Melissa Aviles-Ramos, New York City’s new schools chancellor, said Sunday she wants to get to the heart of why so many students are missing class, amid new data showing a statewide absenteeism crisis and a class action lawsuit alleging claimed that the city is failing to provide adequate education. access to education for students with mental health problems.

Speaking to Mayor Eric Adams on his WBLS 107.5 radio program Sunday, Aviles-Ramos said she knows firsthand the “barriers” that keep children out of school because of her experience growing up in the Bronx and struggling to get essentials like food to pay. and clothing.

“Sometimes we didn’t know where our meals would come from. The community helped us with coats and food,” she said. “So we have to find out what those barriers are and work from family to family and help get the kids to school.”

Aviles-Ramos will take over leadership of the school system this week from current Chancellor David Banks, who announced his retirement weeks after federal investigators searched his home and seized his phones as part of another investigation into senior officials in the Adams administration . . It’s unclear what exactly authorities were looking for, but Banks has denied any wrongdoing.

Aviles-Ramos has pledged to maintain the administration’s focus on literacy and career paths, which officials say are part of a broader strategy to keep children on track as they graduate.

But the headwind is strong. Earlier this month, New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli released a report saying that student absenteeism, which surged during the pandemic, has remained stubbornly high.

In the 2022-2023 school year, nearly one in three students in the state were chronically absent, DiNapoli said, meaning they missed 10% or more of school days. Absenteeism rates among Black and Latino students, students living in poverty and students with disabilities were particularly high. The New York data mirrors national trends: About 14 million children nationwide are considered chronically absent.

Adams administration officials have praised Aviles-Ramos’ success as principal of Schuylerville Preparatory High School, where they said she increased the graduation rate from 23% to 83% in two years. But the incoming chancellor gave no details about how she plans to tackle absenteeism system-wide during the Sunday radio show.

“Schools are well equipped to monitor attendance,” she says. “They’re calling. They have attendance teachers. They have school counselors and social workers to help. But what we really need to do is connect with our families… Everyone wants their kids to come to school.”

As reported last year by Chalkbeat New York, city officials have pointed to some new initiatives — such as giving superintendents authority over teachers working with individual schools, and creating new virtual and hybrid programs — as efforts to address the crisis to take.

But a new class action lawsuit filed against the public school system by the Legal Aid Society claims the city isn’t doing nearly enough, especially for students with disabilities. According to the lawsuit, more than 46% of students with disabilities in New York City were chronically absent in the 2022-203 school year.

The lawsuit accuses the city’s public schools of “systematic failure to provide equal access to education to students with disabilities who are chronically absent or otherwise school avoidant.” That failure, the lawsuit alleges, violates the rights guaranteed by the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (“IDEA”), the Americans with Disabilities Act, the New York State Constitution, and the New York Human Rights Law.

Plaintiffs include students with anxiety, depression, ADHD or autism spectrum disorder, or a combination of these diagnoses. The lawsuit said some plaintiff parents were told to pick up their children early again and again, while others were encouraged to homeschool without providing them with the support they needed.

Cecilia Rodriguez, whose daughter is among the plaintiffs, said she and her husband took turns sitting outside her classroom with their daughter for weeks while she refused to come in, until the school recommended homeschooling. Then she was shocked by how little guidance she received on how to homeschool her children.

“I’m not a teacher, I don’t know what I’m doing,” Rodriguez said. ‘She has to do so much more than she did at home. She has to learn.”

Susan Horwitz, supervising attorney for the Legal Aid Society’s Education Law Project, said the school system needs to come up with a better plan for bringing back students struggling with school refusal.

“Students cannot get an education if they don’t go to school. If absences are due to a disability, it is the school system’s job to find a way to get them back in,” she said.

In a statement, Education Department spokesperson Chyann Tull said the school system is committed to removing barriers for children and helping them overcome any resistance.

“We know this is an issue among our most vulnerable students, including students with IEPs, and as such we provide educational support, paraprofessional services and mental health services based on students’ individual needs,” she said.

Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the public school system say they were encouraged to homeschool their children with little support.