Due to the ongoing fight to reduce the impacts of COVID-19, the budget impacts of the pandemic, and the recent directive by Governor Inslee to reduce employee work hours as a cost savings measure, OSPI is closed and all staff are on mandatory furlough today. Employees will respond to inquiries as quickly as possible when the agency reopens on July 14.
See OSPI’s COVID-19 guidance and resources for educators, students, and families.
When students are not in school, they are falling behind. Chronic absenteeism impacts all students—no matter their age. Students that miss just two days a month for any reason are more likely to not read at grade level, and more likely to not graduate.
Attendance can be a signal that a student needs support. Students might be absent because of:
In this section, you will find resources to learn more about attendance, including recorded webinars, best practices, and research. Find tools & resources to help you improve attendance in your school. Order or download ready to use awareness materials, recordings & videos.
This section has guides for parents to understand that law, truancy process, and ideas for working with their school and district.
Relevant laws and data pertaining to attendance in Washington state.
Each school district must identify a point of contact for all matters related to excessive absenteeism and truancy (RCW 28A.225.026). Find your district's contact information here.