TORONTO - More than 300 Ontario schools reported absence rates higher than 30 per cent by the end of last week, after students returned for in-person learning.
The province is no longer publishing information on COVID-19 cases in schools due a restricted testing policy but it is sharing data on absences online, whether or not they are related to the virus.
The province has said families will be notified once 30 per cent of students and staff are absent.
Data published Monday show nearly 337 schools had hit that mark as of Friday and 111 schools had absence rates higher than 50 per cent.
Data was made available for 3,451 of the province's 4,844 schools.
One school in the Niagara Catholic District School Board had an absence rate of 100 per cent - the reasons for that weren't immediately clear and 21 schools had absence rates higher than 80 per cent.