East Central Reporter

Students in Douglas County districts had a truancy rate of 7.3% in the 2021-22 school year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education. This was a decrease from the previous school year's rate of 10.3%.

There were 3,281 students enrolled in Douglas County districts in the 2021-22 school year, of which 240 students were absent throughout the year.

Across the county, Arcola Consolidated Unit School District 306 suffered the most truancy issues (16.4%) in the 2021-22 school year. Meanwhile, Villa Grove Community Unit School District 302 successfully recorded the lowest truancy rate in the region (4.1%).

Students are generally considered chronically truant if they miss 5% or more of the total number of school days in a year without acceptable excuses.

The main offices of all districts mentioned in the story are located in cities associated with Douglas County.

In 2022, Illinois had 1,925,415 students enrolled in a total of 3,977 schools. There were 130,467 teachers in the public schools, or roughly one teacher for every 15 students, compared to the national average of 1:16.

K-12 enrollment has been declining in Illinois for many years, reflecting demographic changes. Combined public and private K-12 enrollment dropped 3% between the 2019–2020 and 2020–2021 school years (60,900 students), far more than the typical 0.5% to 1.5% annual enrollment declines in Illinois over the last five years.

District	No. of students enrolled	Chronic truancy rates
Arcola Consolidated Unit School District 306	701	16.4%
Arthur Community Unit School District 305	1,024	7.8%
Tuscola Community Unit School District 301	947	4.8%
Villa Grove Community Unit School District 302	609	4.1%