LOS ANGELES – (INT) - California’s school truancy ‘crisis’ is unabated.

In her second annual report, Attorney General Kamala Harris says students of color and students from low-income families are missing a disproportionate amount of school each year.

"Improvements in education policy are moot if students are not in class. California needs common sense solutions that help parents and educators reduce elementary school truancy”, Harris said.

Riverside County’s truancy rate last year was 25 percent and 27 percent in San Bernardino County. Combined the two counties lost nearly $180 million.

Report highlights:
· A quarter of a million elementary school students in California missed 10% or more of the 2013-2014 school year.
· Over the last three years, school districts have lost over $3.5 billion directly from student absences.
· 1 in 10 school districts reported they do not know their chronic absence rate for the 2013-2014 school year.
· Almost 90% of the elementary students who are missing over a month of school per year are from low-income families.
· More than 1 in 5 African American students is chronically absent which is more than double the average for white students.
· African American elementary school students are chronically truant at nearly 4xs the rate of all students.

Story Date: September 19, 2014