CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – As Linn County schools enter the second school year under a stricter state truancy law that went into effect July 1, 2024, the rates from last year demonstrate a rise in chronic absenteeism.
The rates have crept up again from a previous peak in the pandemic years from 106 cases in the 2023-2024 school year to 147 last school year, according to Nina Sheller, Linn County assistant county attorney.
“A couple of years ago, really post-Covid, was when I saw my highest numbers, and I was definitely creeping back up towards those again,“ said Sheller…