Below is a list of key research related to attendance for Truancy
For the full list of research and reports, please visit the All Research page.
Unpacking Unexcused Absences in Maryland: A Working Paper
Unpacking Unexcused Absences in Maryland: A Working Paper by Attendance Works and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville School of Nursing, April 2025. This report examines how policies and practices of the truancy system—the application of the unexcused absence code–could be hindering efforts to improve attendance, particularly for the student groups with high rates of chronic absence.
Exploring an Unexamined Source of Racial Disparities in Juvenile Court Involvement: Unexcused Absenteeism Policies in U.S. Schools
McNeeley, Clea, and Alemu Besufekad, et. al., AERA Open, Vol. 7, Jan.-Dec. 2021. This two-part study explored whether discrimination encoded into U.S. school absenteeism policies leads to racially minoritized students being overrepresented in the juvenile court system.
Using Behavioral Insights to Improve School Administrative Communications: The Case of Truancy Notifications
Lasky-Fink, Jessica, Carly D. Robinson, Hedy Nai-Lin Chang and Todd Rodgers. Harvard Kennedy School, March 2018. Truancy notifications often use long passages of punitive legal jargon that are confusing and threatening to families. By randomly assigning parents to receive a modified truancy notification with simplified language and constructive information, the researchers saw a reduction in absenteeism.
Rethinking the Role of the Juvenile Justice System: Improving Youth’s School Attendance and Educational Outcomes
The Council of State Governments Justice Center, September 16, 2020. This report summarizes key findings from an unprecedented research study on the impact of juvenile justice system involvement — particularly probation — on school attendance. It reveals that kids involved in the juvenile justice system in South Carolina not only didn’t experience attendance improvements, but their attendance actually got worse.…
Can Court Diversion Improve School Attendance among Elementary Students? Evidence from Five School Districts
Won Fy Lee, Clea A. McNeely, et. al., Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness. This study examined the effect on attendance of a truancy court-diversion program for elementary students. Truancy court-diversion programs represent a shift from a law-and-order approach toward a public health model to address school absenteeism.
Long-Term Effects of Truancy Diversion on School Attendance: a Quasi-Experimental Study with Linked Administrative Data
Clea A. McNeely, Won Fy Lee, et. al., Prevention Science. Over 60% of US school districts implement court diversion programs to address chronic unexcused absenteeism, yet the effectiveness of these programs is not known. The study evaluated whether the Truancy Intervention Program (TIP) improved school attendance of students in grades 7–10 in a metropolitan county in the US Midwest.
Better Together? Social Networks in Truancy and the Targeting of Treatment
Bennett, Magdalena and Peter Bergman, Columbia University, October 2018. Teachers who send text messages to parents of students who were chronically absent also boosted attendance among that student’s friend network. The research shows that the “spillover effects” of family or student intervention onto their peers can help reduce the cost of school or district interventions designed to improve attendance.