Regular school attendance is a predictor of academic success. Conversely, frequent absences are related to negative outcomes, such as dropping out of high school, which can have lifelong effects on employment and earning potential (1, 2). A child might miss school for many reasons, including health problems or other excused absences, unexcused absences (truancy), and exclusionary punishments (suspensions and expulsions).

Research shows that suspensions and expulsions can exacerbate student academic problems, amplify the achievement gap between low-income children and their higher-income peers, and contribute to student involvement in the juvenile justice system (3). Suspensions and expulsions disproportionately affect students of color, students with disabilities, students in foster care, and non-heterosexual youth (4, 5, 6). In 2006, an estimated 3.3 million U.S. students were suspended and 102,000 were expelled. That year, California’s suspension and expulsion rates were the 12th and 10th highest in the nation, respectively (7).

Kidsdata.org offers the following measures:

• Truant Students: The number and percent of K-12 public school students who missed more than 30 minutes of instruction without an excuse three or more times during the school year. This measure does not include students considered chronically truant (i.e., students whose unexcused and excused absences total 10% or more of all school days in a year).
• Truant Students (Self-Reported): The percentage of students in grades 7, 9, and 11, and non-traditional students, reporting whether in the past 12 months they had skipped school or cut class, by grade level, gender and grade level, level of connectedness to school, and race/ethnicity.
• Suspensions from School: The number and rate of suspensions per 100 K-12 public school students. Beginning in 2012, suspensions are tracked for individual students to produce unduplicated counts. Therefore, data for 2012 are not comparable with data for previous years, which included duplicate counts of students who were suspended multiple times.
• Expulsions from School: The unduplicated number and percent of expulsions among K-12 public school students.

In 2012, more than 1.8 million public school students in California, 28.5% of all public school students that year, were truant (i.e., they missed more than 30 minutes of school instruction without an excuse three or more times during the year). The percentage of students who are truant has risen 26% between 2005 and 2012.

In 2008-10, about 8% of 7th graders, 18% of 9th graders, and 29% of 11th graders in California reported that they had skipped school or cut class in the past year. Students who felt less connected to their schools more often reported skipping school or cutting class.

More than 360,000 students were suspended (5.7 per every 100 students) and over 9,500 students (0.1%) were expelled in California in 2012.

In recent years, school suspensions and expulsions have increased with adoption of “zero tolerance” discipline policies designed to combat school violence and other transgressions, ranging from dress code violations to drug possession (5).  While removing disruptive or dangerous students sometimes is necessary, research indicates that suspension/expulsion can have adverse effects on academic performance and student behavior (2, 5, 7).

Researchers also have documented significant disparate disciplinary treatment of African American/Black, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Latino students (6). 

Policies that help schools document absenteeism and truancy early, identify patterns, and then intervene in non-punitive ways can ameliorate the negative effects of children missing school and potentially address root causes (1, 2). Effectively addressing truancy requires collaboration from schools, law enforcement, courts, social services, and other community organizations (2).

According to research and subject experts, policy options that could reduce chronic truancy and ensure that discipline is both equitable and effective include:

• Uncovering and flagging chronic absenteeism (including excused or unexcused absences) early in elementary and middle school through specific data reporting at the individual, classroom, and school levels (3, 4, 5)
• Recognizing and promoting good attendance, and providing individualized and supportive attention from adults and the community (4, 5)
• Collecting data at the school and district levels on the prevalence of suspensions and expulsions by student racial/ethnic background, gender, and disability status; and tracking data on the effectiveness of school discipline policies and their impact on learning (6, 7)
• Addressing discriminatory discipline policies through administrative or legal enforcement (6)
• Implementing school- or district-wide, preventive approaches, such as positive social and behavioral learning programs (5)
• Supporting use of alternative, non-punitive discipline approaches that address the unique needs of students and their families, promote good behavior, and minimize loss of learning time; these may include restorative justice strategies and programs that focus on skill-building (2, 5, 7)