BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) -- New data shows a sharp difference in student attendance across Louisiana parishes. Ascension Parish had a low truancy rate of only 20.6%. In contrast, Pointe Coupee Parish faced one of the highest rates at 66%.

The Louisiana Department of Education defines truancy as five or more unexcused absences in a semester. For more than a decade, the statewide average hovered around 36%. But in the years following the COVID-19 pandemic, that rate has consistently climbed above 40%, according to PAR Louisiana.

According to the data, Tensas Parish experienced the largest increase in truancy. It jumped from 32.4% in 2013 to 67.5% in 2023. At the same time, enrollment fell by half. On the opposite end, East Carroll Parish posted a rate of 24.1% during the 2023–202

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