States / Virginia

Chronic absence in Virginia

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

School year 2024-25

14.8%

of students were chronically absent¹

Chronically absent means miss 10 percent or more days in the school year, including excused and unexcused absences and suspensions.¹

U.S. rate: 22.6% (2024-25)¹⁵

Five-year trend

Virginia, year by year

Virginia chronic absence by school year
School year	Chronically absent
2018-19	10.6%
2021-22	20.1%
2022-23	20%
2023-24	15.7%
2024-25	14.8%
2025-26	not published

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

Where things stand

The numbers

In 2024-25, 14.8% of Virginia students were chronically absent, down from a peak of 20.1% in 2021-22^1,4.
That is still above the pre-pandemic rate of 10.6% in 2018-19¹.
The state's latest school accountability results report that 3 out of every 4 schools saw chronic absenteeism drop⁵.
High school is the hardest stretch: the state Board of Education reports that 18.6% of students in grades 9-12 are still chronically absent².
Missing school shows up in learning: chronically absent students in Virginia scored 19 percentage points below their peers in reading and 26 percentage points below in math².
Virginia does better than the nation: the US rate was 22.6% in 2024-25, and Virginia was among the states at or under 18%^1,15.

Requirements by role

What state rules ask of each role

Teachers

Teachers must keep an accurate daily attendance record for every student, taken at the start of the school day and, where it applies, for each class period⁶.
That record must stay open to attendance officers, who may inspect or copy it, and it can be used as evidence in court⁶.

Counselors

Schools must grant an excused absence when a student is absent because of their mental or behavioral health, under state guidelines⁸.
If a student misses more than one more day after the school has made direct contact with the parent, and staff have no indication that the parent knows about and supports the absence, schools must hold a conference with the student, the parent and school staff⁷.
The conference team must monitor the student's attendance and may meet again to plan more interventions if attendance does not improve⁷.

Attendance team

Schools must make a reasonable effort to reach the parent by phone whenever a student misses school and nobody has indicated the parent knows of and supports the absence; the principal or designee, the attendance officer, other staff or school volunteers may make the call⁷.
Divisions are encouraged to use non-teaching staff for these calls⁷.
After a total of five unexplained absences in a school year, and a failed notice attempt, the principal or designee must make a reasonable effort to reach the parent directly and explain the consequences of continued absence⁷.
The principal or designee, the student and the parent must then jointly write a plan to resolve the absences, documenting the reasons⁷.
If the parent is intentionally not complying, or the student is resisting the parent's efforts, the principal or designee must refer the case to the attendance officer⁷.

Principals & districts

Each school board may appoint attendance officers; where none is appointed, the division superintendent or a designee acts as attendance officer⁷.
The attendance conference must be held no later than 10 school days after the student's tenth absence, even if the parent does not approve⁷.
After a referral, the attendance officer must schedule a conference with the student and parent within 10 school days and may file a child-in-need-of-supervision complaint in juvenile court or start proceedings against the parent⁷.
Within one calendar month of school opening, each school board must send every enrolled student's family a copy of the compulsory attendance law and the board's enforcement procedures⁸.
School boards must allow each middle and high school student one day-long excused absence per school year to attend a civic event⁸.

Recent changes

What changed lately

2026: students whose immediate family member is on active military duty and deployed outside the U.S. (or on leave from, or just back from, deployment) get five excused absences to visit that family member; this is H.B. 653, 2026 Acts chapter 193, and by the state's default rule it took effect on the first day of July 2026^8,9,10,11.
2025: the teacher attendance law was amended (2025 Acts chapter 293) so teachers record attendance both at the start of the school day and, where it applies, for each class period; by default it took effect in July 2025^6,11.
November 6, 2025: the state's regulation on collecting truancy data and student attendance policies (8VAC20-730) was repealed¹².
2026: a new law (2026 Acts chapter 649) requires the Board of Education to consider changes to the School Performance and Support Framework, the state's school rating system¹³.
January 2026: the Board of Education's annual report said a statewide chronic absenteeism dashboard would come online in March to help schools spot attendance problems earlier².

