Jefferson County Schools Struggle with Chronic Absenteeism Issues
School officials discuss citations for falling short of state benchmarks
The Spirit of Jefferson | Thursday, October 31, 2024
At a Jefferson County Board of Education meeting, Superintendent Chuck Bishop highlighted the district's failure to meet certain performance benchmarks in the state’s 2024 County Approval Status and Accreditation Report, published by The Spirit of Jefferson. Notably, Jefferson County Schools has a chronic absenteeism rate of 22.4%, exceeding the 20% threshold set by the state Board of Education. The state's definition categorizes a student as 'chronically absent' if they miss 10% or more of the school year, equating to 18 or more days out of a 180-day school year.
