118 Minnesota Districts Stayed Below the State Chronic Absence Rate Across Four Reports

Tue, 08 Sep 2026 12:00:00 GMT

The corrected screen finds 118 Minnesota districts whose reported chronic absenteeism rates stayed below the state's in every report from 2020-21 through 2023-24. It requires at least 500 enrolled students in each report and a valid rate in all four. The comparison divides each published chronic-absence count by the corresponding published total-enrollment row, rounds both district and state rates to one decimal, and requires the district rate to be strictly lower.

Minnesota's statewide rate was 21.5% in 2020-21, rose to 26.2% in 2021-22, and then eased to 22.2% in 2022-23 and 21.4% in 2023-24.

St. Croix Preparatory Academy had the lowest 2023-24 rate among the 118 districts at 0.7%, followed by Community School of Excellence at 1.6% and Madelia Public School District at 1.7%. Cannon Falls^↗ was at 3.0% with 1,044 students, and Caledonia was at 3.3% with 705 students.

Consistency across different sizes

The qualifying group was not limited to small districts. In 2023-24, Waconia^↗ reported 9.4% with 4,000 students, Farmington^↗ 10.7% with 6,630 students, and Byron^↗ 11.3% with 2,331 students. Anoka-Hennepin was the largest qualifying district, with 38,631 students and a 20.3% rate.

The size distribution included 55 districts under 1,000 students, 42 with at least 1,000 and under 3,000, 16 with at least 3,000 and under 10,000, and five with at least 10,000.

The pattern is descriptive. These aggregate rates show which districts stayed below the state line; they do not identify the attendance practices, student circumstances, or community conditions behind the results.

Chronic-absence counts and enrollment denominators come from the Minnesota Department of Education, covering the 2020-21 through 2023-24 school years.

Detailed code that reproduces the analysis and figures in this article is available exclusively to EdTribune subscribers.

Cannon Falls - EdTribune MN - Minnesota Education Data

118 Minnesota Districts Stayed Below the State Chronic Absence Rate Across Four Reports

Consistency across different sizes