​Why School Absences Have ‘Exploded’ Almost Everywhere
www.nytimes.com
The pandemic changed families’ lives and the culture of education: “Our relationship with school became optional.”

Nationally, an estimated 26 percent of public school students were considered chronically absent last school year, up from 15 percent before the pandemic, according to the most recent data, from 40 states and Washington, D.C., compiled by the conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute. Chronic absence is typically defined as missing at least 10 percent of the school year, or about 18 days, for any reason.