Education officials in Mississippi plan to use the month of September to further promote children being in the classroom.
The Mississippi Department of Education is encouraging all of its schools and stakeholders to recognize September as Attendance Awareness Month. With school already having started back across the state, the department is also urging education leaders to brush up on new attendance laws that went into effect over the summer.
Earlier this year, lawmakers passed the Mississippi Compulsory School Attendance Law within a larger bill that also included a teacher pay raise. The bill went into law on July 1. The attendance portion included stricter enforcement of school policies in order to curb chronic absenteeism, including:
- Active monitoring of chronic absenteeism
- Required parent notification beginning at three excused or unexcused absences
- Required tiered intervention strategies for students at risk of chronic absenteeism
- New attendance reporting expectations
- Referrals to School Attendance Officers (SAO) at required unlawful absence thresholds. An unlawful absence occurs if a student misses at least 33% of the student’s school day or all day and does not turn in a valid excuse by the school district’s timeframe.
- Requirement that unlawful absences be reported to the SAO by the end of the next business day after they become unlawful, in accordance with district policy
Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10% of the school year for any reason, including excused and unexcused absences and suspensions. Students who miss two days of school each month of a school year are considered chronically absent. Research shows that students absent 2-4 days in September go on to miss nearly a month of school, the department of education said.
Mississippi’s latest chronic absenteeism rate was at 27.6% in the 2024-25 school year, an increase from 24.4% in 2023-24. MDE began reporting chronic absence data in 2016. The lowest rate on record was 13% in 2018-19. The chronic absenteeism report for 2025-26 will be released in September.
Also included in the new state law is a Compulsory School Attendance Enforcement and Dropout Prevention unit tasked with ensuring all Mississippi public school students attend school. School attendance officers work to connect with families and help them eliminate barriers to school attendance.
“Students’ academic and career success hinges on being present and engaged in learning, and we must do all we can to identify and remove barriers to students attending school regularly,” State Superintendent of Education Dr. Lance Evans said. “As the MDE gives guidance to districts regarding the updated attendance law, we encourage parents and community members to understand the changes as well.”
In September, the state of Mississippi will promote its “Every School Day Counts – Attend to Achieve” campaign to highlight the benefits of regular school attendance and emphasize prevention of chronic absenteeism.
The Mississippi Department of Education will also host the Mississippi Attendance Leadership Summit Sept. 30 through Oct. 2 at the Lake Terrace Convention Center in Hattiesburg. The event will bring together educational leaders, attendance professionals, community partners, and youth advocates from across the state to explore proven strategies that improve student attendance, increase engagement, and boost graduation outcomes.