More than a quarter of Colorado students were chronically absent from school last year, according to a new analysis released Wednesday by state education officials.

The Colorado Department of Education considers a student to be chronically absent if they miss more than 10% of school, whether those absences are excused or not. During the 2022-23 school year, 269,582 students statewide (31%) fell into that category, the second highest mark in the six school years since the state began tracking the stat.

“Every day a student is in school is an opportunity for them to learn, build relationships and access support,” Susana Córdova, Colorado’s education commissioner, said in a news release.

Cordova acknowledged the efforts that districts are making to ensure students attend school regularly, but called on teachers, parents, students and community members to rededicate themselves to getting students into the classroom more regularly.

“The surest way to make improvements in our recovery from the disruptions of the pandemic is for kids to be in school,” Cordova said.

Despite the high rate of absenteeism in 2022-23, state education officials said it was actually an improvement over the previous school year when 36% of students fell into that category. That means about 48,000 fewer students were chronically absent last year, than in the 2021-22 school year — a year that was more impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Colorado Department of Education said its numbers typically ranged from 18% to 24% of students who were chronically absent in the years prior to the pandemic.

Excused absences doubled the number of unexcused absences, which typically point to health-related or school-related reasons for missing school, officials said.

The grade levels that saw the highest rates were kindergarten, 10th, 11th and 12th grade, all of which were over 35%, officials said.

Additionally, the Colorado Department of Education saw higher rates of chronic absenteeism when students were in the following groups:

• English Learners (40%)
• Students with IEPs (39%)
• Students who qualify for Free/reduced price lunch (43%)
• Students experiencing homelessness (60%)
• Migrant students (43%)