More than a quarter of Colorado students were chronically absent last school year. The statewide rate did drop, but only a little, and the state's own goal calls for a much larger drop. The Colorado Department of Education released the new data on August 27, 2026. A student is counted as chronically absent when they miss 10 percent or more of their school days. The department says students who miss more days are more likely to fall behind in class.
The rate fell to 27.5 percent in 2025-26. That is down from 28.4 percent the year before, Chalkbeat Colorado reported. It was about the same as in 2023-24. The rate also stayed above the level before the pandemic, which was 22.6 percent in 2019-20. The department has set a goal of cutting the rate to 15 percent by 2027-28. This year the rate fell by less than 1 point. To reach 15 percent, it would need to fall about 12.5 more points in about two years.
"We've made progress, but we still have significant work ahead of us," Education Commissioner Susana Córdova said at a press conference.
More than 230,000 Colorado students missed 10 percent or more of their school days in 2025-26, according to Chalkbeat. The statewide attendance rate held steady at 91.5 percent. The rate went down in 109 of the state's 182 school districts and boards of cooperative education services, known as BOCES. It stayed the same or rose in the rest.
The department also runs a campaign to boost attendance. It launched the campaign, called "Every School Day Matters!," in 2024. The department hoped 80 percent of Colorado school districts would join. Fewer than half have joined so far, according to the department.
Rates differed by group of students. High school seniors had the highest rate of any grade. Students with disabilities, English language learners, and students from low-income families were absent at higher than average rates. About 33 percent of Black students and 37 percent of Latino students were chronically absent, compared with 20 percent of white students. All three rates were lower than the year before, and the rate for Black students dropped the most. The rate for Hawaiian and Pacific Islander students rose from 51.1 percent to 52.1 percent. That group is small, at about 3,200 students statewide.
Results also differed by district. In Denver Public Schools, the largest district, the rate fell from 38.1 percent to 36.6 percent. In Jeffco Public Schools, the second largest, it dropped from 26.6 percent to 26.2 percent. In the small Sheridan district south of Denver, the rate jumped from 34.6 percent to 66.2 percent. Chalkbeat reported this was likely because attendance fell during a teachers strike that lasted more than three weeks this past April.
State officials pointed to the Garfield Re-2 district in Rifle, which has 4,600 students. It cut its rate from about 40 percent in 2021-22 to a little under 18 percent in 2025-26. Superintendent Kirk Banghart said the district hired family liaisons who help its largely Latino families solve attendance problems, including in the families' home languages. Garfield also started an online middle and high school last year. Banghart said it serves 67 students.