Rockland Post Desk
Spring Valley, NY — The East Ramapo Central School District continues to struggle with chronic absenteeism, with thousands of students missing significant amounts of school and new concerns over attendance data and reporting drawing scrutiny from families and state officials.
At a Dec. 2025 school board meeting, district leaders revealed attendance figures showing that roughly 900 of the district’s approximately 9,700 students were not in school on any given day — meaning average daily attendance hovers around about 90.5%. At the same time, the district’s chronic absenteeism rate — students missing 10% or more of school days — remained high, at around 31.7% as of late November.
Chronic absence has been especially acute at the high school level, where recent figures show rates above 40%, meaning more than four in ten students miss too much school to stay on track academically.
Board and community reactions
Parents and community advocates say the attendance problem isn’t new, but the persistence of high absenteeism rates has raised alarm bells. At board meetings, parents stressed the need for additional staff focused on attendance outreach — especially personnel able to communicate with families in the district’s multiple languages and cultures.
Board members and administrators have pointed to a range of reasons students miss school, from illness and transportation challenges to skipping school and, in some cases, families leaving the country without formally withdrawing students.
To address the issue, the district outlined a tiered attendance plan that includes daily attendance tracking, targeted outreach to families, and intensive interventions such as home visits and individualized attendance plans.
Data irregularities spark state review
Attendance concerns come amid broader questions about how the district tracks and reports student data. District officials recently disclosed they reported errors in how graduation rates and Regents exam results were recorded — including incorrect coding for students who left the district, which had inflated graduation figures. Those reporting problems have drawn a state Education Department review to determine if additional corrections are needed.
District leaders say they are cooperating fully with the state and plan to bolster their data reporting systems, while assuring families that efforts are underway to improve transparency and accuracy.
Why absenteeism matters
Education experts say persistent absence undermines learning and contributes to lower achievement, poorer test results, and higher dropout rates. With nearly a third of students chronically absent, East Ramapo faces significant challenges in ensuring students have equitable access to the education they need to succeed.