California Truancy Report

This report is the first to present state-wide statistics on California's truancy crisis which reveal that, last year alone, 1 million elementary school students were truant and 250,000 elementary school students missed 18 or more school days at a cost of $1.4 billion in lost funds to California school districts. According to the report, elementary school truancy is at the root of the state's chronic criminal justice problems. According to the report, missing large amounts of school is one of the strongest predictors of dropping-out, even more so than suspensions or test scores. Annually, dropouts cost California taxpayers an estimated $46.4 billion in incarceration, lost productivity and lost taxes.
Harris, K. (2013). In School + On Track: Attorney General's Report on California's Elementary School Truancy and Absenteeism Crisis. Sacramento: California Department of Justice.
http://www.issuelab.org/resource/in_school_on_track_attorney_generals_report_on_californias_elementary_school_truancy_and_absenteeism_crisis