) (opens in a new tab) (2026-10-13)
Idaho Legislature. Idaho Code § 33-1027, Student enrollment counts and rulemaking (as amended 2026) (opens in a new tab) (2026-10-13)
Idaho Legislature. House Bill 846 (2026), bill status (opens in a new tab) (2026-03-30)
Idaho Legislature. House Bill 236 (2025), bill status (opens in a new tab) (2025-04-01)
Idaho Legislature. House Bill 846 (2026), enacted bill text, Section 2 effective-date clause (the '4' is a printed line number) (opens in a new tab) (2026-03-26)
Idaho Legislature. House Bill 236 (2025), engrossed bill as amended in the Senate, Section 3 effective-date clause (the '2' is a printed line number) (opens in a new tab) (2025-03-31)
Idaho State Board of Education (Idaho Administrative Code). IDAPA 08.02.01.250.03, Rules Governing Administration, Day of Attendance (ADA) (opens in a new tab) (2026-10-13)
Idaho Education News. Fort Hall students defy national absenteeism trends among Native American communities (12/23/2024), citing state data (opens in a new tab) (2024-12-23)