Accountability

How the state holds schools to it

Chronic absence counts in Virginia's school ratings, the School Performance and Support Framework, and is the state's federal school quality measure for elementary, middle and high schools¹.
Chronic absenteeism makes up 10% of elementary and middle school scores and 5% of high school scores in the ratings¹.
Schools earn points based on the share of students who are not chronically absent; there is no credit for improving on last year, and only the most recent year counts¹.
Students can make up absences: three hours of make-up instruction can offset one absent day, and the rates used for ratings include these adjustments¹.
2024-25 was the first year schools were rated under the framework¹. The newest results were announced on October 7, 2026⁵.
In a state audit survey, thirty-nine percent of division leaders said chronic absence is an unfair rating measure because schools cannot control attendance¹.

What’s working

Efforts with results

In fall 2023 the state gave school divisions $418 million through its ALL In VA plan, with about 10% meant for chronic absenteeism¹⁴.
By June 30, 2025, divisions reported $37,403,222 used or committed for chronic absenteeism (9.57% of all reported uses of these funds), with 123 divisions reporting this use; divisions had until June 30, 2026 to spend the remaining $27 million¹⁴.
Divisions used the money for Saturday school and extra instruction time, attendance incentives, and mental health and other supports¹⁴.
Attendance Works and the state report the rate fell from 20.1% in 2021-22 to 15.7% in 2023-24, or 1,276,522 fewer absent days³.
Over the last two years, Title I schools cut chronic absence by 29.7% and other schools by 24.3%, per the state Board of Education's 2025 report².
In Norton City, ALL In VA funds paid for an attendance specialist to work with parents and coordinate truancy efforts; Norton High School's chronic absence fell from 36.9% to 2.3% in one school year³.

Working on chronic absence in Virginia?

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

Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC), Virginia General Assembly. Virginia's K-12 School Accountability System (JLARC Report 613) (opens in a new tab) (2025-12-16)
Virginia Board of Education. Annual Report on the Condition and Needs of Public Education in the Commonwealth 2025 (amended; adopted January 2026) (opens in a new tab) (2026-01-08)
Attendance Works, in partnership with the Virginia Department of Education. Attendance Works Celebrates the Success of VA's "ALL IN" Campaign (opens in a new tab) (undated (file dated 2025-06-02))
Axios Richmond. Richmond schools' chronic absenteeism declines (opens in a new tab) (2025-09-23)
Office of the Governor of Virginia. Governor Spanberger Announces School Accountability Results, More Than $26 Million in New Investments for Schools (opens in a new tab) (2026-10-07)
Virginia General Assembly (Legislative Information System). Code of Virginia § 22.1-259. Teachers to keep daily attendance records (opens in a new tab) (current code, read 2026-10-13)
Virginia General Assembly (Legislative Information System). Code of Virginia § 22.1-258. Appointment of attendance officers; notification when pupil fails to report to school; plan; conference; court proceedings (opens in a new tab) (current code, read 2026-10-13)
Virginia General Assembly (Legislative Information System). Code of Virginia § 22.1-254. Compulsory attendance required; excuses and waivers (opens in a new tab) (current code, read 2026-10-13)
Virginia General Assembly (Legislative Information System). Code of Virginia § 22.1-254 (2026 Updates) (opens in a new tab) (read 2026-10-13)
FutureEd. Legislative Tracker: 2026 State Chronic Absenteeism Bills (opens in a new tab) (2026)
Virginia General Assembly (Legislative Information System). Constitution of Virginia, Article IV, Section 13. Effective date of laws (opens in a new tab) (read 2026-10-13)
Virginia General Assembly (Legislative Information System), Virginia Administrative Code. 8VAC20-730-10 (Repealed). Regulations Governing the Collection and Reporting of Truancy-Related Data and Student Attendance Policies (opens in a new tab) (read 2026-10-13)
Virginia General Assembly (Legislative Information System). 2026 Uncodified Acts, Chapter 649: Board of Education; School Performance and Support Framework; certain changes (opens in a new tab) (2026)
Virginia Department of Education. Report on school division use of federal ESSER formula funds and state ALL IN VA funds (RD587) (opens in a new tab) (2025-10-01)
American Enterprise Institute. From Attendance Crisis to Chronic Condition? Tracking Post-Pandemic Chronic Absenteeism into 2025 (Nat Malkus) (opens in a new tab) (2026-06-30)