{"id":3228,"date":"2026-07-08T11:03:24","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T11:03:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=3228"},"modified":"2026-07-08T11:03:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T11:03:24","slug":"tucson-usd-chronic-absenteeism-worse-than-nearly-every-other-district-in-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=3228","title":{"rendered":"Tucson USD chronic absenteeism worse than nearly every other district in state"},"content":{"rendered":"
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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.<\/p>\n

Read more DOJ threatens criminal prosecution of Arizona election staff over non-citizen votes<\/a><\/p>\n

Even as other Arizona districts recover from pandemic-era attendance declines, more students are absent from TUSD.<\/p>\n

The most recent state data available shows 44% of TUSD students \u2014 nearly 18,000 \u2014 are chronically absent, meaning they miss 10% of the school year.<\/p>\n

TUSD\u2019s rate is worse than Sunnyside, Nogales, Flowing Wells, and Mesa Unified, Arizona\u2019s largest district. Within one year, TUSD\u2019s chronic absenteeism rate spiked 10%.<\/p>\n

Impact on students and teachers<\/b><\/h3>\n

One TUSD teacher, who asked to remain anonymous, said the trend is affecting classroom instruction.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are certain students who are absent very often, and they miss so much, and they fall so far behind, that it\u2019s just kind of impossible to get them caught up to where they need to be,\u201d the teacher said.<\/p>\n

The teacher also said the pattern affects school culture. \u201cIt kind of creates a culture of permissiveness when it comes to absenteeism,\u201d the teacher said.<\/p>\n

Experts link chronic absenteeism to low test scores, low literacy rates, and high teacher turnover.<\/p>\n

Board member raises concerns<\/b><\/h3>\n

TUSD Board Member Val Romero said the issue extends to students who attend regularly.<\/p>\n

Read more Mount Lemmon placed under Stage 3 water restrictions again<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat 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,\u201d Romero said.<\/p>\n

Romero also expressed frustration with the district\u2019s approach to change. \u201cOne of the discouraging things to me is, \u2018well, we\u2019ve always done things that way,\u2019 and that seems to be a TUSD motto,\u201d Romero said.<\/p>\n

District response<\/b><\/h3>\n

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 \u201ca critical bridge from the school to that home piece.\u201d<\/p>\n

Critics say the effort falls short. The anonymous teacher said, \u201cAll I could say is whatever they\u2019re doing, it\u2019s not enough, it\u2019s not okay\u2026I would have some serious concerns about sending my children there.\u201d<\/p>\n

TUSD declined to comment or provide an interview when contacted for this story.<\/p>\n

Isabela Lisco<\/b><\/u><\/i> is a <\/i>Report for America<\/b><\/u><\/i> corpsmember covering education solutions for 13 News. Her position is made possible through funding from Report for America and the <\/i>Arizona Local News Foundation\u2019s<\/b><\/u><\/i> Arizona Community Collaborative Fund.<\/i><\/p>\n

Are you streaming 13 News?<\/p>\n

Watch a free live stream of Tucson Now and 13 News at TucsonNow.Live.<\/p>\n

Be sure to download the free Tucson Now app, which you can find on Apple and Google.<\/p>\n

If you are using a desktop computer, you can use your mobile device to scan the QR code below.<\/p>\n

Read more Pima County trails stay open during extreme heat despite recent hiker deaths<\/a><\/p>\n

You can submit your breaking news or weather images here.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nearly half of students in Tucson Unified School District are chronically absent, and state data shows the problem is getting worse.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3227,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nTucson USD chronic absenteeism worse than nearly every other district in state - Tucson Moving Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=3228\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tucson USD chronic absenteeism worse than nearly every other district in state - 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