The Associated Press

The California attorney general’s office released a report Friday documenting truancy in the state. This year, for the first time, the data was broken down by race and income level as well as geography. Some of the most notable findings:

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ABSENTEES AND THE RACIAL DIVIDE

Black elementary school students were chronically truant at nearly four times the rate of all students during the last school year, according to the report. That’s more than any other subgroup, including homeless students.

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ASIAN STUDENTS ANSWER ‘PRESENT’ MOST OFTEN

Asian students had the best attendance in the study by far, with just 1 percent of students chronically truant.

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INCOME AND ATTENDANCE GO HAND IN HAND

Income level also figures hugely in the truancy findings. Nearly 90 percent of students who miss more than 35 days of school per year are estimated to be low income.

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TRUANCY BY COUNTY

The state’s best and the worst truancy rates were in rural counties in Northern California. Alpine, Colusa and Napa counties had the best attendance, while Lake, Mono and Shasta counties rounded out the bottom.

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