Indiana schools will not be allowed to expel students for chronic absences — at least for the next school year. State lawmakers adopted legislation that aims to tackle the state’s chronic absenteeism problem.
SEA 482 officially defines chronic absenteeism as missing 10 percent or more of the school year for any reason. It also tasks the Indiana Department of Education with creating a framework for excused and unexcused absences and further studying absenteeism.
Lawmakers said they will base future legislation off IDOE’s findings. The rate of chronically absent students in Indiana decreased slightly to 17.8 percent in 2024. IDOE released a dashboard in November as one of its most recent steps to tackle absenteeism.
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The measure adjusts a provision set in place last year. It requires schools to schedule an attendance conference within five days of a student’s fifth absence.
Lawmakers lengthened that period to 10 days after the fifth absence to make scheduling the conference easier for schools and parents.
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