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Detroit’s school superintendent wants legislators to change a state law that mandates penalties for not meeting daily attendance requirements as the district faces millions in fines.
The Detroit Public Schools Community District will lose $2.2 million in state funding for not reaching a 75% attendance threshold multiple days last year, according to the Michigan Department of Education. Superintendent Nikolai Vitti told Chalkbeat the law disproportionately punishes schools in communities with high concentrations of poverty and creates more funding inequities.
He said the fines punish the district for attendance issues rooted in systemic challenges, such as housing instability, lack of transportation, health concerns. Ultimately, it takes away money that could be used to support students in need, he said.
Many school building closures also have been caused by the city’s aging infrastructure, which are beyond the district’s control or ability to fix, the superintendent added.
“It’s a policy that punishes the symptoms while making the underlying condition worse,” said Vitti.
Under the State School Aid Act, districts can lose state funding if less than 75% of enrolled students attend school on any day of instruction. The state superintendent can waive the fines in some situations, such as severe storms or epidemics.
The MDE calculates the fines based on the amount of annual state funding allocated to each district and the percentage school systems fall short of reaching 75% attendance per day. Districts that receive more state funding stand to lose more in fines.
Bob Wheaton, the MDE’s director of public and governmental affairs, said the agency and its auditors are obligated to enforce the daily attendance penalties. All districts in the state are subject to the fines, regardless of student demographics, he added.
When asked if the law is intended to address chronic absenteeism, Wheaton said the percentage of students in attendance on a school day is a different data point than chronic absenteeism rates, which represent how many students miss 10% or more of all days in a school year.
“While chronic absenteeism remains a serious concern for the state, the calculation of chronic absenteeism originates from federal and accountability reporting requirements and is monitored through separate data systems and processes,” he said.
State records show DPSCD fell below the attendance threshold 11 days last school year. Initially, the district faced more than $6.8 million in fines. However, the number was reduced to $2.2 million, according to the MDE, because the district reported absences at one school that went beyond the state’s 180 instructional day requirement.
“We were fortunate; the reduction was only possible only due to a unique circumstance at the specific building that was affected,” said Vitti. “Had the same situation occurred at nearly any other school in our district, we’d still be facing the full $6.8 million.”
So far this year, Vitti said DPSCD has fallen below 75% daily attendance twice.
But, “our challenges typically accrue throughout the year; during the winter months when students face additional barriers getting to school due to weather, and at the end of the year when attendance drops,” he said.
State records showed 142 traditional public school districts and charter schools were initially identified as facing potential fines for last school year’s attendance rates. A final tally was not immediately available from the MDE this week.
The Detroit district, where 84% of students come from low-income families, has long had high rates of chronic absenteeism.
In recent years, the district has significantly reduced the rate with a multilayered approach.
“We’re investing heavily in attendance agents, health hubs, home visits, parent engagement, mental health services; all the wraparound supports that actually move the needle on attendance,” said Vitti.
Last year was the first time students in the district were chronically absent at a lower rate compared to pre-pandemic years. Still, more than 60% of students missed too much school.
The statewide absenteeism rate was higher in 2024-25 than before the COVID pandemic, at nearly 28%.
As Michigan struggles to reduce absenteeism, recent data suggests districts with the most to overcome, like DPSCD, are outpacing the rest of the state in improving attendance.
At a November policy committee meeting, Vitti said this year was the first since he became superintendent in 2017 that the attendance penalty has been enforced for the district.
According to Wheaton, 2020-21 was the only year the penalty was not implemented in the state due to COVID.
In 2023-24, Wheaton said only one district faced a fine, but it was waived once it was verified there was an error in the attendance data.
“That said, it’s common for somewhere between 35 and 50 districts to be initially identified,” said Wheaton.
Vitti told board members at the November committee meeting that the district should begin lobbying legislators to change the law.
“Taking millions from schools doesn’t get a single additional child to school,” he told Chalkbeat “It just means we have that much less to help them get there.”
Hannah Dellinger covers Detroit schools for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at hdellinger@chalkbeat.org.
Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.