OMAHA, Neb (KMTV) — Five years after the pandemic began, Nebraska students are showing signs of academic recovery, though challenges remain.

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"About 70% of our counties have seen declines in chronic absenteeism in the last four years," said Nebraska Education Commissioner Brian Maher.

The state aims to cut chronic absenteeism rates in half from pandemic levels.

Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10% of classroom time, which can be as little as two days per month. Before the pandemic in the 2015 school year, roughly 11% of Nebraska students were chronically absent, according to Attendance Works. In the 2017-18 school year chronic absenteeism rose to 14.6%

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