Benchmarking Supportive Attendance Practices

State profiles aimed at improving attendance by addressing mental health and social-emotional learning (SEL) supports, improving learning environments, and engaging community partners

States and districts across the United States face challenges maintaining strong attendance in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, states and districts have moved away from traditional law enforcement-focused approaches to truancy due to research suggesting that punitive approaches may be less effective in encouraging school attendance and lead to long-term negative consequences for students and families. In this report, Hanover Research (Hanover) reviews recent state practices focused on addressing attendance challenges. The report consists of state profiles aimed at improving attendance by addressing mental health and social-emotional learning (SEL) supports, improving learning environments, and engaging community partners. Within, Hanover also provides links to resources developed by state education agencies and partner organizations.

Recommendations

Based on the findings, Hanover suggests district leaders consider the following recommendations:

• Use data to identify the root causes, especially causes linked to students’ and families’ mental health and SEL needs, in addressing attendance challenges and plan appropriate responses. Across states, guidance on addressing attendance challenges emphasizes there is no single strategy that will be effective in all cases, because attendance challenges may reflect a variety of root causes associated with the student, family, school, or community. Effective attendance teams analyze attendance data to identify root causes and plan interventions to address these causes. For example, New Jersey developed a data-based decision-making process attendance teams can use to review attendance data and plan interventions for individual students, classrooms, and the school.
• Integrate attendance supports into a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) that addresses barriers to attendance such as mental health challenges, school climate issues, and lack of awareness of the importance of attendance. For example, New Jersey, New Mexico, and Virginia recommend districts adopt an MTSS structure for attendance or integrate attendance supports into a comprehensive MTSS. MTSS ensures that all students receive the level of support they need, with universal supports creating a positive school climate and ensuring awareness of the importance of attendance and targeted or intensive support, including mental health resources, for students who face barriers to attendance.
• Conduct outreach to families to build positive relationships and identify students’ mental health and SEL needs. Several states identify family outreach as an essential strategy to ensure families have the resources they need to support attendance and to engage families as partners in supporting attendance. Connecticut’s Learner Engagement and Attendance Program (LEAP), which relies on home visits to build positive school-family relationships, has demonstrated a significant positive effect on attendance for participating students.
• Engage constituents across the district and community in identifying challenges and solutions for attendance. States profiled in this report leverage expertise and resources of community partners to support attendance improvement efforts. For example, the Illinois Department of Human Services and Chicago Public Schools collaborate with three organizations that work with young people in Chicago to support the Back to Our Future program, while the Ohio Department of Education works with higher education partners, sports teams, the juvenile justice system, and other community partners to support an awareness campaign and identify best practices for improving attendance.