While much of the conversation around chronic absenteeism has focused on academic recovery, family engagement, student motivation, and socioeconomic barriers like transportation, another factor is playing an increasingly important role in whether students show up each day: school safety.
In the year ahead, districts that are serious about improving attendance will need to confront this issue more directly.
Research continues to show a clear relationship between students’ perceptions of safety and their attendance. According to the American Enterprise Institute, about 5% of students report missing school for safety-related reasons, with middle schoolers and those in high-poverty schools reporting the highest rates.
Since the pandemic, concerns related to feeling unsafe, bullying, and embarrassment have increased, particularly among elementary and middle school students.
A recent CDC report reinforces this trend, finding that female students are more likely to stay home when they feel unsafe attending school. Between 2021 and 2023, the percentage of girls who missed school because of safety concerns increased from 10% to 16%.
For many district leaders, these findings confirm what they already see in their schools each day. When students don’t feel safe at school, their attendance suffers. And when families question whether schools can protect their children or respond quickly to concerns, they’re less likely to send them to school.
School safety is a core attendance strategy
As districts look ahead to 2026, improving attendance will require a broader approach, one that treats safety not as a reactive measure, but as a foundational part of the student experience.
School safety is often discussed in terms of emergency preparedness or crisis prevention, but that’s not enough anymore. Those elements are essential, but they are no longer sufficient on their own.
Districts also need proactive, comprehensive safety practices such as stringent visitor management policies and procedures, along with controlled access and security, and real-time coordination and communication strategies for teachers and staff to work together before issues escalate.
Day-to-day safety concerns—such as bullying, social conflict, medical incidents and students’ confidence that adults will step in when needed—all play a significant role in attendance decisions.
Safety isn’t only about preventing violence; it’s also about how schools respond to everyday medical emergencies like allergic reactions, low blood sugar or even something more serious: approximately one in 25 high schools experience a cardiac event each year.
Since 2013, when the CDC first released its Youth Risk Behavior Survey & Data Summary Report, the percentage of students who have experienced violence at school or missed school due to safety concerns has increased. When students believe issues will go unresolved or responses will be slow, absenteeism follows.
For administrators, this shifts safety from an operational responsibility to a strategic priority. Attendance initiatives that overlook how safe students feel risk treating symptoms while leaving root causes unaddressed.
Communication builds trust, trust drives attendance
Communication is where the connection between safety and attendance becomes most visible. Districts may be investing in safety improvements, but if families and students don’t understand what those efforts look like, the impact is limited.
Parents are more likely to send their children to school when they understand how safety is addressed, how incidents are managed, and how schools coordinate responses. For example, when families know what happens if a child has a medical emergency during the school day—who is notified, how quickly staff respond, and how information is shared—it reduces uncertainty and enhances trust.
Clear, consistent communication builds confidence, and confidence supports regular attendance.
Middle schools should be a critical focus area
Understanding the connection between safety and attendance is especially important for middle school, when safety-related absences are highest and students are particularly sensitive to peer dynamics. Schools that invest in improving school climate, creating and fostering environments where students feel supported, valued and engaged, often see benefits that extend beyond attendance, including higher test scores and graduation rates.
When schools set clear expectations, intervene early, create a culture of belonging, and communicate consistently about safety, students are more likely to attend.
Safety and attendance: What’s next
Looking ahead, districts that make meaningful progress on attendance will be those that align safety, communication, and culture. They will move beyond compliance-based approaches and focus on building cultures of safety where students feel protected and supported, and where families trust their schools.
The direction is clear. In 2026, districts that fail to address safety as a foundational component of their attendance strategy will continue to struggle with absenteeism. Those that prioritize safety culture and communicate it effectively will not only improve attendance but also strengthen trust across their communities.
Attendance does not improve in environments that students avoid. Safety, both felt and understood, will increasingly determine which districts make progress and which fall behind.
