Several schools districts across Kansas saw a big increase in the number of students absent Thursday.
Attendance at public schools in Wichita, Dodge City and Garden City dropped significantly as immigrants across the country took part in an initiative seeking to highlight their contributions to U.S. business, economy and culture. Officials from all three districts said the absences couldn't be linked explicitly to the planned "Day Without Immigrants," but the number of students not in class was definitely higher than usual.
In Wichita, there were twice as many unexcused absences than there were the day before the boycott. Dodge City Public Schools had only 62 percent attendance for the day; the previous week, the average daily attendance was higher than 90 percent. In Garden City nearly 20 percent of students were absent.
Both Dodge City and Garden City have significantly high numbers of immigrant populations.
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