Correction and update (October 27, 2026): The earlier statewide calculation paired chronic-absence counts with enrollment from a different collection. The State counts, rates and populations now follow the published attendance table. The headline’s regular-attendance interpretation, district population inferences and unsupported explanations about causes and program effects have been withdrawn. This update adds the newer published school year.

Colorado reported a chronic absenteeism rate of 42.3% for students in its American Indian or Alaska Native category in 2025–2026, down 2.5 percentage points from 44.8% the year before.

The published State attendance table recorded 2,149 chronically absent students in an attendance population of 5,075. The prior year’s count was 2,332, on a population of 5,203. The chronic-absence count declined by 183 students.

These are last school year’s figures, the most recent published attendance data. The counts and rates belong to the same attendance collection. Annual populations can change, so the comparison does not establish how the same individual children’s attendance changed.

The recent decline followed an increase

The American Indian or Alaska Native rate was 44.4% in 2023–2024, then 44.8% in 2024–2025 before the newer decline.

The latest decrease was the largest among the seven reported racial categories. Six categories had lower rates in the latest comparison. The Hawaiian/Pacific Islander category was the exception, with a final rate of 52.1%.

These comparisons use each category’s published attendance rate. They do not divide chronic-absence counts by October enrollment or combine category populations to create a denominator.

Differences between categories remain

The American Indian or Alaska Native category had the second-highest reported rate in the latest year, after Hawaiian/Pacific Islander students.

The White student rate was 20.4%. Its difference from the American Indian or Alaska Native rate was 21.9 percentage points.

A rate describes attendance within the reported category. A higher percentage does not, by itself, mean a larger number of students. It also does not identify the circumstances responsible for the difference.

Selected district comparisons

Douglas County Re 1^↗ET reported a 22.0% American Indian or Alaska Native chronic-absence rate in 2025–2026. Denver County 1^↗ET reported 55.6%, and Colorado Springs 11^↗ET reported 51.0%.

Ignacio 11 JT^↗ET reported 46.2%. Montezuma-Cortez RE-1^↗ET reported 46.3%.

These are named examples from a declared comparison set. They do not establish a statewide ranking of district performance or demonstrate which programs were effective.

The district attendance table reports group chronic-absence counts and rates without publishing the eligible attendance population for this subgroup. This article therefore reports those rates without substituting a population from another collection.

The State and district views also describe different reporting levels. The department’s method notes explain that counts at each level are deduplicated separately. Adding district counts cannot reconstruct the State measure.

The latest State decline is a reported improvement, and the differences between published group rates remain. These attendance tables do not identify their causes or establish that a district practice produced a particular result.

Detailed code that reproduces the analysis and figures in this article is available exclusively to EdTribune subscribers.