Ohio Introduces Dashboard to Monitor Public School Absenteeism
Ohio has launched a new online tool, attendance.ohio.gov, designed to help parents and taxpayers track student attendance in public schools. This initiative aims to address chronic absenteeism, which affects about 25% of students statewide. The dashboard allows users to search attendance data by district and individual school buildings, providing weekly updates. However, participation is not mandatory, and some districts with high absenteeism rates, such as Lorain, Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati, have not yet submitted their data. The tool was announced by Governor Mike DeWine, who emphasized the importance of timely data to address absenteeism issues. The dashboard is managed by the Department of Education and Workforce, led by Steve Dackin, who noted the challenge of integrating different data systems across districts. 
