Mississippi Chronic Absenteeism Rate Shows Slight Decline

Biloxi Gulfport, MS, September 30, 2026 — The State Department of Education in Mississippi has published its findings for the 2025-2026 school year regarding chronic absenteeism among students. The report indicates a marginal decrease in the statewide rate of students considered chronically absent.

According to the released data, the chronic absenteeism rate for the 2025-2026 period stands at 26.5 percent. This rate affects more than 115,000 students across Mississippi’s public school system. While representing a significant portion of the student population, this figure marks an improvement from the previous academic year.

The report details that the statewide chronic absenteeism rate was 27.6 percent in the year prior to the 2025-2026 reporting period. The decrease signifies a reduction of 1.1 percentage points compared to the prior year’s statistics.

Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10 percent or more of the school days during a school year for any reason, whether excused or unexcused. Students who are chronically absent are at greater risk of falling behind academically, experiencing social-emotional challenges, and are less likely to graduate.

Specific details regarding the contributing factors to this trend, the performance of individual school districts, or any interventions implemented by the Department of Education were not provided in the summary of the report. The contractor responsible for the report’s compilation was not specified.

The Mississippi State Department of Education has not released further information on the specific timelines or methodologies used to arrive at these figures beyond the identification of the report as the 2025-2026 chronic absenteeism report. The impact of this slight decrease on overall student engagement and academic outcomes will be a subject for future analysis.

Story summarized from the original created by WXXV Staff on www.wxxv25.com, see more information here.