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About 24% of California’s youngest students were chronically absent in the 2024-25 school year, compared with 19% of students statewide, according to state data cited by The 74. California is expected to release 2025-26 attendance figures in October, which will give educators a first statewide look at attendance during the first year transitional kindergarten was widely available to families.
About 24% of California’s youngest students were chronically absent in the 2024-25 school year, compared with 19% of students statewide, according to state data reported by The 74. The figures show that attendance problems remain more common among transitional kindergarten and kindergarten students, and educators are watching for new statewide data expected in October.
California defines chronic absenteeism as missing 10% or more of school days in a year. In a typical 180-day school year, that amounts to about 18 days, or three and a half weeks. The rate for all California students has declined from a pandemic-era high of 30% in 2021-22, but absenteeism among the youngest students has remained comparatively high, The 74 reported.
The October release will cover the 2025-26 school year, when transitional kindergarten, or TK, was widely available to families for the first time. The statewide figures could help school officials assess attendance among children starting formal school, though they will not by themselves explain why students missed class.
Educators cited in the report said illness and adjustment to a new school routine can contribute to missed days. Some children enter TK or kindergarten without having attended preschool or another early learning program, and families may not realize how quickly occasional absences accumulate. School administrators also described uncertainty among parents about when a child with mild symptoms should stay home.
Missed Early Lessons Can Accumulate
Attendance in TK and kindergarten matters because these years introduce foundational skills and school routines, including early reading, math, writing and social interaction. Researchers cited by The 74 say chronic absenteeism in those grades is associated with later academic concerns. The report also describes research finding that children who are chronically absent in TK and kindergarten are about twice as likely to transfer to another school district; that association does not establish that absences cause a transfer.
Jessica Hull, an administrator in Roseville City School District, said early lessons build toward later academic work. For families, a few days missed during illness or adjustment may not seem consequential, but repeated absences can reach the state’s chronic-absence threshold over the course of the year. The new data will help districts see whether the gap between young students and the wider student population is narrowing or persisting.
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Pandemic Rates and District Outreach
Statewide chronic absenteeism rose to 30% in 2021-22, when schools were reopening after pandemic-related closures, with nearly 2 million California TK-12 students reported chronically absent that year. Districts then began efforts to bring students back to class. The overall rate later fell, but young students continued to have higher absence rates than students as a whole.
Roseville City School District, which serves about 12,000 students in Placer County, said its overall chronic-absence rate declined from nearly 26% in 2021-22 to 10.5% in 2024-25, according to state data. The district sent attendance letters, contacted families with frequently absent children and explained how early-grade lessons connect to skills taught in later grades. Its reported districtwide improvement does not mean the same trend occurred in every grade or district.
Last year, Roseville City focused outreach on TK and kindergarten families. The district now uses more individualized communications, according to Hull, including letters that identify a student’s absences and invite families to discuss support. The report does not provide a statewide breakdown of which outreach approaches have been most effective.
“If they are missing school, they are missing out on the building blocks, and it will impact them for the rest of their lives.”
— Jessica Hull, executive director of communication and community engagement at Roseville City School District
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What the New Figures Cannot Show
The 2025-26 statewide data have not yet been released, so it is not clear whether chronic absenteeism among TK and kindergarten students changed during the year TK became widely available. The figures reported so far also do not identify how much of the absence rate is attributable to illness, family circumstances, adjustment to school or other factors.
The report cites research linking early chronic absenteeism with later academic and school-transfer outcomes, but those findings do not establish that missing school alone caused them. It is also unclear from the available material whether the statewide rate for the youngest students will continue to fall at the same pace as the overall rate.
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October Data Will Test Attendance Trends
California is expected to release its 2025-26 chronic-absenteeism data in October. School administrators and education researchers will examine the rates for the youngest students and compare them with earlier years and the statewide figure. The release should provide a clearer measure of attendance during the first year TK was widely available, although additional analysis will be needed to explain changes and differences among districts.
In Roseville City, Hull said attendance messages are being tailored to individual families, including notices that spell out missed days and invite parents to discuss what would help. Whether those communications produce further reductions among TK and kindergarten students will depend on future attendance data.
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Key Questions
What does California count as chronic absenteeism?
A student is chronically absent after missing 10% or more of school days during the school year. In a typical 180-day year, that is about 18 days.
How did the youngest students’ attendance compare with the state overall?
About 24% of California’s youngest students were chronically absent in 2024-25, compared with 19% of students statewide, according to the state data reported by The 74.
When will California release the next statewide attendance figures?
The state is expected to release chronic-absenteeism data for the 2025-26 school year in October. The figures will cover the first year TK was widely available to families.
Why are schools focused on attendance in TK and kindergarten?
Educators say early grades introduce foundational academic skills and routines that support later learning. Research cited in The 74 links chronic absence in those grades with later academic concerns, but that association does not prove absence alone causes those outcomes.
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