The new school year in Georgia started this week with some good news: Chronic absenteeism in the state is at its lowest level since before the COVID-19 pandemic, officials announced Monday.
Students are considered chronically absent if they miss 10% of the school year — that’s about 17 days in most Georgia districts.
The rate in Georgia hit a high in the 2021-2022 school year, when 23.9% of students were chronically absent, according to state data. (In some districts, the peak was the year before or after.) But in the 2024-2025 school year, the state’s average went down to 19.5%.
Rates of absenteeism soared nationwide after the pandemic. Georgia’s rate in the 2018-2019 school year, for example, was 12.1%.
Georgia schools have purchased technology that reminds parents and students how important it is to come to school; state lawmakers are studying the issue; and State School Superintendent Richard Woods signed a pledge to cut chronic absenteeism by 50% in five years.
“I’m encouraged to see four consecutive years of progress, with chronic absenteeism at its lowest level since the pandemic — but 19.5% is still too high," Woods said in a news release. “We won’t stop working until every student has the consistent, daily access to learning they need to thrive.”
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