Virgin Islands education leaders told lawmakers Wednesday that 601 public-school students had already missed at least five days during the first 18 teaching days of the academic year. Officials described the early pattern as a serious attendance problem with direct consequences for learning.
The highest school-level rates cited in the hearing were 53.8 percent at Alfredo Andrews Elementary on St. Croix and 32.6 percent at Yvonne E. Milliner-Bowsky Elementary in the St. Thomas-St. John District. At one St. Croix school, 33 students were already classified as chronically absent, according to district testimony.
Education officials said schools track attendance, contact parents and conduct home visits when absences persist. The department has also tried to remove practical barriers by providing meals and uniforms and, in some cases, washing students' clothes.
Lawmakers discussed enforcement options, including an existing Board of Education policy under which five or more unexcused absences can result in failure. Officials cautioned that applying such a rule across the current population could affect hundreds of students, leaving unresolved how intervention and accountability will be balanced.
VIDE should publish a weekly, privacy-safe attendance dashboard by school and district, distinguish excused from unexcused absences, and report whether outreach restored attendance. Families should also receive one clear guide to transportation help, meal and uniform support, counseling, attendance appeals and escalation steps before punitive rules are applied.
Source published September 3, 2026. Read the original reporting or release for the complete record.
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