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About 24% of California’s youngest students were chronically absent in the 2024-25 school year, compared with 19% of students overall, according to state data cited by The 74. The state’s next attendance release, expected in October, will offer a first look at rates in 2025-26, when transitional kindergarten was widely available to families.
About 24% of California’s youngest students were chronically absent during the 2024-25 school year, exceeding the 19% rate for students statewide, according to data reported by The 74. The gap puts attendance among transitional kindergarten and kindergarten students in focus ahead of the state’s next data release, expected in October.
Chronic absenteeism means missing at least 10% of school days in a year. In a typical 180-day school year, that amounts to about 18 days, or 3.5 weeks. California’s overall chronic absenteeism rate has fallen from its pandemic-era peak of 30% in 2021-22, but the rate among TK and kindergarten students remains higher than the statewide figure.
The upcoming release will cover 2025-26, the first school year in which transitional kindergarten was widely available to all families. The figures are expected in October, according to The 74. Administrators and education experts will be watching to see whether attendance among the youngest students has changed as access to TK expanded. The available report does not provide the new school-year results.
School leaders and researchers cited in the report point to several possible reasons young children miss school, including frequent illness, adjustment to a new routine, and families’ uncertainty about when a child should stay home. These explanations are not a substitute for the attendance data: the figures establish the rates, but do not show why individual students were absent.
How Early Absences Can Add Up
Attendance in the first years of school matters because TK and kindergarten introduce foundational skills in areas such as literacy, math, writing and social development. Jessica Hull, an administrator in Roseville City School District, told The 74 that missing school can mean children miss those early building blocks. Her comment reflects an educator’s concern; the reported attendance figures alone do not establish the effect of any student’s absences.
The report also cites research linking chronic absence in TK and kindergarten with students being about twice as likely to transfer to another school district. It notes that kindergarten reading and basic math abilities can help predict achievement by third grade and later. Regular attendance can also help children and families establish school routines that may support attendance as students get older.
For families and districts, the distinction between occasional illness and a pattern of missed days can be difficult to track. The state-level rate signals the scale of the issue, while local outreach may help families see how absences accumulate over time.
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Statewide Rates After the Pandemic Peak
California’s overall chronic absenteeism rate reached 30% in 2021-22, when schools were reopening after pandemic-related closures, the report says. Nearly 2 million TK-12 students in the state were chronically absent that year. Districts then began multi-year efforts to encourage students to return to class.
Roseville City School District, which serves about 12,000 students in Placer County, is one example described in the report. It mailed attendance information to families, called families when children were frequently absent and used graphics to show how missed days accumulate. State data cited by The 74 show the district’s overall chronic absence rate fell from nearly 26% in 2021-22 to 10.5% in 2024-25, despite enrollment growth.
That improvement did not eliminate the age-related attendance gap. Roseville City’s TK and kindergarten chronic absence rate peaked in 2022-23 at 11 percentage points above the rate for the rest of the district, according to the report. The district later focused communications on what young children learn each day and, this school year, has begun tailoring messages to individual students’ absences.
“If they are missing school, they are missing out on the building blocks, and it will impact them for the rest of their lives.”
— Jessica Hull, executive director of communication and community engagement at Roseville City School District
What the Next Data Cannot Explain
The 2025-26 attendance figures have not yet been released in the source report, so it is not clear whether the youngest students’ chronic absence rate has risen or fallen. The expected October release will provide a new measure, but the source does not give an exact publication date.
The reported statewide percentages do not identify the reasons for absences or show how rates differ among communities, schools or groups of students. The report describes illness and adjustment to school as factors raised by administrators and education experts, but it does not quantify how much each factor contributes. It also does not provide a current statewide figure limited separately to TK students and kindergarten students.
October Attendance Data Ahead
California is expected to release chronic absenteeism data for the 2025-26 school year in October. Educators and administrators will be watching the figures for changes among TK and kindergarten students, particularly given the wider availability of transitional kindergarten that year.
Meanwhile, Roseville City is using more individualized attendance messages. Hull told The 74 that a letter may alert a family that a child has missed five days in the first two months and explain that the student is on track to meet the chronic absence threshold. The district says it aims to start a conversation about what support could help; the report does not yet provide results for this year’s outreach.
Key Questions
What does chronic absenteeism mean?
Chronic absenteeism is missing 10% or more of school days during a school year. In a typical 180-day year, that is about 18 days.
How many of California’s youngest students were chronically absent?
About 24% of California’s youngest students were chronically absent in 2024-25, compared with 19% of students overall, according to data cited by The 74.
Why do young children miss school?
Administrators and education experts cited in the report point to frequent illness, adjusting to school routines and family uncertainty about when a child should stay home. The data reported do not determine the reason for each absence.
When will California release the next attendance figures?
The state is expected to release chronic absenteeism data for 2025-26 in October. The report does not specify an exact release date or provide those results.
Source: rss
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