LACOE has partnered with school districts to develop the Attendance Playbook to help you to create and strengthen systems in support of student attendance.
September is Attendance Awareness Month, recognizing that regular school attendance is essential to student achievement. School districts and charter schools are encouraged to create attendance awareness campaigns that meet the diverse and unique needs of their educational partners.
Attendance is the backbone of a myriad of factors that contribute to academic achievement and the holistic development of children and adolescents. Chronic absenteeism is one of the leading indicators of a student being at risk of dropping out. Absenteeism rates are also tied to lower graduation rates, further narrowing career and academic prospects for these students.
In August 2025, LACOE partnered with the Los Angeles Department of Public Health (LADPH) to launch a coordinated effort to boost student attendance and provide families with the tools they need to help children thrive in school. We also introduced a new Attendance Awareness Toolkit and the updated Student Attendance Playbook.
By leveraging the resources below, we can take proactive measures to bolster attendance, thereby ensuring a more promising future for students.
Let Me Add to That Podcast: School Attendance is Everybody's Responsibility
Ed Buzz: Attendance Awareness
Student Attendance Playbook
An Exploration of Chronic Absenteeism in L.A. County
Attendance Awareness Month Campaign Toolkit
Back to School and Beyond Toolkit
Resources for School Districts on Attendance Awareness
Child Welfare and Attendance website
Attendance Works: A national and state initiative that promotes awareness around the importance of attendance. Their website offers toolkits, webinars and data research.
CA Safe and Supportive Schools: Provides research, webinars and strategies to encourage collaboration between California local educational agencies (LEAs) and their communities to foster safe, healthy, and supportive learning environments.
EveryDay Labs: Provides various resources and support to foster a culture of attendance.
California Department of Education: Has three elements to reinforce regular school attendance: prevention, early identification and intervention.
Dr. Debra Duardo’s commentary: “To improve attendance, we must build connection, understanding and community.”
National Center for Education Statistics (NCES): Provides extensive statistical data on school attendance, useful for analytical insights.
U.S. Department of Education: Offers grants and resources aimed at reducing chronic absenteeism.
California Department of Education: Chronic Absenteeism Indicator and Strategies and Activities to Improve School Attendance
Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE): Provides research, policy and practices to achieve improvement in student performance and more equitable outcomes for students.
Attendance Posters: A collaborative effort between LACOE and the Department of Public Health to focus on improving student attendance.
EdSource: California joins effort to cut chronic absenteeism in half by 2030
