By admin 
TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – Nearly half of students in Tucson Unified School District are chronically absent, and state data shows the problem is getting worse.
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Even as other Arizona districts recover from pandemic-era attendance declines, more students are absent from TUSD.
The most recent state data available shows 44% of TUSD students — nearly 18,000 — are chronically absent, meaning they miss 10% of the school year.
TUSD’s rate is worse than Sunnyside, Nogales, Flowing Wells, and Mesa Unified, Arizona’s largest district. Within one year, TUSD’s chronic absenteeism rate spiked 10%.
Impact on students and teachers
One TUSD teacher, who asked to remain anonymous, said the trend is affecting classroom instruction.
“There are certain students who are absent very often, and they miss so much, and they fall so far behind, that it’s just kind of impossible to get them caught up to where they need to be,” the teacher said.
The teacher also said the pattern affects school culture. “It kind of creates a culture of permissiveness when it comes to absenteeism,” the teacher said.
Experts link chronic absenteeism to low test scores, low literacy rates, and high teacher turnover.
Board member raises concerns
TUSD Board Member Val Romero said the issue extends to students who attend regularly.
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“What encouragement does it have to the student that goes to class every single day, five days a week, on time, doing the homework, doing the presentations, and they get the same grade as students doing credit recovery,” Romero said.
Romero also expressed frustration with the district’s approach to change. “One of the discouraging things to me is, ‘well, we’ve always done things that way,’ and that seems to be a TUSD motto,” Romero said.
District response
In May, TUSD announced plans to collect better attendance data and expand the role of 37 community liaisons, who can contact families when a student is frequently absent. At the Ma 26th Board Meeting, an official described the liaisons as “a critical bridge from the school to that home piece.”
Critics say the effort falls short. The anonymous teacher said, “All I could say is whatever they’re doing, it’s not enough, it’s not okay…I would have some serious concerns about sending my children there.”
TUSD declined to comment or provide an interview when contacted for this story.
Isabela Lisco is a Report for America corpsmember covering education solutions for 13 News. Her position is made possible through funding from Report for America and the Arizona Local News Foundation’s Arizona Community Collaborative Fund.
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