School board candidates face a chronic problem: chronic absenteeism

By Michael Murphy

Maryland public schools’ chronic absenteeism rate has dropped for four straight years, but school board candidates across the state said the problem is far from solved.

State Superintendent of Schools Carey M. Wright said earlier this fall that the rate fell to 22.8% for the 2025-26 school year, down from a pandemic-era peak of 30.9% in 2021-22.

A student who misses 10% of school days or more in an academic year is considered chronically absent. Even with the improvement, the rate remains above prepandemic levels, and the story looks different depending on the county.

Candidates in local school board elections across Maryland weighed in on the problem in the Local News Network’s 2026 school board candidate questionnaire. Asked how big a problem absenteeism is in their districts and what, if anything, the board of education can do about it, many candidates expressed serious concerns about the issue.

On the Eastern Shore, Kent County school board candidate Zeke Falcon said, “Absenteeism is a significant concern because missed school quickly becomes missed instruction, weaker relationships with teachers and peers, and a greater risk of falling behind or disengaging altogether.”

Baltimore City candidate Kwame Jamal Kenyatta-Bey echoed that sentiment, saying, “Chronic absenteeism is one of the most serious challenges facing Baltimore City Public Schools because attendance is the gateway to every other educational outcome.”

While candidates in some districts said they see progress being made, Montgomery County candidate Brenda Diaz called chronic absenteeism one of the county’s “quiet academic crises.”

She summarized the issue by saying, “A child who is not in class cannot catch up in reading or algebra, no matter how large the budget, no matter how dedicated the teacher.”

A long-term problem

Across the country, chronic absenteeism increased during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, and Maryland was no exception. The Maryland State Department of Education reported an 18.9% statewide chronic absenteeism rate in 2020, which ballooned to 30.9% in 2022.

“The pandemic disrupted routines, family stability and students’ connection to school, and many families are still working to rebuild predictable attendance habits,” said Baltimore County candidate Stacy McNish.

The state has not released a county-by-county breakdown of chronic absenteeism for the 2025-26 school year yet, but its 2024-25 data shows several clear outliers. Baltimore City had a 46.4% chronic absenteeism rate that year, while Frederick County had the lowest in the state at 16.7%.

Two Eastern Shore counties, Dorchester and Somerset, had the second- and third-highest rates, while Allegany County in Western Maryland had the fourth highest. Worcester, Calvert and Howard counties joined Frederick as the jurisdictions with the lowest chronic absenteeism rates.

Chronic absenteeism affects certain student groups more than others. According to department data from the 2024-25 school year, Hispanic/Latino students (31.1%) and Black students (30.5%) were far more likely to be chronically absent than white (18.2%) and Asian students (13.1%).

Household income is also tied to chronic absenteeism. Economically disadvantaged students had a 36% chronic absenteeism rate in 2024-25, compared to the 25.2% statewide average.

The pattern holds at the local level. The four jurisdictions with the highest chronic absenteeism rates in 2024-25 — Baltimore City and Dorchester, Somerset and Allegany counties — are also the four with the lowest median household incomes in Maryland, ranging from $59,603 to $64,943, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020-2024 American Community Survey five-year estimates.

Why students miss school

As for the causes of chronic absenteeism, candidates across the state pointed to many of the same things.

Two Baltimore City candidates, Jamar Day and Domonique Flowers, cited transportation as a major issue.

Day said the school board needs to push for “the transportation overhaul our students need to get to class ready to learn.” Flowers also called transportation a major barrier for city families, and suggested home visits along with stronger communication between schools, students and parents.

Transportation is also an issue in more rural counties. Harford County candidate Shernice Mundell and Somerset County candidate Sharyn Yuloff listed transportation as an obstacle their students and families face.

Suburban counties are no exception to transportation-related struggles. Prince George’s County candidates Tyra Janet Bennett, Terence J. Clegg Sr. and Jamie McGonnigal all cited transportation as an issue causing chronic absenteeism in their county.

McGonnigal added the Prince George’s County school system too often “responds to absenteeism by threatening families or treating parents as if they are the problem,” which, he said, can punish families dealing with “unreliable transportation.”

Another issue candidates said contributes to chronic absenteeism is instability and problems at home.

“It’s important to remember that many issues like absenteeism often begin at home,” said Harford County candidate Joseph Alton Jr. He suggested the board make parents more aware of the issue and help them get their students back into the classroom.

Day said Baltimore City’s absenteeism problem is rooted in access to stable housing, and families respond better to personal outreach than general statements about the issue.

Charles County candidate Jason Henry highlighted the issues students in rural areas in his county face at home.

“Many students often lack access to essentials such as food, clean running water, electricity and high-speed internet — things that many of us may take for granted,” he said.

Suggested solutions

Despite these problems, candidates suggested plenty of solutions.

Day suggested the board “treat attendance as a systemwide priority, not a school-by-school afterthought.”

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Flowers, meanwhile, suggested the opposite, saying the board should start by focusing on schools that have the highest absenteeism rates before taking a systemwide approach.

Day and Kenyatta-Bey also called for transparent attendance data. Day wants the district held accountable for real-time data rather than waiting for year-end reports.

Outside the city, Baltimore County schools have seen success in lowering their chronic absenteeism rate. Candidate Lisa Mack credits a change the school board made.

Four years ago, the district implemented its “Here For It” attendance campaign, which includes targeted messaging and other strategies to encourage attendance. The program also aims to identify and address the causes of absenteeism, and provide support for students and families at risk of chronic absenteeism.

“As a result, in 2024, BCPS had the largest percentage decrease in chronic absenteeism at nearly 6.3%,” Mack said.

Some lower-income districts such as Wicomico County are also experiencing success in lowering their chronic absenteeism rates through attendance campaigns.

Wicomico County school board candidate David Plotts gave credit to his county’s “Arrive to Thrive” campaign, which spreads awareness of chronic absenteeism through billboards, informational cards, public service announcements and constant positive communication with families.

“It’s working,” Plotts said. “We’ve seen our attendance rate increase over the past few years from 89% to 93%.”

In order to continue lowering the chronic absenteeism rate, Plotts said “schools must continue to communicate clearly with families, consistently enforce attendance expectations, connect families with community resources and recognize improved attendance.”

In her Sept. 10 announcement, State Superintendent Wright also introduced a new statewide campaign similar to “Here For It,” called “Maryland Shows Up!,” which will bring several key changes.

“Maryland Shows Up!” will include monthly attendance monitoring, which the state Department of Education started recording in September 2025. The campaign has a new statewide attendance policy framework, which requires every local school system to have a comprehensive attendance policy. It will also provide additional resources to schools and student groups with higher levels of chronic absence.

The campaign will also introduce new preventive measures to curb chronic absenteeism, such as earlier intervention when a student is at risk of being chronically absent, cross-department attendance teams, more family alerts and outreach, and a call to collect information from families about why students are chronically absent.

Several candidates mentioned the need for such programs, but Kenyatta-Bey, of Baltimore City, cited one more important element to trim truancy.

“Attendance is not merely a compliance issue,” he said. “It is also a measure of whether our schools are giving students a compelling reason to be there.”

Capital News Service is a student-staffed reporting service operated by the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism. Stories are available at the CNS site and may be reprinted as long as credit is given to Capital News Service and, most importantly, to the students who produced the work.