Chronic Absenteeism Drops Across School District

Chronic absenteeism across Santa Barbara Unified School District was down slightly for 2016-17. But considering that 15 percent of the entire student body of roughly 14,000 was chronically absent, the district is busy ramping up its outreach to students and their families heading into the new school year. The district is also working with the District Attorney’s CLASS (Community Leadership in Achieving Student Success) program, wherein a newly truant student’s parents receive a letter documenting absences, followed up by family meetings with school administrators, and possibly a referral to the Probation Department, if deemed necessary.