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Ohio鈥檚 chronic absenteeism rate has been trending downward in recent years, but still remains higher than it was pre-pandemic. 

The statewide chronic absenteeism rate 鈥� missing 10% or more of school hours for any reason 鈥� was , according to the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce. 

Ohio鈥檚 chronic absenteeism rate in recent years, according to ODEW: 

• 2024-25 鈥� 24.9%
• 2023-24 鈥� 25.6% 
• 2022-23 鈥� 26.8%
• 2021-22 鈥� 30.2% 
• 2020-21 鈥� 24% 
• 2019-20 鈥� 11.2% 
• 2018-19 鈥� 16.7% 
• 2017-18 鈥� 16%

鈥淭he incremental improvements are less and less,鈥� said Arya Ansari, faculty associate at Ohio State University鈥檚 Crane Center for Early Childhood Research and Policy.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to settle. We don鈥檛 want this curve to completely flatten. We want to continue to improve.鈥� 

He hopes the state鈥檚 chronic absenteeism rate can drop back down to pre-pandemic levels in the next five to ten years.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not going to be next year,鈥� Ansari said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not going to be the following year. So I think it鈥檚 a more moderate to longer-term outlook. 鈥� There鈥檚 not a single solution that鈥檚 going to move the needle to where we were pre-COVID.鈥�

Students who are chronically absent do less well academically, socially, and behaviorally, Ansari said. 

A school day missed is equivalent to 2.5 days of lost math learning and 1.5 days of lost language and literacy learning, according to a . 

鈥淣ot every day is created equal, and a lot of learning happens while kids are in the classroom academically,鈥� Ansari said. 

鈥淯nfortunately it鈥檚 not as if kids just miss a day and that鈥檚 it. Kids miss considerably more than that.鈥�

There is often a snowball effect when it comes to chronic absenteeism, he said. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to get students to catch up,鈥� Ansari said. 

A lot has to go right for a student to show up to school. 

鈥淯nderlying a lot of these barriers is poverty, which contributes to things like housing instability, food insecurity, physical and mental health of the child and of the family,鈥� Ansari said. 

鈥淪chool hours don鈥檛 necessarily map onto families who work evening shifts or multiple jobs.鈥�

These Ohio school districts had the highest chronic absenteeism rates in Ohio for the 2025-26 school year, according to ODEW: 

1. Garfield Heights City Schools (Cuyahoga County) 鈥� 61.9% 
2. Youngstown City Schools (Mahoning County) 鈥� 56.7% 
3. Lorain City Schools (Lorain County) 鈥�  56.5%
4. Cleveland Municipal Schools (Cuyahoga County) 鈥� 54.2% 
5. East Cleveland City Schools (Cuyahoga County) 鈥� 54.2%
6. North College Hill City Schools (Hamilton County) 鈥� 54% 
7. Columbus City Schools (Franklin County) 鈥� 53.8% 
8. Mt. Healthy City Schools (Hamilton County) 鈥� 53.1% 
9. Lockland Local Schools (Hamilton County)  鈥� 50.1% 
10. New Miami Local Schools (Butler County) 鈥� 44.7%

Columbus City Schools Superintendent Angela Chapman 鈥渂elieves reducing absenteeism is one of the best ways to improve student education and scores on tests, report cards and graduation,鈥� district spokesperson Michael Brown said in an email. 

鈥淓ven a few days of missed school can hold a student back from their learning journey, from the first days of kindergarten through graduation.鈥� 

Columbus City Schools, the state鈥檚 largest district with about 45,000 students, saw a slight increase in chronic absenteeism during the 2025-26 school year, up from 52.6% in 2024-25. The district鈥檚 chronic absenteeism rate was 65% during the 2021-22 school year. 

Prior to COVID-19, the district had a 32.7% chronic absenteeism rate for the 2019-20 school year. 

Stay in the Game! Attendance Network works with more than to improve school attendance. It is managed by Battelle Education and was founded in 2019 by the Cleveland Browns Foundation, ODEW, and Harvard鈥檚 Proving Ground.

鈥淪tudents who have never been chronically absent are about three and a half times more likely to be able to read on grade level at the end of the third grade,鈥� said Janet Walton, network director for the Stay in the Game! Attendance Network. 

There was a shift in the value of school attendance during the COVID-19 pandemic, Walton said. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 about helping (school districts) to identify student groups who are maybe struggling with chronic absenteeism, and then try to find out what the root cause is there, and really intentionally planning some interventions that address that,鈥� she said.

鈥淲e鈥檙e seeing decreases, and we鈥檙e really pleased about that. But I think we know now we are in this for the long haul.鈥�

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Ohio Capital Journal maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor David Dewitt for questions: [email protected].

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