Nevada lawmakers to hear presentation on chronic absenteeism at Clark County schools

Joshua Peguero
·2 min read

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – Nevada lawmakers are getting involved in addressing the high number of absences at several schools, including the Clark County School District.

On Wednesday, the Joint Interim Standing Committee on Education will hear “updates, trends, and methods of addressing chronic absenteeism,” according to its agenda.

Representatives from the National Conference of State Legislatures, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Nevada Association of School Superintendents, Nevada Department of Education, Public Education Foundation, and CCSD will speak during the meeting.

Nearly half of North Las Vegas high schoolers are chronically absent, data shows

Children skipping classes at CCSD is an issue administrators are working to solve.

Trustees last month heard an update from CCSD Assistant Superintendent Kevin McPartlin.

“[We’re] really going in and using the district dashboard and drilling down to the school where we’re seeing some issues, and then to the student and student groups… and then going off to the school to explore the processes and procedures that are in there,” McPartlin told trustees on Feb. 8, 2024.

CCSD superintendent skips school board meeting featuring absence presentation

Nearly 30%, around one in three, CCSD students are currently considered chronically absent. That means a student missed more than 10% of their school days.

This is an improvement from the 2022-2023 school year.

8 News Now previously reported on data showing that at North Las Vegas high schools, nearly half the student body had attendance issues. Below is a percentage of the worst offenders:

  • Mojave HS 47.3%

  • Cheyenne 46.8%

  • Canyon Springs 46.9%

  • Legacy 41.8%

“I know we had a news story that came out. That is not new data to us. These are schools that we’ve identified” McPartlin said referring to 8 News Now’s story.

A slide from the Nevada Association of School Superintendents that will be presented on Wednesday states there is a strong link between the amount of time students spent on remote learning during the pandemic and chronic absenteeism.

Administrators said some cities are playing a role in tackling it.

“The City of Las Vegas is working with a cohort of schools around Desert Pines [High School] and really supporting them. The City of Henderson, they’ve adopted four schools and they’re working with them, specifically on chronic absenteeism. Identifying what works to expand out,” McPartlin said.

CCSD also doubled the number of attendance officers this school year to 64 and in January launched a new department to oversee chronic absenteeism, according to administrators.

As part of CCSD’s Every Day Matters campaign that launched in August, staff members have done 21,000 home visits.

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