Keeping Hoosier Students in School

As a part-time legislature, lawmakers in the Indiana General Assembly conduct in-depth reviews of complicated topics by participating in interim study committees when the legislature is not in session.

One issue Senate Republicans studied more deeply this year was the rate of chronic absenteeism among Hoosier students and what lawmakers can do to help reduce this rate.

The state recently found that 17.8% of students were considered chronically absent from school during the 2023-24 school year. While this number is slightly lower than previous years, it is still too high.

Hoosier students learn best when they regularly attend school, which is why this year Senate Republicans supported a new law that requires schools to reach out to parents for a meeting if a student meets certain criteria, including being on track to miss too much school.

A critical piece in working to solve this issue is the Interim Study Committee on Education, which wrapped up its final meeting of the 2024 interim last month.

After in-depth discussions and heard from education experts, the committee approved several recommendations to continue addressing the student absenteeism problem, including:

• Studying the rationale used by local schools to differentiate between excused an unexcused absences;
• Studying the basis for student suspensions or expulsions categorized as "other" by schools;
• Considering preventing districts from suspending or expelling students who are chronically absent; and
• Having schools use the state's early warning dashboard for students at risk of dropping out.

Ensuring Hoosier students get the best opportunities to learn is a top priority for Senate Republicans, and it all starts with being present in the classroom. To learn more about what the state is doing to lower chronic absenteeism, click here.