With the rise in the availability of absenteeism data, it is clear that students are missing a staggering amount of school. Policymakers have focused efforts on identifying school programs that might reduce absenteeism. This study examined whether implementing the program “Breakfast After-the-Bell” (BAB) might reduce school absenteeism. Exploring longitudinal statewide datasets (Colorado and Nevada) containing school breakfast information linked to national data on chronic absenteeism rates, we used sharp and fuzzy regression discontinuity designs to examine the effects of BAB. Our findings suggest that schools serving BAB experienced declines in chronic absenteeism. The strongest effects were experienced by high schools, schools with higher rates of breakfast participation, schools serving universally free meals, and suburban schools. Implications are discussed.

随着缺勤数据可用性的增加，很明显，学生正在缺课。政策制定者已集中精力确定可能减少旷课的学校课程。这项研究检查了实施“ Bellakfast After-the-Bell”（BAB）计划是否可以减少学校旷工。在探索纵向全州数据集（科罗拉多州和内华达州）时，该数据集包含与全国早餐率相关的长期缺勤率的学校早餐信息，我们使用了清晰和模糊的回归间断设计来检验BAB的影响。我们的发现表明，服务于BAB的学校的长期缺勤率有所下降。影响最深的是高中，早餐参与率较高的学校，普遍提供免费餐点的学校以及郊区学校。