School Absence & Youth Attendance Data

How common is it for students to miss school because they feel unsafe?

Click on the map below to explore data about our young people by grade, gender, sexual orientation, and race/ethnicity. Results are organized by county, although participating school districts do not always align with county boundaries.

Students from all demographic groups reported missing school because they felt unsafe.

Missing school becasuse students felt unsafe was more common among…

8th graders than 10th or 12th graders
Gender expansive students than cis female students, and among cis female students than cis male students
LGBQ+ students than straight students.

More students (~ 2 in 10) in Partial Hampden County missed school because they felt unsafe than students in other counties (~ 1 in 10). Feelings of safety can be influenced by many factors, including experiences at school such as bullying, transportation to/from school, and the broader community context. For example, one participating school district experienced a major snowstorm during the survey period. Because school remained open, some students may have felt less safe traveling to/from school, which could have influenced survey responses.

Not all students took the survey, so the results may not reflect everyone’s experiences. Also, when results are for a small number of students, even one or two different answers can noticeably change the results. This data should be considered alongside other information to better understand what students are experiencing.

Differences across student groups or regions may be shaped by many factors, including school and community conditions, racism, classism, ableism, heterosexism, and gender-based discrimination. When interpreting the data, we encourage users to consider the broader systems and environments that shape health and well-being.