Why are low-income students more likely to skip school?

While the classic ’80s film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off glamorized the act of truancy as an upper-class suburban prank, the hard truth is that it’s anything but fun and games for most students.

A recent report by the California attorney general’s office on the state of truancy and absenteeism in elementary schools shows chronic truancy rates are dominated by low-income students. Troubling racial disparities exist as well. Nearly 37 percent of African-American students were chronically truant—more than any other subgroup, including homeless students.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Education Department’s civil rights arm conducted its own study of issues affecting minorities in schools around the country. Their report found that black students also were disproportionately more likely to receive discipline such as suspensions, referrals to law enforcement, and expulsions than their peers. The disparity is evident as early as preschool. Black children represent 18 percent of preschool attendees, but account for 48 percent of those who received out of school suspensions.

In response to the report, the Obama administration strongly urged school districts to reexamine their discipline policies to ensure that black students are not unfairly targeted.

Missing class, for whatever reason, leads to delayed learning. As classmates forge ahead, truant, suspended, and expelled students are often left behind.

“If a child at the end of third grade is not reading at grade level, they are four times more likely than other students to be a high school dropout,” California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris noted in her report.

Becoming a high school dropout is a serious issue. While Thomas Edison and Benjamin Franklin might have made it work, most dropouts face prohibitive barriers. They typically earn less and are more likely to apply for public assistance than their diploma-bearing peers. They also are more apt to end up in prison, where the majority of inmates are high-school dropouts.

Chronic truancy and absenteeism have numerous causes, said Hedy Chang, director of Attendance Works, a nonprofit that studies chronic absenteeism. Poverty, health conditions, dangerous neighborhoods, and lack of parental supervision often leave children without the support necessary to attend school faithfully, Chang said.

But some school districts are seeing results by offering compassionate, one-on-one support.

In Washington, D.C., district officials implemented the program “Show Up, Stand Out” in an effort to curb rampant truancy rates. Case workers from a variety of community organizations partner with the schools to provide individual support for students, including counseling, transportation assistance, and housing referrals.

What began as a pilot program involving 17 schools during the 2012-2013 school year expanded to 45 schools last year. This year, the program involves seven community partners and 60 elementary schools—including eight charters. Evaluations from the program’s first year show that nearly 80 percent of families improved attendance.

Across the country in the Los Angeles Unified School District, under a new partnership between the district, city, and police officials, truant students are sent to youth centers instead of getting tickets. At the centers, students get counseling and academic support.

Anna Salazar, who works with high-risk youth in Los Angeles, said she finds kids are sometimes too embarrassed to attend school due to issues like dirty clothes: “Once I build a relationship with them, I’ve found it’s often something as simple and as tangible as that—needing a clean shirt.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.