The White House released a fact sheet following a summit this week highlighting ways for State and local leaders to reduce chronic absenteeism. The fact sheet highlights action the U.S. Department of Education has already taken, as well as planned initiatives.
The Biden administration is urging States and school districts to collect and use data on school attendance and plans to incorporate attendance data into existing federal reporting and surveys, such as through the National Center for Education Statistics School Pulse Panel. In addition, the fact sheet highlights existing and new resources from ED and the Institute of Education Sciences to support States and school districts in using data to address attendance issues. The fact sheet also announces two new resources addressing absenteeism, including a fact sheet on “Bolstering Student Attendance, Engagement, and Success Through Career-Connected Learning” and a yet-to-be-released resource on transportation to improve student attendance, which is often a barrier.
The administration also emphasizes federal funding opportunities to address attendance, including an Education Innovation and Research grant that is currently accepting applications and will provide funding “to create, develop, implement, and replicate evidence-based solutions that accelerate student achievement, including those designed to reduce chronic absenteeism and increase student engagement.” ED will also open application periods for two other federal grants that can support chronic absenteeism reduction efforts soon – the Stronger Connections Technical Assistance and Capacity Building grant and the Promise Neighborhoods grant.
The administration’s fact sheet, which provides access to a number of resources, is available here.
