School nurses play a critical role in addressing chronic absenteeism. Per the NASN Position Statement, “As professionals who bridge education and health, school nurses are vital school team members in supporting student attendance and addressing chronic absenteeism.” They are uniquely positioned to identify and address issues that create barriers for students to attend school. These issues include physical and mental health issues and concerns related to the social determinants of health such as homelessness, poverty, and systematic racism.

This course will provide data, resources, and tools school nurses can use to identify and address chronic absenteeism in their schools and districts. 

During this course, we will discuss:

• Chronic absenteeism: how it is defined, who is chronically absent, barriers for attendance, key physical and mental health issues that affect attendance, and how poverty as a social determinant of health (SDoH) influences absenteeism.
• The role of the school nurse in addressing chronic absenteeism.
• Systems and tools to collect, monitor, and report absenteeism data.
• Models and quality improvement strategies school nurses can apply to address absenteeism through an equity lens.
• Making the case for school nurses to be included as key members of administrative teams that are addressing absenteeism at the school and district level. 

Presentations, case examples, and small and large group discussions will be used to identify and share promising approaches. Communication tools will include Padlet to post quality improvement project strategies and experiences. Sessions will be recorded and clips may be used in a brief video that describes the unique role of school nurses in addressing absenteeism. 

This course aligns directly with the CSHS grant scope of services. Learners will apply training and tools to meet CSHS grant requirements to assess and address chronic absenteeism. Work completed in this course (all four sessions) can be applied directly to meet CSHS grant requirements.

At the end of these four sessions, the learner will be able to:

• Describe the problem of chronic absenteeism, its long-term consequences for student achievement, and the role of the school nurse in reducing absenteeism.
• Describe the consequences of poverty on the physical, mental, and behavioral health of school-aged children and how poverty affects students' abilities to learn and be in school. 
• Evaluate how promising strategies designed to reduce chronic absenteeism might be applied to school nursing practice.
• Design and implement a nurse-led strategy to identify, monitor, and address chronic absenteeism using an equity lens. 
• Make the case that school nurses are uniquely skilled and essential partners in addressing the national concern of chronic absenteeism.
• Advocate for including school nurses in strategic administrative teams that are addressing absenteeism at a policy level.