In collaboration with Stanford’s Big Local News data journalism unit, Dee gathered and analyzed daily data of student absences from five districts in California’s Central Valley for the 2024-25 school year and the two prior school years to identify any impact from immigration raids. The districts varied in size and, while some were predominantly Hispanic, the districts covered a substantial share of the overall student population in the region, which serves about 537,000 students overall.
Dee found something consistent with prior research: When local raids started in January, student absences rose by 22% compared to expected levels based on the previous two school years. He also found higher rates of absences among younger students, including those in PreK.