Florida schools face alarming rise in student absences since pandemic

ORLANDO, Fla. — Ivan Flores didn’t love school before the pandemic hit, but his views soured more when he did ninth grade online and off campus. “I was just at home doing nothing, waking up late, missing assignments,” he said. When he resumed in-person classes at Evans High School in the 2021-22 school year, that habit stuck. His attendance was spotty and his classwork often undone. In tenth ...