Missing More than School: Reducing Chronic Absence for American Indian and Alaska Native Students

This brief highlights the urgent need to address chronic absenteeism among American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) students in the United States. It explores the challenges that AI/AN students and their families face in terms of regular school attendance. Systemic barriers, unwelcoming?school environments, biased disciplinary practices, and a lack of culturally relevant curricula are all referenced as?major contributors to chronic absenteeism. The brief emphasizes the importance of working with parents, tribal leaders, community members, educators, policymakers, and other allies to improve AI/AN student attendance rates. Recommendations include investing in positive learning environments tailored specifically to these students' needs, implementing tiered approaches that include prevention strategies, and enacting targeted interventions aimed at removing barriers to attendance. This brief provides practical solutions,?focusing?on successful initiatives such as attendance recognition programs, inclusive graduation events that foster a sense of belonging, and collaboration with tribal governments to provide transportation or medical services.