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Are parents not sending their kids to school anymore? And where are the truancy officers? A teacher on Reddit asked these questions after noticing absenteeism in her school is “crazy” these days. 

The frustrated teacher offered examples of a kindergartner who comes to school maybe a couple of days a week and another student who takes Fridays off. Truancy at her school isn’t just a fluke. Studies show that in a post-pandemic USA, kids simply aren’t attending classes regularly. 

A teacher said absenteeism is ‘crazy’ nowadays and seriously asked: ‘Why aren’t parents making their kids go to school?’

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Young students are trending towards having a lackadaisical attitude toward school. Generation Alpha suffers from having, as Newsweek journalist Marni Rose McFall described it, “Short attention spans, an overdependence on technology, and a lack of interest in learning.” 

This, in addition to chronic absenteeism, makes for a frustrating school year for teachers. There doesn’t seem to be the structure that was once present in a primary student’s educational endeavors. Particularly after the pandemic, students are picking and choosing when they want to come to school. In a study of a small collection of school districts, researchers found that 22% of students (10.8 million) were chronically absent. The researchers noted that there is no consensus on why students are still truant post-pandemic, explaining, “Even several years after the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, heightened levels of chronic absenteeism continue to be one of district leaders’ top concerns.”

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Truancy is not policed as strictly as it was in the past.

As far as the question: where are the truancy officers? Truancy just isn’t as policed as it used to be. Historically, not going to school was addressed through the juvenile justice system, but in recent years, it has become more of a non-issue. That doesn’t mean attendance isn’t important for a successful education, however. Truancy can really affect a student’s future and is linked to high drop-out rates and a gateway to the school-to-prison pipeline.

Robert Balfanz, director of the Everyone Graduates Center, told the National Education Association, “​​They’re missing school for many reasons, which could include bullying, not getting the academic support they need, or a lack of health care or reliable transportation,” asserting that laziness and lack of care aren’t the main reasons why children are missing school. 

Struggling at home may be a primary cause for kids missing so much school, but the numbers point largely to an increase in absenteeism to a pandemic lifestyle. Kids just aren’t attending classes regularly, and parents don’t really seem to mind.

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‘School Refusal’ is a term used to describe a child’s aversion to school, and parents should address it rather than give in.

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A phenomenon called “school refusal” is rampant these days. School refusal doesn’t just include not going to school, but also students who resist it to the point of tardiness, visiting the school nurse constantly, and texting their parents throughout the day.

So the question remains: How do you get your kid to go to school? Dr.  Heather Jones, VP of clinical services of the Rogers system, suggests that parents need to get more involved and take the issue more seriously. They have to stop simply caving when kids are disinterested in going, and they need to seek out help from professionals if the problem persists into anxiety.  

Kids who regularly attend classes are struggling to learn at their designated grade levels. Allowing kids to skip class just because they don’t want to go doesn’t help with that problem, and teachers are at their breaking point.

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Laura Lomas is a writer with a Master’s degree in English and Creative Writing who focuses on news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.