[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-583075-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":81,"doc-detail-583075-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","supporting-school-attendance-for-students-in-foster-care-september-2023","Supporting School Attendance for Students in Foster Care - September 2023","","Supporting School Attendance for Students in Foster Care examines how chronic absenteeism affects students in California’s K-12 public schools, highlighting substantial instability in home placement and related barriers to learning. The report documents statewide data from the 2021-22 school year, showing high chronic absence rates, differences between excused and unexcused absences, and grade-level variation. It also connects discipline outcomes and school transfers to missed instructional time, then offers best practices for districts to improve attendance engagement and reduce obstacles.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/supporting-school-attendance-for-students-in-foster-care-september-2023/583075/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/supporting-school-attendance-for-students-in-foster-care-september-2023/583075.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"\tJames","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-30","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",10,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"How does chronic absenteeism affect students in foster care in California?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"Students in foster care experience much higher chronic absenteeism, which can reduce engagement, hinder academic performance, and make it harder to stay on track toward graduation.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"What definition does the report use for chronic absenteeism?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10% or more days of school during the school year.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"Why are suspensions, expulsions, and school transfers linked to missed learning time?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"The report explains that suspensions and expulsions add additional days missed, and frequent home placement changes lead to more school transfers, increasing school instability and further missed days.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},583075,1792160775,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,96,101,106,111,115,120,123,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":97,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":98,"show_sort_weight":99,"slug":100},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":102,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":103,"show_sort_weight":104,"slug":105},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":107,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":108,"show_sort_weight":109,"slug":110},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":112,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":113,"slug":114},8,30,"research-report",{"id":116,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":117,"show_sort_weight":118,"slug":119},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":118,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":121,"show_sort_weight":118,"slug":122},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":55,"slug":125},"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":131},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":112,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":107,"language":139,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":143,"read_time":144,"preview_page_count":4},2336474466412,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_155a257f0dc6eb9ab79c44ca47cae57d","Supporting School Attendance for Students in Foster Care  \nSeptember 2023  \nIntroduction  \nA crucial first step to academic success is being present at school and ready to learn. This is a particular challenge for students in foster care, who experience considerable home placement and school instability. Missing school for any reason impacts youth’s engagement with learning and their ability to do  \nwell in school. Chronic absence rates spiked for all students in California since the return to in-person learning during the COVID-19 pandemic , reaching historical highs in the 2021- 22 school year.1 The overall increase in chronic absence can be attributed to COVID-19 and other illnesses, the need to quarantine due to COVID-19 exposure, and heightened anxiety among students due to the pandemic and  \nexperiences of isolation. Higher rates of chronic absence are associated with declines in student academic performance. A recent analysis by the Public Policy Institute of California found that schools with greater increases in chronic absenteeism rates in the 2021-22 school year as compared with 2018- 19 saw steeper decreases in student performance in English and math, with a pronounced impact on math scores.3 Ultimately, being chronically absent from school can make it difficult for students to stay on track in school and eventually graduate.  \nEven prior to the pandemic, students in foster care faced unique challenges in their lives that can disrupt their learning. Youth in foster care have experienced the trauma of child abuse or neglect and the additional trauma of being removed from their homes, families and communities, which impacts their physical and behavioral health and well-being. Unmet mental health needs can make it difficult for students in foster care to feel motivated to attend school and focus in class. In addition, court and family visits and disproportionate school discipline disruptions cause students in foster care to miss significant class time. Due to the trauma they have experienced, the actions of students in foster care may be perceived as misbehavior, contributing to their disproportionate rates of school discipline. Furthermore, students in foster care often experience multiple changes in home placements, which translate into higher rates of school transfers compared to other high-need students, such as students in low-income households and those experiencing homelessness. These challenges negatively impact the ability of youth in foster care to succeed in school.  \nIn this brief, we explore the most recent statewide school attendance, school discipline, and school stability data for California’s students in foster care. In addition, based on conversations with school districts across the state with better-than-average chronic absence rates for students in foster care, we provide some best practices for engaging students in foster care in school and addressing their barriers to attendance.  \nWhat the Data Show  \nDuring the 2021-22 school year, there were over 43,000 students in foster care enrolled in K-12 public schools in California. Due to the unique challenges they face, students in foster care are more likely to be chronically absent from school than other high-need students. As shown in Figure 1, nearly 47 percent of youth in foster care were chronically absent during the 2021-22 school year, a rate that is one and a half times higher than for California students overall.4  \nChronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10% or more days of school  \nduring the school year.2  \nFigure 1. Chronic Absenteeism Rates by Student Group, 2021-22  \nOn average, students in foster care missed 23.5 days of school during the 2021-22 school year, compared to 16.7 average days of school missed by California students overall. In addition, students in foster care had fewer of their absences marked as excused (37.9%) compared to students overall (51.3%) .5 This is significant because California law requires that students w","cbCaifPZAb1EClsC","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaifPZAb1EClsC","pdf",671411,"English","# Introduction\n# What the Data Show\n## Chronic Absenteeism Rates by Student Group (2021-22)\n## Chronic Absenteeism by Grade Level (2021-22)\n## Suspension and Expulsion Rates (2021-22)\n## School Instability and School Transfers (2021-22)","[{\"question\":\"How does chronic absenteeism affect students in foster care in California?\",\"answer\":\"Students in foster care experience much higher chronic absenteeism, which can reduce engagement, hinder academic performance, and make it harder to stay on track toward graduation.\"},{\"question\":\"What definition does the report use for chronic absenteeism?\",\"answer\":\"Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10% or more days of school during the school year.\"},{\"question\":\"Why are suspensions, expulsions, and school transfers linked to missed learning time?\",\"answer\":\"The report explains that suspensions and expulsions add additional days missed, and frequent home placement changes lead to more school transfers, increasing school instability and further missed days.\"}]","Supporting School Attendance for Students in Foster Care - September 2023 | PDF",1792045645,18]