Helios Education Foundation, in partnership with WestEd, headed research on chronic absences rates and found in 2021, one in five K-8 students in Arizona schools was chronically absent. The learning loss from absences, compounded with learning loss from the pandemic, continues to threaten student mobility and drop-out rates.  

Despite going 166 days, the second regular session of Arizona’s 55th Legislature saw generally good attendance from lawmakers in both the House and Senate. Beyond the standouts, however, there were also some exceptions.  

Only 19 state lawmakers, or 21 percent, made it to work every day and also registered a vote on 100 percent of the measures that went up on the board during the 53rd Legislature’s second regular session.

Twenty lawmakers didn’t miss a single vote this year – far fewer than last year’s 35 who had perfect voting attendance in the historically short 2015 session.