States / New York

Chronic absence in New York

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

School year 2024-25

27%

of students were chronically absent¹⁵

Chronically absent means missing 10% or more of enrolled instructional days.⁴

U.S. rate: 22.6% (2024-25)³

Five-year trend

New York, year by year

New York chronic absence by school year
School year	Chronically absent
2018-19	18.6%
2020-21	24.1%
2021-22	32.6%
2022-23	29.1%
2023-24	27%
2024-25	27%

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

Where things stand

The numbers

About 27% of New York students were chronically absent in 2024-25, the same as the year before, in state-reported data compiled by AEI. That is down from a peak of 32% and well above the 18% seen before the pandemic¹⁵.
High schools are hit hardest: 34.1% of high school students were chronically absent in 2022-23, 7.6 points more than in elementary and middle schools¹.
Gaps are wide. In the State Comptroller's latest analysis, 46.4% of Black and 43.7% of Hispanic or Latino high school students were chronically absent, compared with 24.7% of White high school students¹.
In New York City, 33.5% of students were chronically absent in 2025-26¹⁰, compared with 33.3% the year before and a city target of 29.0%⁹.
Nationally, 22.6% of students were chronically absent in 2024-25, below New York's 27%^3,15.

Requirements by role

What state rules ask of each role

Teachers

Attendance entries are made by teachers, or by other staff the board designates⁵.
In grades 9 through 12, and in departmentalized schools at any grade, attendance is recorded every period. Where students do not change classrooms each period, the daily rule below applies instead, including the extra check after an off-campus lunch⁵.
The daily rule: in non-departmentalized classes from kindergarten through grade eight, attendance is recorded once per school day, and again after lunch if students leave school grounds for lunch⁵.
Every absence is recorded as excused or unexcused, using the standards in the attendance policy⁵.
Each teacher must receive a copy of the attendance policy and any changes to it⁵.

Counselors

The attendance policy must describe how teachers and other school staff build intervention strategies for patterns of unexcused absence⁵.
If a school files a PINS (person in need of supervision) petition in Family Court, the petition must include documentation of the school's efforts to resolve the child's school problems⁷.
In New York City, each school must name a school avoidance liaison, who may be a guidance counselor, social worker, administrator or teacher working at the school full-time⁸.

Attendance team

Each school building must name the person or people responsible for reviewing attendance records and acting on unexcused absence, lateness and early departure⁵.
City, union free and central school districts must appoint one or more supervisors of attendance or attendance teachers⁶.
Attendance teachers and supervisors are charged with helping each nonattending child adjust to school, working with school staff and community agencies⁶.
In New York City, schools must contact parents each day a student is absent to find out the reason for an unexplained absence⁸.
In New York City, each school's Attendance Committee must hold weekly attendance team meetings⁸.

Principals & districts

Every district, BOCES, charter school and nonpublic school must adopt a comprehensive attendance policy; public bodies must hold at least one public hearing first⁵.
The policy must describe the notice sent to parents when a student is absent, late or leaves early without a proper excuse⁵.
Principals must review pupil attendance records to start action on unexcused absences⁵.
Boards must review building attendance records each year and revise the policy if attendance has declined⁵.
Schools must give parents a plain-language summary of the policy at the start of each school year⁵.

Recent changes

What changed lately

Starting in 2025-26, New York's school accountability system uses a new Attendance indicator in place of the Chronic Absenteeism indicator, for elementary/middle and high schools⁴.
In New York City, Chancellor's Regulation A-210 was reissued on June 18, 2026, replacing the 2017 version⁸.
In New York City, the June 2026 regulation says schools should work with families of chronically absent students on attendance success plans⁸.
In New York City, a lawsuit agreement requires every school to name a school avoidance liaison¹¹.
Pending, not law: a Senate bill (S.8526) for a public statewide attendance dashboard was still in committee as of October 2026¹⁴.

