2025–26Latest available school year
−1.1 ppChange from 2024–25
TK–12DataQuest reporting scope
California’s statewide chronic absenteeism rate fell to 18.3% in 2025–26, down from 19.4% a year earlier and 11.7 percentage points below the 30.0% peak recorded in 2021–22. The latest DataQuest figure covers public school students from transitional kindergarten through grade 12 and marks a fourth consecutive annual decline.1
The statewide rate remains above the 12.1% reported for 2018–19. Student-group differences also remain wide: foster youth and homeless youth continued to record rates well above the statewide level, while Filipino and Asian students had the lowest rates among the race and ethnicity groups shown in the state’s 2025–26 fact sheet.1
California’s Chronic Absenteeism Rate in 2025–26
California considers a student chronically absent when the student misses 10% or more of the instructional days they were enrolled to attend. The statewide DataQuest rate is calculated from eligible students identified as chronically absent and chronic absenteeism eligible enrollment.
19.4%
Statewide TK–12 rate
18.3%
Down 1.1 percentage points
From the 2021–22 peak to 2025–26, the statewide rate dropped by 11.7 percentage points. Compared with the 2018–19 pre-pandemic rate of 12.1%, the latest rate is still 6.2 percentage points higher.1
Statewide Trend Since the Pre-Pandemic School Year
Statewide DataQuest rates for eligible students in TK–12.
California did not publish 2019–20 chronic absenteeism data because the CDE determined that the absenteeism data for that school year were not valid and reliable.2
| Academic Year | Chronic Absenteeism Rate | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 2018–19 | 12.1% | Pre-pandemic reference year |
| 2019–20 | Not available | CDE did not process the data for public release |
| 2020–21 | 14.3% | Distance-learning period affected year-to-year comparison |
| 2021–22 | 30.0% | Highest rate in the series |
| 2022–23 | 24.9% | Down 5.1 percentage points |
| 2023–24 | 20.4% | Down 4.5 percentage points |
| 2024–25 | 19.4% | Down 1.0 percentage point |
| 2025–26 | 18.3% | Down 1.1 percentage points |
The statewide rate has declined in every school year since 2021–22. The one-year decrease was 5.1 percentage points in 2022–23, 4.5 points in 2023–24, 1.0 point in 2024–25, and 1.1 points in 2025–26.2
The CDE advises caution when comparing absenteeism across academic years because the pandemic changed school operations and attendance reporting. No statewide 2019–20 chronic absenteeism file is available for public release.2
Chronic Absenteeism Across Student Groups
The statewide average does not describe every student population equally. In 2025–26, foster youth had a chronic absenteeism rate of 37.0% and homeless youth 33.9%. Among the race and ethnicity groups shown by CDE, Pacific Islander students had the highest rate at 31.3%, while Asian students had the lowest at 8.2%.1
| Student Group | 2025–26 Rate | Change From 2024–25 |
|---|---|---|
| Foster Youth | 37.0% | −0.3 pp |
| Homeless Youth | 33.9% | −1.0 pp |
| Pacific Islander | 31.3% | 0.0 pp |
| African American | 30.5% | −0.8 pp |
| American Indian or Alaska Native | 30.5% | −1.1 pp |
| Students with Disabilities | 26.6% | −1.1 pp |
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 22.9% | −1.2 pp |
| Hispanic or Latino | 21.1% | −1.2 pp |
| English Learner | 20.6% | −0.7 pp |
| Not Reported | 19.6% | +0.2 pp |
| Statewide | 18.3% | −1.1 pp |
| Migrant Youth | 17.3% | 0.0 pp |
| Two or More Races | 15.5% | −1.0 pp |
| White | 13.7% | −1.4 pp |
| Filipino | 9.1% | 0.0 pp |
| Asian | 8.2% | +0.1 pp |
Most groups improved from 2024–25. Rates declined for all listed program groups except migrant youth, whose rate was unchanged. Among race and ethnicity groups, Asian students increased by 0.1 percentage point, Pacific Islander students were unchanged, and the Not Reported category increased by 0.2 point; the other listed groups declined.1
Some student groups overlap. A student can, for example, be both socioeconomically disadvantaged and an English learner. The statewide rate therefore cannot be calculated by averaging subgroup rates.
