The perfect storm of economics, apathy, and the inability to cope.
Ah, the well-orchestrated ditch days by students in the US public school system were often legendary. Tales to not tell your children but recall the glory days with pals at the reunion. Contrary to a high school student’s deep-felt belief, parents always knew. But now moms and dads are complicit in allowing children to stay home on a whim, and absenteeism has become a post-pandemic epidemic.
Between the 2018-19 and 2021-22 school years, there was an alarming 91% spike in skipping school, and an estimated 6.5 million students are chronically absent compared to before the pandemic. Yes, this generation is becoming an unwelcome statistic.
Nat Malkus, senior fellow and deputy director of AEI’s Education Policy Studies, created a “tracker” and is one of the…
