Colorado is heading in the wrong direction for absenteeism and student attendance, according to data released Wednesday by the state Department of Education.

The daily attendance and chronic absenteeism report for the 2024-25 school year showed slight declines in the former and increases in the latter.

More than one in four Colorado students were chronically absent, according to the report.

The average daily attendance rate was 91.4%, a 0.1% decrease from the year before. Chronic absenteeism statewide was 28.4% compared to 27.7% in 2023-24.

The news comes after the state experienced improvements over the last two school years. But over 244,600 students were chronically absent in 2024-25, the third-highest rate since the state began collecting data in 2016.

Colorado schools see improvement in student attendance, drop in chronic absenteeism

“In 2024-25, Colorado added 3,500 more chronically absent students compared to the year prior. These are more than data points,” Colorado Education Commissioner Susana Córdova said in a news release. “These are young people who are disengaged, disconnected, and missing out on the critical learning experiences that they need to be successful.”

Chronic absenteeism is defined as a student missing 10% or more of their school days in a year and has been linked to sustained learning loss and an increased likelihood of dropping out of high school.

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The results come following the first year of the state’s “Every School Day Matters” campaign in an effort to cut the rate of chronic absenteeism in half by the 2026-27 school year. The campaign is a response to Colorado’s record-high absentee rate of 35.5% during the 2021-22 school year.

In the 2018-19 school year — the last full year data was collected before the COVID-19 pandemic — the statewide average for attendance was 92.3%, and the average chronic absentee rate was 22.5%.

The campaign provides resources to partnering schools and districts. While the state provided five in-person and virtual professional learning sessions to its learning cohort of school districts last year, individual members planned around strengthening school, family and community partnerships.

Mapleton Public Schools’ York International School in suburban Denver has seen signs of improvement after implementing both a positive culture around being at school and an “attendance re-focus” high school program.

Assistant Principal Ben Schneider said students who have one unexcused absence or four unexcused tardies in a week are invited to a lunchtime session to fill out a survey explaining the causes for their poor attendance. They are then sorted into subgroups to receive appropriate intervention.

“Some students have transportation challenges … some students are struggling with mental health or other social-emotional challenges and we connect them with our mental health resources,” Schneider said.

“Other students may identify that they’re struggling academically in the class that they ditch and they would rather not be there than feel lost in their class.”

The result has been chronic absenteeism rates dropping by 7.68% in the last three years.

Lincoln Elementary School in Loveland took advantage of its small student population and tight-knit community to offer continued support for students and their families through an attendance team.

“I think we’re unique in that we’re really small and everybody knows everybody,” Principal Brandi Stott said. “There’s not a teacher in this building that doesn’t know every kid’s name and at least a good portion of their story and that was very important for us.”

Lincoln Elementary’s chronic absenteeism rates dropped to 20.4%, a 10.8% decrease over the past three years.

While the overall data showed negative numbers, Córdova highlighted signs of improvement during a press briefing on the data. Notably, grades K-2 across Colorado saw decreases in chronic absenteeism and nearly two-thirds of the districts participating in the campaign’s learning cohort reduced their rates.

For this school year, the state will again provide five learning opportunities for its learning cohort of 25 school districts, along with virtual sessions, webinars and attendance toolkits.

With examples of success stories already coming from some of the state’s smaller districts, Córdova emphasized the need for more districts to join the cause.

“I wish that we had better news to share, but I do think it’s really important that we use this as a call-to-action moment,” she said.