Accountability

How the state holds schools to it

Since 2025-26, attendance counts in school accountability through the Attendance indicator at the elementary/middle and high school levels⁴.
Students in grades 1-8 and 9-12 enrolled at least 30 instructional days, and present on at least one of them, are placed in four levels by share of days attended: Level 1 (85% or less), Level 2 (85.1-90%), Level 3 (90.1-95%) and Level 4 (95.1% or more)⁴.
Any increase in a student's attendance level raises the school's Attendance Index⁴.
Students at Level 1 or 2 count as chronically absent, and the state still reports chronic absenteeism, defined as missing 10% or more of enrolled instructional days⁴.
The cut points that turn a school's or group's Attendance Index into a performance level are fixed, based on 2023-24 results, and reset every three years⁴.
Before this change, the state's long-term goal was no more than 5% chronic absence in every student group in every school; the 2022-23 and 2023-24 plans paused that goal¹.
New York leaves suspensions and extended medical absences out of its chronic absence count¹.

What’s working

Efforts with results

Syracuse City School District, where nearly 43% of students were chronically absent in 2025, runs a $2 million program that puts attendance teams in every school, using home visits, phone calls and parent meetings¹².
The Syracuse district reports that 83% of its schools have seen attendance rise¹².
In New York City's 2010-2013 attendance task force, previously chronically absent students with mentors gained almost two extra weeks (9 days) of school per year¹³.
In that effort, previously chronically absent high school students with mentors were 52% more likely to stay in school the next year¹³.

Working on chronic absence in New York?

Agenteach helps counselors, teachers, and attendance teams follow up with students who are missing school, and keeps a record of every step.

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Sources

Office of the New York State Comptroller. Missing School: New York's Stubbornly High Rates of Chronic Absenteeism (opens in a new tab) (2024-10)
Spectrum News 1. Legislative efforts to address chronic absenteeism in New York continue (opens in a new tab) (2026-07-02)
American Enterprise Institute. From Attendance Crisis to Chronic Condition? Tracking Post-Pandemic Chronic Absenteeism into 2025 (opens in a new tab) (2026-06-30)
New York State Education Department. Reimagine Phase Accountability Indicator Fact Sheet: Attendance (NYSED; archived copy) (opens in a new tab) (2025-09)
Cornell Legal Information Institute (NY Codes, Rules and Regulations). 8 NYCRR 104.1, Pupil attendance recordkeeping (LII copy) (opens in a new tab) (accessed 2026-10-13)
NewYork.Public.Law (NY Education Law). N.Y. Education Law Section 3213, Supervisors of attendance, attendance teachers, attendance officers (opens in a new tab) (accessed 2026-10-13)
Cornell Legal Information Institute (NY Codes, Rules and Regulations). 22 NYCRR 205.62, Preliminary diversion conferences and procedures (PINS) (LII copy) (opens in a new tab) (accessed 2026-10-13)
New York City Public Schools. Chancellor's Regulation A-210, Standards for Attendance Programs (opens in a new tab) (2026-06-18)
City of New York, Mayor's Office of Operations. Mayor's Management Report, Fiscal 2026: Department of Education (opens in a new tab) (2026-09)
Chalkbeat New York. 1 in 3 NYC students chronically absent as rates remain stubbornly high (opens in a new tab) (2026-09-17)
Chalkbeat New York. NYC lawsuit agreement creates school avoidance guidance and liaisons (opens in a new tab) (2026-08-03)
Spectrum News 1. Districts work to combat chronic absenteeism through initiatives, after-school programs (opens in a new tab) (2026-05-03)
NYC Mayor's Interagency Task Force (report by Johns Hopkins Everyone Graduates Center). Meeting the Challenge of Combating Chronic Absenteeism (Everyone Graduates Center, Johns Hopkins, on the NYC task force 2010-2013) (opens in a new tab) (2013)
New York State Assembly. S08526 bill summary and actions (2025-26 session) (opens in a new tab) (accessed 2026-10-13)
American Enterprise Institute. From Attendance Crisis to Chronic Condition?, Table A3. State-Reported Chronic Absenteeism Data, by State, School Years 2017-25 (columns 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025; spring years, so 2025 = 2024-25) (opens in a new tab) (2026-06-30)