States / Alabama

Chronic absence in Alabama

Where things stand, what state rules ask of each role, and what is changing. For school and district leaders.

School year 2024-25

12%

of students were chronically absent¹

Chronically absent means miss 10 percent or more of the school year.¹

U.S. rate: 22.6% (2024-25)²

Five-year trend

Alabama, year by year

Alabama chronic absence by school year
School year	Chronically absent
2019-20	not published
2020-21	8%
2021-22	18%
2022-23	17.9%
2023-24	15%
2024-25	12%

Dashed bars mark years the state did not publish a rate.

Where things stand

The numbers

In 2024-25, 12% of Alabama students were chronically absent, according to AEI's compilation of state-reported data¹.
That is down from 15% in 2023-24 and 18% in 2021-22¹.
The state education department reported a 17.9% rate for 2022-2023 on the state report card³.
Alabama counts a student as chronically absent after missing 18 or more days of school for any reason, excused or unexcused^11,5.
Alabama's rate is well below the national one: 12% in 2024-25, compared with 22.6% for the US in 2024-25^1,2.
The state education department says a national report shows Alabama has one of the lowest absenteeism rates in the U.S.¹².

Requirements by role

What state rules ask of each role

Teachers

The principal and teachers at each public school must keep an attendance register showing enrollment and every absence of a half day or more on each school day of the year; state guidance says the roll must be checked daily and each absence recorded⁷.
In the state's attendance codes, a student counts as present when on campus at least 51% of the day⁷.
Excused absences still count toward chronic absence: a doctor's or nurse's excuse, or an absence the principal approves, is marked as counting on the chronic absenteeism indicator, and the manual urges extreme caution with administrator-approved absences because they add to chronic absence⁷.

Counselors

A student over 17 may withdraw before graduating if a parent or guardian gives written consent and an exit interview is held that advises the student and parent that leaving will likely lower future earnings and raise the chance of unemployment¹⁰.
During that exit interview, the student must be given the state education department's information on the harm of leaving school early, along with any available training and employment programs, if that information is available¹⁰.
State guidance describes districts matching interventions to students with as few as two absences, excused or unexcused⁷.
The state manual says interventions before the required early warning steps are necessary, and it offers a sample conference form to address the academic, social and behavioral issues that keep a student from attending⁷.

Attendance team

Parents must explain every absence in writing within three school days after the child returns; a missing explanation is evidence that the child was truant each day absent, and an absence the principal finds unexcused under the state attendance manual also counts as truant⁸.
After the first unexcused absence, the principal or designee must tell the parent the student was truant and on what date, give the parent a copy of the state's compulsory attendance laws, and explain the penalties and the steps that follow further unexcused absences⁸.
No earlier than the fifth unexcused absence, the parent must attend a conference with the attendance officer and the principal or designee and/or take part in the juvenile court's early warning program; attending is mandatory unless prior arrangements were made or there is an emergency, and not appearing leads to a complaint or petition against the parent for failure to cooperate, or a truancy complaint against the child, whichever is appropriate⁸.
No earlier than the seventh unexcused absence, but within ten school days, a complaint or petition is filed against the child and/or parent if appropriate; seven unexcused absences in a school year make a student truant for a court petition, and districts may adopt stricter policies⁸.
Where the attendance officer finds no valid reason for non-attendance, the officer must give the parent a written notice requiring the child to attend within three days; if the parent is not home, the notice may be left with a resident over 12 to hand to the parent⁷.

Principals & districts

Principals must report to the superintendent any parent of a child enrolled in public school who fails to require the child to attend regularly, or to behave as the board's written behavior policy requires where that conduct is documented by the appropriate school official and may result in suspension; the superintendent or designee must report suspected violations to the district attorney within 10 days, and intentionally failing to report is a Class C misdemeanor⁹.
Each local board must adopt a written behavior policy that includes a copy of this attendance and behavior law; the superintendent must give it to every parent at the start of each school year, and the student's and parent's signatures document receipt⁹.
County boards must divide the county (outside cities) into attendance districts and appoint an attendance officer for each, city boards must appoint one or more, and every attendance officer must hold a certificate from the State Superintendent of Education⁷.
Attendance officers must keep records of all notices served, cases prosecuted and other services, and report them annually to their board; state guidance says the district sets the report's format, to include suspensions and the number of chronically absent and truant students by school and grade⁷.
The superintendent or designee must notify the Department of Public Safety, under the state's attendance and driving rules, of students aged 16 to 19 with more than 10 consecutive or 15 cumulative days of unexcused absences in a single semester, and of students who requested enrollment status but are not enrolled, and must tell the student about any such report⁸.

