A new report urges school districts battling chronic absenteeism to look beyond total absence counts and instead separate unexcused from excused absences. Using Indiana student data from 2015–16 through 2023–24, researchers at the American Enterprise Institute found unexcused absences were disproportionately common among historically disadvantaged groups and that chronic absenteeism patterns were driven largely by unexcused absences. The analysis also found seasonal timing differences: unexcused absences rose during spring, while excused absences clustered before and after weekends. The study argues that traditional tracking approaches “paper over important distinctions” that can help schools identify earlier warning signs and better target interventions. Chronic absenteeism peaked nationally at about 28% in 2021–22 and remains above pre-pandemic levels in many places, according to the same AEI tracking used by the report. The findings suggest more granular data reporting could improve district prevention plans and classroom attendance supports. While focused on K–12, the implications for higher education are indirect but significant: universities increasingly rely on upstream signals for placement, advising, and student success programming, especially for incoming students from districts where attendance interventions are weak or absent.