More students are missing from the classroom, and educators and lawmakers are looking for ways to bring them back. In 2022, the number of students considered chronically absent had doubled nationwide from pre-pandemic levels.
In Ohio that same year, 1 in 4 students were considered chronically absent, meaning they had missed at least 10% of school time.
Now, a bipartisan group of Ohio lawmakers wants to pay students to attend class. State Reps. Bill Seitz, R-Green Twp, and Dani Isaacsohn, D-Evanston, have introduced a bill that would create a pilot program offering cash to kindergarteners and ninth graders for good attendance.
On Cincinnati Edition, we discuss how House Bill 348 would work, and why so many children have been missing school since the start of the pandemic.
Guests:
- Bill Seitz, Ohio State Representative, R-Green Twp
- Dani Isaacsohn, Ohio State Representative, D-Over-the-Rhine
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