Chronic absenteeism improves in Indiana for fourth consecutive year

Recent data highlight a strong and sustained rise in the percentage of Indiana students who regularly attend school.

For the fourth consecutive year, chronic absenteeism rates continue to move in a positive direction statewide, improving by more than six percentage points since its peak in 2022 following the pandemic. This includes year-over-year improvements for all grade levels and nearly every student population.

"We know students benefit from being in school, learning directly from their teachers and building relationships with their classmates,” said Governor Mike Braun. “Indiana has now seen four straight years of improvement in school attendance. That means more students are getting the support and education they need to succeed. We're building on that progress by continuing to strengthen academics and by connecting what students learn in school to meaningful opportunities in their chosen career path, whether that be enrollment, employment, or enlistment. When it comes to preparing our kids for the future, every day counts."

Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing at least 10% of school days or about three and a half weeks, including both excused and unexcused absences. Overall, Indiana’s chronic absenteeism rate for the 2025-2026 school year was 14.9%, an improvement of 1.8 percentage points from the previous school year. Below are additional key takeaways from the data:

• All grade levels saw improvements for the fourth consecutive year.
  • Rates of chronic absenteeism continue to be highest in grades 9-12, with 30% of students chronically absent their senior year.
  • This underscores the urgency behind Indiana’s ongoing work to rethink high school and better connect students to their unique future.
• Chronic absenteeism improved for nearly every race/ethnicity for the fourth consecutive year. Black and Hispanic students continue to have the largest improvements.
  • Black students - Improved 8.7 percentage points since 2022
  • Hispanic students - Improved 7.7 percentage points since 2022
• Chronic absenteeism rates for students receiving free/reduced price meals and EL students have also improved for the fourth consecutive year.
  • Students receiving free/reduced price meals – Improved 9.1 percentage points since 2022
  • EL students – Improved 6.6 percentage points since 2022
• Data show that students who consistently attend school are significantly more likely to read by third grade, master key ELA and math skills, and be college-ready.

“As regular school attendance increases across Indiana, those improvements translate into real academic gains for students,” said Dr. Katie Jenner, Indiana Secretary of Education. “With support from their teachers and parents, the more days a child is in school, the more opportunities they have to build the knowledge and skills necessary for lifelong success. Continuing to improve attendance will be crucial to furthering Indiana’s strong academic progress and strengthening student outcomes.”

Indiana continues to elevate the importance of school attendance through a transparent Attendance Insights dashboard, which publicly displays longitudinal attendance and chronic absenteeism data at the grade-, school- and corporation-level. As Indiana prepares to issue new A-F letter grades later this year, consistent school attendance is also one of several Student Success Indicators that allow students to generate more points towards their school’s overall accountability grade.

More information regarding chronic absenteeism data for each corporation and school can be found on Indiana’s Attendance Insights dashboard.