Polk
Polk County's Attendance Crisis: From 19% to 39% Chronic Absenteeism in Six Years
Six years ago, Polk County had one of the more manageable attendance pictures among Florida's large districts. Its chronic absenteeism rate of 19.0% in 2017-18 was just below the state average, unrema...
Only 1 of 73 Florida Districts Has Recovered to Pre-COVID Attendance Levels
Of the 73 Florida school districts with chronic absenteeism data spanning both sides of the pandemic, exactly one has returned to where it was before COVID shut everything down.
Duval County Hits All-Time High: 45% of Jacksonville Students Chronically Absent
Correction (April 12, 2026): An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Duval's 63,802 chronically absent students would constitute the fourth-largest school district in Florida and na...
Pasco's 10-Year Growth Streak Ends
For a decade, Pasco County was Florida's enrollment machine. From 2016 through 2025, the district north of Tampa added students every single year, gaining 17,366 in total, a 25.1% increase. Only one o...
Florida's Unfinished Recovery: 46 Districts Still Below Pre-Pandemic Enrollment
Correction (2026-03-11): An earlier version of this article stated that 2026 enrollment was 1,344 students below the 2021 COVID trough. It is actually 1,344 students above the trough. The loss figure ...