Research
How much do you cost your school when you're absent?
If you live in one of the green states, you can take control of $7,500–$15,000 of the budget for yourself, or $50–100 every time you show up.
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- Funds by attendance (11)
- Might factor in attendance (2)
- Funds by enrollment (38)
Short answer
11 states fund schools by attendance: California, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Texas, and Washington. In those states, your school gets less money for every day you’re absent.
Colorado and Maine might factor attendance in. The other 38 (counting DC) fund schools by enrollment, but several still count students on a single day, so being there on count day matters.
Every state, and the law behind it
Tap a state on the map to jump to its row.
| State | How it counts students | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Funds by enrollmentMembership average | Ala. Code § 16-13-232 |
| Alaska | Funds by enrollmentEnrollment count period | AK ST § 14.17.60 |
| Arizona | Funds by enrollmentMembership average | A.R.S. § 15-901 |
| Arkansas | Funds by enrollmentMembership average | A.C.A. § 6-20-2303 |
| California | Funds by attendanceAttendance average | CA EDUC § 42238.05 |
| Colorado | Might factor in attendanceSingle count | Colo. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 22-54-103 |
| Connecticut | Funds by enrollmentSingle countCount day: October 1 | Conn. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 10-261 |
| Delaware | Funds by attendanceSingle countCount day: around September 30 | Del. Code Ann. tit. 14, § 1704 |
| District of Columbia | Funds by enrollmentSingle count | D.C. Code Ann. § 38-1804.02 |
| Florida | Funds by enrollmentMembership average | Fla. Stat. Ann. § 1011.62 |
| Georgia | Funds by attendanceMultiple countsMust attend one of ten days before count day | Ga. Code Ann. § 20-2-160 |
| Hawaii | Funds by enrollmentMultiple counts | Hawaii Department of Education |
| Idaho | Funds by attendanceAttendance average | Idaho Code Ann. § 33-1003A |
| Illinois | Funds by attendanceAttendance average | 105 Ill. Comp. Stat. Ann. 5/18-8.15 |
| Indiana | Funds by enrollmentMultiple counts | Ind. Code Ann. § 20-43-4-2 |
| Iowa | Funds by enrollmentSingle countCount day: October 1 | Iowa Code Ann. § 257.6 |
| Kansas | Funds by enrollmentSingle countCount day: September 20 | Kan. Stat. Ann. § 72-5132 |
| Kentucky | Funds by attendanceAttendance average | Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 157.360 |
| Louisiana | Funds by enrollmentSingle count | SCR 2 (2021 legislative session)La. Const. Ann. art. VIII, § 13 |
| Maine | Might factor in attendanceMultiple counts | Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 20-A, § 15674 |
| Maryland | Funds by enrollmentSingle count (greater of the single count for the current year and the single count average of the previous three years) | Md. Code Ann., Educ. § 5-201 |
| Massachusetts | Funds by enrollmentSingle countCount day: October 1 | Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 70, § 2 |
| Michigan | Funds by attendanceMultiple counts90% allocated on first Weds. of October | Mich. Comp. Laws Ann. § 388.1606 |
| Minnesota | Funds by enrollmentMembership average | Minn. Stat. Ann. § 126C.05 |
| Mississippi | Funds by attendanceAttendance average | Miss. Code. Ann. § 37-151-7 |
| Missouri | Funds by attendanceAttendance average | Mo. Ann. Stat. § 163.031 |
| Montana | Funds by enrollmentMultiple counts (either current or 3-year average) | Mont. Code Ann. § 20-9-311 |
| Nebraska | Funds by enrollmentMembership average | Neb.Rev.St. § 79-1003 |
| Nevada | Funds by enrollmentMembership average | Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 387.123 |
| New Hampshire | Funds by enrollmentMembership average | N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 198:38 |
| New Jersey | Funds by enrollmentSingle count | N.J. Stat. Ann. § 18A:7F-45 |
| New Mexico | Funds by enrollmentMultiple counts | N.M. Stat. Ann. § 22-8-25N.M. Stat. Ann. § 22-8-13 |
| New York | Funds by enrollmentMembership average | N.Y. Educ. Law § 3602 |
| North Carolina | Funds by enrollmentMembership average | N.C. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 115C-430 |
| North Dakota | Funds by enrollmentMembership average | N.D. Cent. Code Ann. § 15.1-27-03.1 |
| Ohio | Funds by enrollmentMembership average | Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 3317.03Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 3317.022 |
| Oklahoma | Funds by enrollmentMembership average | Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 70, § 18-107 |
| Oregon | Funds by enrollmentMembership average | Or. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 327.006 |
| Pennsylvania | Funds by enrollmentMembership average | 24 Pa. Stat. Ann. § 25-2501 |
| Rhode Island | Funds by enrollmentMembership average | 16 R.I. Gen. Laws Ann. § 16-7-22 |
| South Carolina | Funds by enrollmentMembership average | S.C. Code Ann. § 59-20-40 |
| South Dakota | Funds by enrollmentMembership average | S.D. Codified Laws § 13-13-1S.D. Codified Laws § 13-13-1.1 |
| Tennessee | Funds by enrollmentMembership average | Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-3-302Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-3-307 |
| Texas | Funds by attendanceAttendance average | Tex. Educ. Code Ann. § 48.005 |
| Utah | Funds by enrollmentMembership average | Utah Code Ann. § 53F-2-302 |
| Vermont | Funds by enrollmentMembership average | Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 16, § 4010 |
| Virginia | Funds by enrollmentMembership average | Va. Code Ann. § 22.1-70.1Va. Code Ann. § 22.1-253.13:2 |
| Washington | Funds by attendanceMultiple counts | Wash. Rev. Code Ann. § 392-121-119Wash. Rev. Code Ann. §392-121-133 |
| West Virginia | Funds by enrollmentSingle count (count from the first day of the second month of the preceding school year) | W. Va. Code Ann. § 18-9A-2 - actually a completely reasonable system |
| Wisconsin | Funds by enrollmentSingle countIf you're absent on count day, they can't count you until you show up | Wis. Stat. Ann. § 121.90(1) |
| Wyoming | Funds by enrollmentMembership average | Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 21-13-101(a)(i)Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 21-13-309(m)(iv) |
What the counts mean
- Attendance average
- The state pays for the students who actually show up, averaged over the year. Every absence lowers it.
- Membership average
- The state pays for the students enrolled, averaged over the year, whether or not they’re in class that day.
- Single count
- The state counts students on one day (often in the fall) and pays on that number for the year.
- Multiple counts
- The same idea, with more than one count day spread through the year.
- Enrollment count period
- The state counts the students enrolled during a set window of days instead of on one day.