Alarming Absenteeism: What New York's Schools Are Hiding

If you could just wipe out all the bad stuff that happens at your school. That’s kind of what New York State’s education department is trying to do with absenteeism rates. Recently, the state comptroller sounded the alarm: too many kids are missing school since the pandemic hit. The solution from the State Education Department (SED)? Stop reporting the numbers! They want schools to offer free breakfast and talk more to parents, but they also plan to hide the data by switching to an "attendance indicator." This isn't just about students being late or skipping a day here and there; it’s about kids who miss a lot of school. And guess what? These are often the same kids who struggle in other ways too, like getting into trouble or having drug problems later on. SED says they want to focus on smaller issues, but really, this switch just makes it harder to see how bad things have gotten. It's like trying to fix a leaky roof by ignoring the drips and hoping no one notices the puddle!