by: Andy Jesson, AOF Policy & Communications Intern
The State of Ohio is facing ongoing issues regarding school attendance in its K-12 public schools. Numbers released as part of the 2022-2023 Ohio School Report Card showed more than one-in-four students enrolled in Ohio’s public schools were considered chronically absent. Chronic absenteeism is defined in Ohio as missing 10% or more of total school hours during the academic year. One recently introduced piece of legislation, House Bill 348, seeks to address chronic absenteeism among K-12 students through a pilot program providing cash payments directly to students for high rates of attendance and academic achievement.
U.S. Department of Education Analysis of Chronic Absenteeism
Poor public-school attendance rates are not an issue unique to Ohio, but rather a more national trend of millions of school-aged children regularly missing class. In recent years, research on chronic absenteeism has yielded verifiable proof of logical conclusions; students who are chronically absent have worse GPAs and beginning in the sixth grade, are more likely to dropout. The U.S. Department of Education released a report using 2015-2016 data, finding differences in rates of absenteeism based upon gender, race, and age.
Maintaining high attendance rates is critical to the success of Ohio’s public schools, and House Bill 348 is one proposed measure intended to increase the number of students attending school on a regular basis. The bipartisan legislation, introduced by Representatives Seitz and Isaacsohn, would establish a pilot program providing direct cash payments to students who meet attendance or grade objectives. The proposed pilot program includes different options for payments, including bi-weekly, quarterly, and yearly payments to students. Should the legislation pass, districts would have the opportunity to apply for the pilot program, and at least one urban and one rural district would be chosen to participate. Applying districts must be in the highest quartile in the state for chronic absenteeism. The pilot program would operate with a control group and test group in each district, allowing lawmakers to examine the effects of cash incentives on attendance and academic performance for students.
Currently, Ohio has taken measures towards meeting better attendance rates in K-12 public schools, including the Chronic Absenteeism Improvement Indicator. The Chronic Absenteeism Improvement Indicator is a tool for school districts throughout the state to identify trends in their attendance rates and set benchmarks for the upcoming academic years. Student attendance remains an important aspect of the annual Ohio School Report Cards, and online resources are available for schools and districts seeking to improve their attendance benchmarks. Whether House Bill 348 becomes law or Ohio decides to take another approach, chronic absenteeism remains a threat to the success of Ohio’s public schools and a limiting factor for the future well-being of school-aged children.