Recent changes

What changed lately

September 2024: the state education department committed to reducing chronic absenteeism in Alabama by 50% in five years³.
August 2025: the State Board of Education noted that it and the department had accepted the National Attendance Challenge to reduce chronic absenteeism by 50% over five years, and said Alabama reduced chronic absenteeism by 3.06% on the 2024 State Report Card¹¹.
2026-27: the state education department issued a new Alabama Attendance Manual to guide district attendance officers and schools⁷.

Accountability

How the state holds schools to it

Chronic absenteeism is an indicator in both Alabama's state A-F system and its federal accountability system: it is worth 15% of the score for schools without a grade 12 and 10% for schools with a grade 12, districts and the state^4,5.
The indicator is the share of K-12 students who missed 18 or more days of school, excused and unexcused, and it is reported as a school quality indicator on the report card^5,7.
Rates are calculated for each student group with at least 20 students, but only the all-students rate counts toward a school's points⁴.
A school without at least 20 students to compute chronic absenteeism or academic achievement gets "ID" (insufficient data) instead of a letter grade⁴.
The state's goal is to cut the chronic absenteeism rate to no more than 5% by 2030 for all districts, schools and the state⁷.
In preliminary fall 2025 federal results, the state earned 8.80 of 10 possible chronic absenteeism points, up from 8.52 in 2024⁶.

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Sources

American Enterprise Institute (Nat Malkus). From Attendance Crisis to Chronic Condition? Tracking Post-Pandemic Chronic Absenteeism into 2025, Table A3. State-Reported Chronic Absenteeism Data, by State, School Years 2017-25 (columns 2017 to 2025 by spring year; the last value is 2025 = the 2024-25 school year; rates rounded to whole percent) (opens in a new tab) (2026-06-30)
American Enterprise Institute (Nat Malkus). From Attendance Crisis to Chronic Condition? Tracking Post-Pandemic Chronic Absenteeism into 2025 (opens in a new tab) (2026-06-30)
Alabama State Department of Education. Alabama State Department of Education Announces Commitment to Tackle Student Chronic Absenteeism (news release, September 9, 2024) (opens in a new tab) (2024-09-09)
Alabama State Department of Education. Fall 2025 Alabama State Accountability System Technical Guide (opens in a new tab) (2025-10-21)
Alabama State Department of Education. Fall 2025 Alabama Federal Accountability System Technical Guide (opens in a new tab) (2025-10-23)
Alabama State Department of Education. Fall 2025 Accountability Release: Preliminary Data (State Board of Education presentation; federal reporting system table) (opens in a new tab) (2025-12-18)
Alabama State Department of Education. 2026-2027 Alabama Attendance Manual (state guidance; quotes Ala. Code sections with their authority) (opens in a new tab) (2026-10-05)
Legal Information Institute (Cornell Law School), Alabama Administrative Code. Ala. Admin. Code r. 290-3-1-.02 (State Board of Education rule; truancy definition and Early Warning timeline at (7)(c); attendance and driving rules at (7)(b)(1)) (opens in a new tab) (2026-10-13 (accessed))
FindLaw (Alabama Code, current as of December 30, 2024). Code of Ala. § 16-28-12 (parent responsibility for attendance and behavior; school officials required to report noncompliance) (opens in a new tab) (2024-12-30)
FindLaw (Alabama Code, current as of December 30, 2024). Code of Ala. § 16-28-3.1 (guidelines and procedures for withdrawal from school) (opens in a new tab) (2024-12-30)
Alabama State Board of Education. Resolution Recognizing September 2025 as Attendance Awareness Month in Alabama (opens in a new tab) (2025-08-14)
Alabama State Department of Education. Daily School Attendance and Classroom Engagement Remain Top Priorities for 2025-2026 Academic Year (news release, September 2, 2025) (opens in a new tab) (2025-09-02)