Getting students back into classroom, leaders work to address chronic absenteeism
MINNEAPOLIS — An emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic, more and more students are not going to school.
Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10% of school days in a given year. State figures show in 2019, the absentee rate in Minnesota schools was 14%. In 2022, that figure more than doubled to 30%. Among Black and Latino students, 40% of students are now chronically absent. For Native American students, that figure is about 51%.
The rising absenteeism rate is getting some blame for falling test scores and an increase in juvenile crime.
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"If we don't give kids something constructive to do, they're gonna find something destructive to do," said DFL Sen. Steve Cwodzinski, who taught school in Eden Prairie for 33 years.
Cwodzinski is the chair of the Minnesota Senate Finance Committee and is proposing a bill to reward districts that find innovative ways to get kids back in class.
"Coming up with creative, clever, witty, intelligent ideas on how to, you know, get carved into this absenteeism thing," Cwodzinski said.
Republican Sen. Julia Coleman says Democrats have put too many strings on school funding, so existing funds can't help with the problem.
"I do think dollars can help. But we have to free them up so that the school districts, which are unique in every single part of the state, can uniquely tackle this issue," Coleman said.
The kids who miss school are often picked up by police. In Hennepin County, they end up in the Safe Communities program.
"We work with the link, which is a community agency who does a lot of work with youth. And they both have staff that greets youth when they come in, and they have case managers doing follow-up work," said Don Ryan, a program administrator with Safe Communities.
In Ramsey County, police and the county attorney's office work together to keep truants from slipping into criminal activity.
"I don't think that a punitive approach is going to work. But what will work is when community and school districts can get the resources that they need to tackle this issue," said Ramsey County Attorney John Choi.
With rising numbers, resources are spread thin to engage with these youths.
"That's always the problem is we can always use more resources," Ryan said.
Talking Points airs every Wednesday and Thursday at 6:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., live on CBS News Minnesota.
NOTE: Above is a preview of Talking Points presented on "The 4."