Florida might have been among the first states to reopen its schools following the COVID-19 outbreak, but the state is exhibiting symptoms of a national plague that has worsened since the virus’s debut: school absenteeism.
That’s the news that the House Education Subcommittee received during a presentation from three consultants and a Florida Department of Education official this week.
Republican Rep. Dana Trabulsy of Fort Pierce noted that 30% of the state’s students — that’s about 987,000 students — are chronically absent from school. That’s broadly defined as when kids miss 10% of school — or 18 days a year — of the prescribed 180 days that make an academic year.
“This is not a small number,” Trabulsy said, noting that she didn’t know about how bad it was until about 16 months ago.
