WASHINGTON — Attendance has long been a problem at D.C. schools, so the Council is talking solutions in a Tuesday hearing.
A November 2023 report from the Office of the State Superintendent of Education found that both chronic absenteeism and truancy decreased in the 2022-2023 school year, but it still remains an issue.
The report shows chronic absenteeism declining from 48% to 43% last school year and truancy declining from 42 to 37%.
Chronic absenteeism includes both excused and unexcused absences, according to the report.
OSSE also analyzed standardized testing scores and found that higher attendance correlates with a slight increase in scores.
Truancy deals with those unexcused absences and chronic absenteeism also includes excused ones.
They also found discrepancies in race, socioeconomic status, even which schools students attend that all contribute to truancy and absenteeism.
“I just really want folks to know that, like, how are families accessing education in the city?" Ward 8 parent LaJoy Johnson-Law said. "And how does that translate to transportation, whether it's by OSSE, Metro car, rail, parent, walking, like, whatever it may be, like, have you really sat down to look at all the mitigating factors that are actually going into this issue? Because how can you solve something and you haven't even you haven't even accounted for all the issues that are going to the issue in the first place?”
The council's Committee of the Whole heard from the public earlier this month and Tuesday, it's slated to hear from District leaders on solutions.
Johnson-Law said she also hopes D.C. leaders considers students with special education needs, like her daughter.
“Are we accounting for children that have disabilities? Are we accounting for to say, hey, you know, [there's a] portion of kiddos have like doctor's appointments, therapeutic appointments, and things of that nature?”
The hearing starts at 3 p.m. at the Wilson building and online.