Why DataQuest and Dashboard Chronic Absenteeism Rates Can Differ
DataQuest reports chronic absenteeism for TK–12, while the California School Dashboard Chronic Absenteeism Indicator is limited to TK–8. The 2026 Dashboard and the 2025–26 DataQuest release are both current, but their chronic absenteeism figures are not automatically interchangeable because their reporting scope and business rules differ.3
18.3%
2025–26 statewide chronic absenteeism rate covering TK–12
TK–8 only
2026 Dashboard accountability scope; results may differ from DataQuest
The Dashboard reports the indicator for districts and schools serving transitional kindergarten through grade eight and does not include grades 9–12 in the indicator. CDE also publishes separate 2025–26 Dashboard chronic absenteeism data files and notes that Dashboard data may differ from DataQuest results.3
How California Determines Whether a Student Is Chronically Absent
The 10% threshold is based on the instructional days a student was expected to attend rather than a fixed statewide number of missed days. A student expected to attend 180 instructional days, for example, reaches the 10% level after 18 missed days. A student enrolled for a shorter period has a different numeric threshold.
Students must be enrolled for at least 31 instructional days to be included in the Dashboard chronic absenteeism indicator. The calculation uses expected instructional days and days not attended rather than Fall Census Day enrollment alone.3
California’s chronic absenteeism measure is based on the share of instructional days missed. It is not limited to unexcused absences. Truancy is a separate attendance concept tied to unexcused absences and state attendance requirements.
At the state, county, district, and school levels, chronic absenteeism reporting uses eligible enrollment and the number of eligible students determined to be chronically absent. Because eligibility and enrollment can differ by reporting level, statewide percentages should not be treated as the expected rate for every district or school.
How Attendance Recovery Relates to Chronic Absenteeism
Attendance Recovery does not remove recovered absences from the standard DataQuest or California School Dashboard chronic absenteeism calculation. California’s optional Attendance Recovery program began in 2025–26 and allows eligible students in classroom-based programs to make up instructional time outside the regularly scheduled school day for average daily attendance purposes.4
School districts, county offices of education, and classroom-based charter schools may offer Attendance Recovery. A participating student can generate attendance for up to the lesser of 10 days or the number of absences accrued in the school year, subject to the program requirements. The original absence record is not rewritten when Attendance Recovery time is earned.4
Standard Rate
Attendance Recovery does not subtract recovered absences from the regular chronic absenteeism measure
Separate Calculation
CDE collects Attendance Recovery days for a separate alternative chronic absenteeism rate
Beginning with the 2025–26 End-of-Year 1 submission, local educational agencies report Attendance Recovery days through CALPADS. CDE guidance states that these days are used for a separate alternative chronic absenteeism calculation and do not alter the chronic absenteeism data reported through DataQuest or the Dashboard.4
Attendance Recovery can allow an LEA to recoup ADA for qualifying absences. For chronic absenteeism reporting, the standard Dashboard and DataQuest rate keeps the original absence information, while CDE uses separately reported Attendance Recovery days for an alternative calculation.
What the 2025–26 Absence Data Show Beyond the Chronic Rate
California also publishes an Absenteeism by Reason report. It separates reported absences into excused absences, unexcused absences, out-of-school suspensions, and incomplete independent study. In 2025–26, the statewide average was 12.4 days absent, down from 12.8 days in 2024–25 and continuing the decline from 16.7 days in 2021–22.5
The Absenteeism by Reason report includes students who were absent at least once during the academic year. Its average-days measure is separate from the 18.3% statewide chronic absenteeism rate, which is based on chronic absenteeism eligible enrollment.