Prince George’s County is getting more kids to school. But 28% remain chronically absent.

Nearly 37,000 Prince George’s County students missed at least 10% of the 2025-26 school year — the equivalent of roughly a month of classes for a student enrolled all year.

Chronic absenteeism is falling across the county, but new state data shows how stubborn the problem remains years after students returned to classrooms following the pandemic.

The county’s 28.2% chronic absenteeism rate is its lowest in four years, down from a peak of 34.8% in the 2022-23 school year. Still, it remains above Maryland’s statewide rate of 22.8% and far from the 15% goal state education officials set under the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future.

The countywide number masks even greater disparities.

Nearly 4 in 10 Prince George’s high school students were chronically absent last school year. Among students experiencing homelessness, the number jumps to nearly 6 in 10, and more than 3 in 10 of students in foster care were chronically absent, according to state data.

The numbers illustrate how difficult it has been for schools to reverse an attendance problem that surged during the pandemic and that researchers say is no longer explained by the pandemic alone.

“Being in school regularly matters,” said Robert Balfanz, a professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Education who studies chronic absenteeism.

Unlike truancy, chronic absenteeism includes all absences, whether excused or unexcused.

A student may miss three days one month, two the next and several more later, Balfanz explained. By the time the pattern becomes apparent, the student might have missed instruction that can be difficult to recover.

And the consequences can compound. Missing school can make it harder to pass classes and earn credits, Balfanz said, while also weakening students’ connections to teachers, friends and the school community.

Absenteeism can also affect students who regularly show up.

Hedy Chang, executive director of the school attendance-focused nonprofit Attendance Works, said high levels of absenteeism “create churn” in classrooms, making it harder for teachers to establish routines, maintain classroom projects and build relationships.

Research has linked chronic absenteeism to lower academic achievement and a reduced likelihood of graduating from high school, she said.

Older students remain especially difficult to reach

Prince George’s has made more progress with younger students, according to state data.

Chronic absenteeism among elementary school students fell five percentage points in one year, to 24.4%. The middle school rate has seen a similar drop since 2024.

But the high school rate remained unchanged at 39.1% — part of a pattern Chang said is playing out nationally.

Balfanz said older students may have more responsibilities outside of school, including jobs or caring for younger siblings. They also have greater independence and, since the pandemic, easier access to assignments and class materials online.

Schools can struggle with capacity, too. When hundreds of students in a large school are chronically absent, Balfanz said, the problem can overwhelm support systems built around counselors, social workers or other staff handling larger caseloads.

Schools that make progress tend to use multiple strategies, Balfanz and Chang separately told The Banner, beginning with identifying what is keeping students away from class.

Those barriers can include transportation, unstable housing, bullying, health concerns or disconnection from school — most of which are reflected in Prince George’s data.

Students experiencing homelessness had the county’s highest chronic absenteeism rate last year, at 59.7%, though that was down from nearly 70% in 2022-23. Rates also exceeded 30% among students in foster care, students with disabilities, multilingual learners, and students receiving free and reduced-price meals.

Still, some schools have shown that those numbers can dramatically change.

At Andrew Jackson Academy in District Heights, chronic absenteeism fell from 74% in 2022 to 21% in 2026. The school has also reported gains in English language arts and math achievement.

PGCPS highlighted the school this year while launching its Attendance Ambassador Program that asks students, parents and school leaders to take shared responsibility for attendance and help families overcome barriers that can be as straightforward as finding a ride to school.

The district also launched a student-focused social media challenge in September, asking students to create TikTok dances, short videos, reels and memes explaining why they show up to school. Submissions closed Wednesday.

Researchers caution that no single campaign or intervention is likely to solve the problem.

Chang told the state Board of Education on Tuesday that schools need to identify the underlying reasons for why students are absent and tailor their responses accordingly. Maryland is still working to better capture those reasons across school districts.

The stakes could extend beyond the classroom.

Under state law, 25% of each district’s annual increase in Blueprint formula funding is automatically withheld until the Accountability and Implementation Board decides whether to release it. Among the factors the board will consider is a district’s progress toward the 15% chronic absenteeism target, including among low-income students, multilingual learners and students with disabilities.

The board is expected to review district-level absenteeism data Oct. 15 and consider funding releases in November.

In an email to The Banner, AIB Executive Director Rachel Hise called the 15% target “aspirational” and pointed to Maryland’s four-year decline as evidence of significant progress, even though the state missed its goal.

For Balfanz, the pandemic helps explain how absenteeism reached such high levels. The challenge now is keeping those attendance patterns from becoming permanent.

“This is just not the new normal,” he said.