Vera Institute of Justice

Overview

National statistics on chronic absenteeism show that the problem peaks in adolescence, yet most existing responses are contrary to what adolescent development and school engagement research tell us and generally have little effect in getting teens to return to school. This policy brief looks at New York State’s practices responding to chronically absent teenagers, particularly reporting and investigating a teen’s parent or guardian to the child protective system for allegations of educational neglect. Vera proposes that New York rethink this response to teens missing too much school and develop more effective alternatives.